REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONERS 


AND 


EVIDENCE 


TAKEN    BY 


THE  COMMITTEE  ON  MINES  AND  MINING  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF 
REPRESENTATIVES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 


IN    REGARD    TO 


THE  SUTEO  TUNNEL, 


TOGETHER   WITH 


THE    ARGUMENTS 


AND 


REPORT  OF  THE  COMMITTEE, 


RECOMMENDING   A 


LOAN  BY  THE  GOVERNMENT  IN  AID  OF  THE  CONSTRUCTION 
OF  SAID  WORK. 


V 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C. : 

M'QILL  &  WITHEROW  PRINTERS  AND  STEREOTYPERS, 
1872. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


PACJK. 

Law  authorizing  the  Commission 5 

Committee  on  Mines  and  Mining 7 

Report  of  Commissioners 9-66 

EVIDENCE. 

IST  HEARING,  MONDAY,  FEBRUARY  12,  1872. 

Major  General  John  G.  Foster,  examined  by  Mr.  Sutro :.         1-23 

2D  HEARING,  FEIJ:AV,  FEBRUARY,  16,  1872. 

Major  General  John  G.  Foster,  examined  by  Mr.  Sutro,  (con.) 23-76 

SD  HEARING,  TUESDAY,  FEBRUARY  20,  1872.  ^ 

Major  General  John  G.  Foster,  examined  by  Mr.  Sutro,  (con.) 76-104 

Mr.  Sunderland 104-116 

"  4iH  HEARING,  WEDNESDAY,  FEBRUARY  21,  1872. 

Major  General  John  G.  Foster,  examined  by  Mr.  Sunderland,  (con.)..  116-150 
STH  HEARING,  FRIDAY,  FEBRUARY  23,  1872. 

Professor  Wesley  Newcomb,  examined  by  Mr.  Sutro 150-190 

Mr.  Sunderland 190-197 

6ia  HEARING,  SATURDAY,  FEBRUARY  24,  1872. 

Professor  Wesley  Newcomb,  examined  by  Messrs.  Rice  and  Sutro.       197-230 
7TH  HEARING,  MONDAY,  FEBRUARY  26, 1872. 

Professor  Wesley  Newcomb,  examined  by  Mr.  Sunderland 234-283 

8iH  HEARING,  TUESDAY,  FEBRUARY  27,  1872. 

Professor  Wesley  Newcomb,  examined  by  Mr.  Sunderland 280-298 

Mr.  Sutro 298-314 

9iH  HEARING,  WEDNESDAY,  FEBRUARY  28,  1872. 

Major  General  H.  G.Wright,  examined  by  Mr.  Sutro 314-358 

lOin;  HEARING,  THURSDAY,  FEBRUARY  29,  1872. 

Major  General  H.G.Wright,  examined  by  Mr.  Sutro 358-399 

HTH  HEARING,  FRIDAY,  MARCH  1,  1872. 
Major  General  H.  G.Wright,  examined  by  Mr.  Sunderland 399-437 


COMMITTEE  ON  MINES  AND  MINING 


OF   THE 


HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  OF  UNITED  STATES: 


Hon.  HENRY  WALDRON,  of  Michigan,  Chairman. 

"  AARON  A.  SARGENT,  of  California. 

"  NATHANIEL  P.  BANKS,  of  Massachusetts. 

"  WORTHINGTON  C.  SMITH,  of  Vermont. 

"  JAMES  S.  NEGLEY,  of  Pennsylvania. 

"  WALTER  L.  SESSIONS,  of  New  York. 

"  FRANCIS  E.  SHOBER,  of  North  Carolina. 

"  PIERCE  M.  B.  YOUNG,  of  Georgia. 

"  CHARLES  W.  KENDALL,  of  Nevada. 


SUB-COMMITTEE   ON   MINES   AM)   MINING, 

APPOINTED 

TO   TAKE    EVIDENCE    IN   REGARD   TO   THE   SUTRO    TUNNEL 

HOD.  JAMES  S.  NEGLEY,  of  Pennsylvania,  Chairman. 
"     WALTER  L.  SESSIONS,  of  New  York. 
"     FRANCIS  E.  SHOBER,  of  North  Carolina. 
"     CHARLES  W.  KENDALL,  of  Nevada. 


42D  CONGRESS,  )  SENATE:  (Ex. Woe. 

2d  Session.      I  i    No.  15. 


LETTEE 

FROM 

THE     SECRETARY    OF    WAR, 


TRANSMITTING 


The  report  of  the  commission  to  examine  and  report  upon  the  Sutro  Tunnel, 

in  Nevada. 


JANUARY  9,  1872.— Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Mines  and  Mining  and  ordered  to 

be  printed. 


WAR  DEPARTMENT, 

January  6,  1872. 

The  Secretary  of  War  lias  the  honor  to  submit  to  the  United  States 
Senate  and  House  of  Bepresentatives  the  report  of  the  commission 
appointed  by  the  President,  under  act  of  Congress  approved  April  4, 
1871,  to  examine  and  report  upon  the  Sutro  Tunnel,  in  Nevada. 

WM.  W.  BELKNAP, 

Secretary  of  War. 


OFFICE  OF  THE  CHIEF  OF  ENGINEERS, 

Washington,  D.  (7.,  January  4,  1872. 

SIR  :  I  transmit  herewith  the  report  and  accompanying  papers  of  the 
commission  appointed  under  the  authority  of  the  act  of  Congress 
approved  April  4,  1871,  "  to  examine  and  report  upon  the  Sutro  Tunnel, 
in  the  State  of  Nevada,  authorized  to  be  constructed  by  an  act  of  Con- 
gress approved  July  25,  18G6,  with  special  reference  to  the  importance, 
feasibility,  cost,  and  time  required  to  construct  the  same ;  the  value  of 
the  bullion  extracted  from  mines  on  the  Com  stock  lode  ;  their  present 
and  probable  future  production;  also,  the  geological  and  practical  value 
of  said  tunnel  as  an  exploring  work,  and  its  general  bearing  upon  our 
mining  and  other  national  interests  in  ascertaining  the  practicability  of 
deep  mining." 

The  report  presents  the  views  of  the  commission  briefly  and  clearly. 

Under  the  head  of  importance  of  the  tunnel,  the  commission  is  of  the 
opinion  that  the  tunnel  is  not  a  necessity  for  ventilation  or  drainage, 
but  that  any  scheme  which  promises  increased  economy  in  working  the 
mines  and  rendering  valuable  the  vast  amount  of  now  worthless  low- 
grade  ores  in  the  Coinstock  lode,  becomes  of  national  importance. 
Whether  the  Sutro  Tunnel  project  fulfills  this  condition  of  economy 
depends,  in  the  opinion  of  the  commission,  upon  the  practicability  of 
securing  a  sufficient  water-power  from  the  Carson  Itiver,  at  all  seasons, 
for  the  reduction  of  the  ores,  and  upon  the  efficacy  of  the  methods 


2  SUTRO    TUNNEL. 

employed  in  Germany  and  other  countries  in  Europe  for  the  concentra- 
tion of  ores.  On  the  first  point  the  commission  has  no  doubt.  On  the 
second  it  has  not  been  able  to  obtain  the  desired  information. 

On  the  feasibility  of  the  tunnel,  the  opinion  of  the  commission  is  in  favor 
of  the  entire  feasibility  of  the  project,  so  far  as  its  construction  is  con- 
cerned. 

The  cost  of  the  tunnel,  the  branch  and  all  the  shafts,  is  estimated  at 
$4,418,329  50  in  gold. 

The  time  of  completion  is  estimated  at  three  and  one-half  years,  which 
may  be  reduced  to  two  and  one-third  years,  if  machinery  be  judiciously 
employed. 

The  value  of  the  bullion  extracted  from  the  mines  of  the  Comstock  lode, 
according  to  the  information  the  commisiou  was  able  to  gather,  is 
$125,000,000. 

The  present  annual  production  the  commission  place  at  $15,000,000. 

As  regards  the  probable  future  yield,  the  commission  says  : 

No  claim  can  be  made  to  anything  like  accuracy,  except  in  the  few  instances  in 
which  ore-bodies  are  now  developed.  The  commission  has  already  stated  its  belief  in 
the  lode  being  what  is  known  as  a  true  fissure- vein,  or  as  continuing  downward  indefi- 
nitely in  the  crust  of  the  earth ;  but  whether  the  vein  will  continue  to  be  orc-bearing  can- 
not be  predicted  with  any  degree  of  certainty.  It  is  a  matter  of  opinion,  to  be  based, 
however,  upon  probabilities  and  the  actual  results  experienced  in  deep  mining  in  other 
parts  of  the  world.  These,  in  the  judgment  of  the  commission,  favor  the  finding  of  ore 
down  to  the  lowest  depths  that  can  be  reached  ;  and  that  this  opinion  is  shared  by 
most  of  the  mining  authorities,  seems  to  be  shown  by  their  continued  downward 
search. 

The  report  concludes  with  the  opinion  that,  as  an  exploring  work  for 
deep  mining,  the  Sutro  Tunnel  may  justly  claim  favorable  consideration. 
The  information  to  be  obtained  from,  an  examination  by  a  commission 
of  the  methods  followed  in  the  mines  of  Germany  and  England,  appears 
to  be  of  such  importance  as  to  recommend  itself  to  the  favorable  con- 
sideration of  Congress. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

A.  A.  HUMPHREYS, 
Brigadier  General  and  Chief  of  Engineers. 
The  Hon.  the  SECRETARY  OF  WAR. 


BEPOBT  OF  THE  SUTRO  TUNNEL  COMMISSION. 

OFFICE  SUTRO  TUNNEL  COMMISSION, 

New  York,  December  I,  1871. 

GENERAL  :  I  have  the  honor  to  forward  herewith  the  report  of  the 
Sutro  Tunnel  commission,  and  in  separate  packages,  the  following : 

Package  containing  maps,  plans,  and  drawings,  marked  from  1  to  11, 
inclusive. 

Package  containing  estimate,  circular  letter,  reports  of  superintend- 
ents of  mining  companies,  &c.,  marked  from  A  to  L,  inclusive. 

The  special  information  asked  for  by  Mr.  Sutro  was  received  in  time 
to  be  used  in  making  the  report ;  but  the  papers  which  he  was  requested 
to  furnish,  inasmuch  as  the  opponents  of  the  project  had  been  invited 
to  do  the  same,  has  not  come  to  hand.  It  may  be  expected  daily,  and 


SUTRO  TUNNEL.  3' 

when  received  will  be  forwarded  with  request  that  it  be  added  to  tKe< 
papers  accompanying  the  report. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant. 

H.  G.WRIGHT, 
Lieutenant  Colonel  of  Engineers,  Brevet  Major  General, 

Senior  Officer  of  Commission. 
Brigadier  General  A.  A.  HUMPHREYS, 

Chief  of  Engineers,  United  States  Army, 

'Washington,  D.  (7. 


OFFICE  SUTRO  TUNNEL  COMMISSION, 

New  Yorlc,  November  30,  1871. 

GENERAL:  The  commission  appointed  under  the  authority  of  the  act 
of  Congress  approved  April  4,  1871,  u  to  examine  and  report  upon  the 
Sutro  Tunnel  in  the  State  of  Nevada,"  having  completed  the  duties 
assigned  to  it  under  said  act,  has  the  honor  to  submit  the  following 
report : 

The  members  of  the  commission  met  in  this  city,  in  pursuance  of 
your  instructions,  on  the  9th  of  June,  and  after  organizing  and  making 
the  necessary  preliminary  arrangements,  including  a  visit  to,  and  exami- 
nation of  the  Hoosac  Tunnel  in  Massachusetts,  proceeded  to  Nevada, 
arriving  at  Virginia  City  on  the  29th  of  that  month,  and  at  once  entered 
upon  the  duties  with  which  they  were  charged.  From  that  date  to  the 
7th  of  August  the  commission^  was  constantly  occupied  with  its  inves- 
tigations, during  which  period  it  examined  pretty  thoroughly  the  mines 
on  the  Comstock  and  other  lodes  in  the  vicinity,  the  country  in  the 
neighborhood  within  a  general  radius  of  fifteen  miles,  with  a  view  to 
ascertaining  its  topographical  and  geological  character,  and  conferred 
with  the  mining  authorities,  miners,  and  others  interested  in  the  great 
and  almost  sole  industrial  interest  of  that  section  of  Nevada. 

Every  facility  was  aiforded  the  commission  by  the  mining  authorities 
and  the  people^generally ;  the  desire  seeming  to  be  on  all  hands  to  give 
the  opportunity  for  a  lull  and  complete  investigation  of  a  subject  in 
which  the  entire  community  was  so  deeply  interested.  To  the  superin- 
tendents of  the  various  mines  the  commission  is  especially  indebted  for 
the  large  mass  of  information  aiforded  by  them,  both  verbally  and  in 
writing,  in  relation  to  the  mines  under  their  control.  The  latter  portion 
will  be  found  in  their  reports  in  the  appendix,  made  in  response  to  the 
interrogatories  of  the  commission,  a  copy  of  which  is  also  appended. 
To  those  papers  frequent  reference  will  be  made  in  the  course  of  this 
report.  Mr.  Sutro,  the  projector  of  the  tunnel,  was  also  present  during 
most  of  the  time  the  commission  was  in  Nevada,  and  was  always  ready 
to  afford  information,  and,  from  his  familiarity  with  the  subject,  to  sug- 
gest ready  means  for  obtaining  information  from  other  sources. 

The  duties  of  the  commission,  as  prescribed  by  the  law  under  which 
it  was  appointed,  were,  ato  examine  and  report  upon  the  Sutro  Tunnel, 
in  the  State  of  Nevada,  authorized  to  be  constructed  by  an  act  of  Con- 
gress approved  July  25,  186G,  with  special  reference  to  the  importance, 
feasibility,  cost,  and  time  required  to  construct  the  same ;  the  value  of 
the  bullion  extracted  from  the  mines  on  the  Comstock  lode ;  their  present 
and  probable  future  production ;  also,  the  geological  and  practical  value 
of  said  tunnel  as  an  exploring  work,  and  its  general  bearing  upon  our 


4  SUTRO  TUNNEL. 

mining  and  other  national  interests  in  ascertaining  the  practicability  of 
deep  mining.'7 

To  the  above  points  the  investigations  of  the  commission,  although 
naturally  embracing  a  wide  range,  were  particularly  directed,  and  to 
them  this  report  will  be  strictly  conlined,  treating  of"  them  in  the  order 
in  which  they  are  given  in  the  act  above  quoted. 

IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  TUNNEL. 

in  treating  of  the  importance  of  this  work,  it  seems  proper  to  give  a 
brief  general  description  of  the  Coin  stock  lode,  referring  for  an  account 
of  its  geological  character  to  that  part  of  the  report  which  treats  of  the 
"  geological  and  practical  value  of  said  tunnel  as  an  exploring  work." 

The  term  lode  is  applied  to  "  any  regular  vein,  whether  metallic  or 
not,  but  commonly  to  a  metallic  vein,"  and  will  in  this  report  be  con- 
sidered as  applying  to  that  fissure  in  Nevada  which  traverses  Virginia 
City  and  Gold  Hill,  and  is  generally  known  as  the  "  Comstock."  This 
fissure  or  rent  in  the  earth  has  an  extent  not  yet  fully  developed,  but 
which  reaches  certainly  from  the  Ophir  mine  on  the  north  to  the  Uncle 
Sam  and  Overman  on  the  south,  a  distance  of  12,000  feet.  Beyond  these 
points  the  lode  is  supposed  to  extend  to  the  north  and  south  to  the 
Seven-mile  Canon  in  the  former  direction,  and  to  the  American  Flat  in 
the  latter.  It  may,  therefore,  be  said  that  while  the  fissure  itself  is 
believed  to  have  been  traced  from  the  diggings  known  as  the  Utah 
mines  on  the  north  to  the  locality  known  as  the  American  Flat  or 
"  American  City"  on  the  south,  a  length  of  about  22,000  feet,  yet  the 
portion  of  the  lode  now  worked  is  comprised  between  the  Ophir  on  the 
north  and  Overman  on  the  south,  or  a  distance  of  about  12,000  feet,  or, 
say,  two  and  one-quarter  miles.  This  portion  of  the  lode  may,  as  is  usu- 
ally done,  be  divided  into  three  groups,  the  "  Ophir,"  the  ""  Gould  & 
Curry,"  and  the  "  Gold  Hill."  The  two  former  may  be  considered  as 
within  the  limits  of  Virginia  City,  the  last  being  in  the  town  of  Gold 
Hill 5  the  two  towns  being,  however,  so  connected  that  the  stranger  is  at 
a  loss  to  determine  where  one  ends  and  the  other  commences.  Both  of 
these  towns  rest  absolutely  upon  the  lode,  and  the  mine-shafts  rise 
directly  in  the  midst  of  the  streets  and  houses.  The  lode  has  a  dip  or 
angle  of  inclination  to  the  east  of  about  45°,  varying  in  either  direction 
some  10°.  This  variation,  as  might  be  expected,  often  occurs  within 
small  limits  of  extent  of  therein,  but  generally  keeps  within  those  of 
38°  and  55°  of  inclination  to  the  horizon. 

The  croppings  or  surface  indications  of  the  lode  are  generally  west 
of  the  towns  of  Virginia  City  and  Gold  Hill,  which,  as  before  remarked, 
are  in  most  part  over  the  workings  of  the  lode. 

In  the  earlier  days  of  mining  upon  the  Comstock,  the  work  was  pros- 
ecuted to  some  extent  by  means  of  adits  or  horizontal  tunnels ;  but  as 
depth  was  attained,  this  process  was  necessarily  abandoned  owing  to 
the  configuration  of  the  country  immediately  about  it,  and  working  by 
means  of  vertical  shafts  was  exclusively  followed.  All  the  mines  of  the 
lode  now  worked  are  operated  in  this  manner — that  is,  a  vertical  shaft 
is  sunk  in  the  "  east  country  "  rock,  which,  at  a  depth  that  can  be  pretty 
closely  estimated,  will  reach  the  lode,  and  after  passing  through  it  into 
the  "west  country"  rock,  is  generally  continued  in  the  latter  upon  an 
angle  corresponding  with  the  inclination  of  the  west  wall  at  the 
point  of  junction.  From  these  shafts  at  various  depths  or  "levels," 
usually  about  100  feet  apart,  drifts  or  small  tunnels  are  run  horizontally 
in  various  directions  through  the  lode  to  ascertain  its  ore-bearing  char- 


SUTRO    TUNNEL.  5 

acter ;  and  through  them  the  ore  and  debris  are  brought  to  the  shafts 
and  raised  to  the  surface  by  steam-power.  The  water  met  with  in 
the  workings  is  pumped  to  the  surface  through  these  shafts  by  the 
agency  of  the  steam  machinery,  and  air  for  ventilation  is  forced  by 
blowers  down  the  shafts,  through  wooden  boxes,  and  distributed  through 
pipes  to  the  various  working  headings. 

The  ore  thus  brought  to  the  surface  is  taken  from  the  "  dumps,"  in 
which  it  is  first  deposited,  by  wagons  or  railway-cars,  and  transported 
to  the  mills  for  reduction.  These  mills  are  scattered  over  the  country 
wherever  water  is  to  be  found,  the  greatest  distance  being  about  eigh- 
teen miles.  With  the  exception  of  those  on  the  Carson  River,  which  are 
run  by  water-power,  these  mills  are  worked  by  steam  ;  the  water  to  be 
obtained  being  sufficient  for  the  purposes  of  reduction  only,  and  not  for 
power.  Indeed  many  of  these  steam-mills  were  idle  during  our  visit, 
for  the  want  of  water,  and  the  water-mills  on  the  Carson  River  were 
generally  working  up  to  a  part  only  of  their  capacities  for  the  same 
reason. 

In  the  early  days  of  mining  on  the  Comstock  lode,  several  excellent 
wagon-roads  of  easy  grades  were  constructed,  leading  to  the  mill-sites 
and  to  the  sources  of  supply  of  the  lumber  and  the  fuel  needed  in  the 
working  of  the  mines  5  but  these  are  now  in  a  great  degree  supplanted 
by  a  railroad  recently  constructed  from  Virginia  City  to  Carson  City, 
passing  through  Gold  Hill,  and  having  branches  leading  to  the  principal 
reduction-works.  By  this  road  a  large  part  of  the  ore  extracted  from 
the  mines  is  transported  to  the  mills,  and  most  of  the  lumber  and  wood 
used  for  mining  purposes  is  brought  back  on  the  return  trips.  This 
road,  which  is  a  fine  example  of  railway  engineering  over  a  difficult 
country,  is  about  twenty-two  miles  in  length,  not  including  its  branches, 
and  is  reported  to  have  cost  about  $2,000,000.  It  is  about  to  be  con- 
nected with  Reno,  a  station  on  the  Central  Pacific  Railroad,  by  an  exten- 
sion from  Carson  City  to  the  latter  point,  but  at  the  time  of  our  visit 
its  principal  business  was  the  transportation  of  ore  from  the  mines  to 
the  mills,  and  of  lumber  and  fuel  for  the  supply  of  the  mines. 

One  of  the  objects  of  the  tunnel,  as  will  be  seen  further  on,  is  to 
change  almost  wholly  the  mode  of  working  the  mines  just  described. 
The  tunnel,  which  is  to  be  nearly  rectangular  in  cross-section,  having 
a  height  of  12  feet,  with  a  width  "at  bottom  of  14  feet,  and  at  top  of  13 
feet,  commences  at  a  point  in  the  valley  of  the  Carson  River,  and  run- 
ning in  a  direction  nearly  perpendicular  to  the  Comstock  ledge,  is  to 
intersect  it  at  a  level  of  1,898£  feet  below  the  point  of  the  croppings, 
marked  A  on  the  map,  to  which  the  various  levels  of  the  mines  are 
referred.  At  or  near  this  point  of  intersection  a  cross-tunnel  of  similar 
dimensions  is  to  run  along  the  ledge,  and  to  communicate  with  all  the 
mines.  A  commencement  of  70  feet  only  in  length  has  been  made  on 
the  main  tunnel,  more  with  a  view  to  showing  what  is  designed  than 
for  any  other  purpose,  and  a  drift  six  feet  by  seven  in  cross  section  had 
been  extended  under  the  intervening  mountains  about  2,300  feet  at  the 
time  of  our  visit.  It  is  understood  that  this  length  had  been  increased 
to  2,530  feet  on  the  14th  of  November.  The  map  No.  1.  herewith,  of  the 
country  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Comstock,  shows  the  positions  ami  direc- 
tions of  the  main  and  cross  tunnels,  and  the  sheet  marked  No.  2,  a  sec- 
tion and  profile  of  the  grounds  on  the  line  of  the  tunnel.  The  cross 
section  of  the  tunnel  and  of  the  drift  or  preliminary  tunnel,  upon,  which 
work  is  at  present  prosecuted,  are  shown  on  sheet  marked  No.  3.  The 
length  of  the  main  tunnel  will  be  19,790  feet,  or  about  three  and  three 
quarter  miles,  and  the  cross  tunnel,  if  extended  only  so  far  as  to  include 


6  SUTEO  TUNNEL. 

the  mines  now  being  worked,  about  12,000  feet,  or  about  two  and  one- 
quarter  miles.  Should  the  ledge  north  of  the  Ophir  and  south  of  the 
LFucle  Sam  and  Overman  be  again  worked,  the  cross-tunnel  must  be 
increased  in  length  correspondingly.  In  our  estimates  of  costs  we  have 
considered  the  main  and  cross  tunnels  separately,  and  have  restricted 
the  latter  to  the  limits  of  the  Ophir  on  the  north  and  the  Uncle  Sam 
and  Overman  on  the  south.  Drawings  exhibiting  plans  of  all  the  mines 
within  the  above  limits  will  be  found  with  this  report,  marked  4,  5,  6, 
7,  8,  9,  10,  and  11. 

The  principal  advantages  of  the  proposed  tunnel  in  relation  to  the 
mines,  as  claimed  by  Mr.  Sutro,  may  be  stated  briefly  as  follows. 

1st.  The  improved  ventilation  of  the  mines,  resulting  from  the  current 
of  air  which,  entering  the  tunnel  at  its  outer  extremity,  and  passing 
through  it  and  up  into  the  mines  and  out  at  their  present  shafts,  will 
so  cool  and  purify  the  heated,  stagnant  atmosphere  of  the  drifts  and 
stopes  as  to  preserve  the  health  of  the  miner,  and  enable  him  to  accom- 
plish a  greater  amount  of  labor  than  would  otherwise  be  possible. 

2d.  The  drainage  of  the  mines  above  the  level  of  the  tunnel — an 
object  which  is  now  accomplished  by  means  of  costly  machinery  and  at 
great  expense.  On  the  connection  of  the  tunnel  with  a  mine,  the  water 
in  the  latter  would  discharge  itself  without  the  intervention  of  machin- 
ery and  without  cost. 

3d.  A  largely  increased  economy  in  the  working  of  the  mines  by  tak- 
ing the  ore  through  the  tunnel  to  reduction  works  at  its  mouth,  instead 
of  raising  the  same  to  the  surface  and  transporting  it,  often  to  a  much 
greater  distance,  to  the  mills  now  established. 

4th.  Its  value  as  an  exploring  work  in  cutting  at  considerable  depths 
several  mineral  veins  or  lodes  known  to  exist  to  the  eastward  of  the 
Coinstock,  all  of  which  have  been,  and  at  some  points  continue  to  be, 
worked  for  the  precious  metals 5  also,  in  a  geological  point  of  view,  in 
determining  the  depth  at  which  precious  ores  will  be  found  in  our  coun- 
try in  what  may  be  considered  as  true  fissure- veins. 

These  claims  on  the  part  of  the  advocates  of  the  tunnel  will  be  con- 
sidered in  the  order  in  which  they  have  been  stated,  with  the  exception 
of  the  last,  which  can  be  more  properly  treated  under  the  head  of  "the 
practical  value  of  said  tunnel  as  an  exploring  work.'7 

VENTILATION. 

At  the  time  the  tunnel  was  projected,  and  the  act  of  Congress  of  July 
25, 18G6,  was  passed,  the  mines  on  the  Coinstock  lode  were  undoubtedly 
much  embarrassed  in  their  operations  by  the  lack  of  proper  ventilation. 
The  atmosphere  in  their  stopes  and  drifts  was  hot  and  stagnant,  and 
any  relief,  such  as  was  promised  by  the  tunnel,  might  well  be  viewed 
as  indispensable  by  the  mining  authorities  and  miners  to  the  further 
prosecution  of  their  search  for  the  precious  metals.  A  stagnant  atmos- 
phere and  a  temperature  of  over  one  hundred  degrees  might  well 
occasion  misgivings  of  success  in  their  attempts  upon  the  lower  and 
therefore  hotter  levels.  At  that  time  each  mine  was  worked  independ- 
ently o£the  others,  upon  its  own  ground,  with  its  single  shaft  forming 
the  only  communication  between  its  stopes  and  drifts  and  the  surface. 
Without  the  aid  of  mechanical  ventilation,  it  is  not  surprising  that,  at 
a  depth  of  three  or  four  hundred  feet  even,  the  air  of  the  mines  should 
have  severely  taxed  the  miner's  powers,  and  induced  the  belief  that 
further  search  into  the  heated  bowels  of  the  earth  would  be  impossible, 


SUTRO    TUNNEL.  7 

unless  sonic  artificial  aid,  such  as  the  proposed  tunnel  promised  to 
afford,  should  be  provided. 

But  this  very  necessity  for  an  improved  and  increased  ventilation  in- 
dicated one  of  the  means  by  which  it  might,  in  a  great  degree  at  any 
rate,  be  accomplished.  The  drifts  of  contiguous  mines  were  connected 
together,  an  air  current  was  established  down  the  shaft  of  one  and  up 
the  other,  passing  in  its  transit  through  such  of  the  drifts,  stopes,  and 
winzes  as  were  between  them,  thus  purifying  and  cooling  the  atmosphere 
in  those  parts  of  both.  For  the  portions  of  the  mines  which  were  influ- 
enced imperfectly  or  not  at  all  by  the  current  of  air  thus  established, 
recourse  was  had  to  blowers  operated  by  the  steam-power  employed 
in  hoisting.  By  means  of  these  blowers  air  could  be  forced  through 
pipes  to  all  parts  of  the  mines  not  affected  sufficiently  by  the  natural 
ventilation  established  by  the  subterranean  connection  just  alluded  to. 
At  the  time  of  our  visit,  the  mines  were  generally  well  ventilated,  and 
the  miners  with  whom  we  conversed  did  not  com  plain  5  and  in  the  cases 
in  which  a  more  effective  change  of  air  was  needed,  steps  were  being- 
taken  to  accomplish  it. 

It  is,  therefore,  the  opinion  of  the  commission  that,  while  the  proposed 
tunnel  would  increase  and  improve  the  ventilation  of  the  mines  and 
possibly  dispense  with  the  use  of  some  part  of  the  means  for  artificial 
ventilation  now  employed,  it  is  not  a  necessity  for  ventilation.  Even 
with  all  the  aid  that  the  tunnel  can  be  expected  to  afford,  it  is  the  opinion 
of  the  commission  that  mechanical  ventilation  by  blowers,  operated  by 
steam  or  other  power,  would  still  be  needed  at  the  headings  and  in  the 
stopes  where  the  air  from  the  tunnel  would  not  penetrate. 

According  to  natural  laws  as  at  present  understood  and  received,  the 
air  entering  the  proposed  tunnel  would  pass  through  it  and  up  the 
shafts  of  the  mines  by  the  easiest  and  therefore  by  the  most  direct  chan- 
nels, thereby  conferring  little  if  any  benefit  upon  the  stopes  and  drifts 
not  in  the  line  of  such  direct  transit.  Hence  the  necessity  which  is 
assumed  for  a  continuance  of  mechanical  ventilation  for  certain  portions 
of  the  mines  after  the  completion  of  the  tunnel. 

And  here  it  may  be  proper  to  allude  to  certain  anomalies  observed  in 
the  ventilation  of  the  mines  on  the  Comstock  lode,  as  well  as  in  mines 
upon  lodes  lying  to  the  eastward.  According  to  the  received  laws  of 
ventilation  it  would  have  been  assumed  that,  in  the  case  of  two  shafts 
connected  at  bottom  by  drifts,  the  air  current  would  pass  down  the  lower 
and  through  the  drifts  up  the  higher,  and  that  this  rule  w^uld  be  with- 
out exception  where  not  influenced  by  circumstances  of  situation  or 
artificial  causes ;  that,  in  the  case  of  a  long  adit  or  tunnel,  the  inner 
extremity  of  which  was  connected  with  the  surface  by  a  shaft,  the  outer 
being  directly  upon  the  side  of  the  mountain,  the  current  would  be 
through  the  the  tunnel  and  up  the  shaft.  In  the  former  case  the  cur- 
rent was  found  to  be  sometimes  in  one  direction  and  sometimes  in  the 
other,  it  having  been  permanently  changed  in  one  instance,  after  the 
occurrence  of  a  fire  in  one  of  the  mines  thus  connected ;  the  down- 
draught  having  been  through  the  shorter  shaft  before  the  fire,  and 
through  the  longer  ever  since.  In  the  latter  case,  which  applies  to  two 
tunnels  visited  by  the  commission,  the  down-draught  was  into  and 
downward  through  the  shafts  and  out  of  the  tunnels  in  a  very  strongly 
perceptible  current.  In  view,  therefore,  of  these  anomalies,  it  would 
seem  uncertain  whether  the  current  of  air  would  pass  through  the  pro- 
posed tunnel  into  the  mines  and  out  through  the  shafts,  or  the  reverse. 
So  far  as  the  ventilation  is  concerned,  it  will  be  of  little  importance 
which  way  the  current  should  pass.  Probably  the  mines  would  be  the 


8  SUTRO   TUNNEL. 

more  benefited  by  its  passing  downward  through  them  and  out  of  the 
tunnel  than  in  the  reverse  direction. 

DRAINAGE. 

In  the  early  days  of  mining  upon  the  Comstock,  much  trouble  was 
experienced  from  water  which  accumulated  in  the  mines,  and  occasioned 
the  necessity  for  powerful  and  expensive  machinery  for  drainage.  When, 
therefore,  the  tunnel  was  proposed,  it  was  looked  upon  as  an  important 
accessory  to  further  mining  operations  in  affording  a  ready  and  effective 
means  of  draining  the  ledge  without  the  recourse  to  costly  mechanical 
contrivances.  It  was  then  assumed,  naturally  enough,  that  the  lower 
the  depth  the  greater  the  amount  of  water  to  contend  against,  and  seri- 
ous doubts  appear  to  have  been  entertained  of  the  possibility  of  freeing 
the  mines  from  water  by  mechanical  means.  The  construction  of  the 
tunnel  seemed,  therefore,  a  necessity.  But  as  greater  depths  were  at- 
tained it  was  discovered  that  the  water,  instead  of  permeating  the  earth 
to  an  indefinite  extent,  was  mainly  confined  to  near  the  suriace ;  that 
below  a  few  hundred  feet  it  was  struck  in  limited  quantities  only.  It 
was  also  discovered  that  this  water,  instead  of  being  generally  diffused, 
was  collected  in  pockets  bounded  by  impermeable  seams  of  clay,  which, 
when  pierced,  had  only  to  be  drained  to  exhaust  the  supply.  As  the 
mining  operations  have  increased  in  depth,  these  pockets  or  reservoirs 
have  become  less  frequent  and  formidable,  till  in  many  of  the  deepest 
the  water  is  not  only  not  troublesome,  but  is  found  in  less  quantity  than 
is  needed  for  the  purposes  of  the  mines  themselves,  thus  necessitating 
the  purchase  of  water  from  the  company  which  furnishes  the  same  to  the 
inhabitants  of  Gold  Hill  and  Virginia  City,  or  from  other  and  wetter 
mines.  By  reference  to  the  statements  of  the  superintendents,  appended 
to  this  report,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  cost  of  pumping  for  all  the  mines 
did  not,  probably,  exceed  $150,000  for  the  past  year,  and  that  in  some 
of  them  there  was  no  water  at  all.  This  sum  exceeds  that  arrived  at  by 
the  commission — viz,  $124,674 — which  was  obtained  by  taking  the  costs 
as  given  for  the  mines,  so  far  as  reported,  and  estimating  for  the  others. 

Taking,  then,  the  observations  of  the  commission  in  connection  with 
the  statements  of  the  superintendents  of  the  mining  companies,  we  are 
of  the  opinion  that  the  tunnel  for  this  purpose  alone  is  not  a  necessity 
for  the  drainage  of  the  Comstock  lode.  That  it  will  effectively  drain  all 
those  with  which  it  shall  be  connected  is  obvious  ;  but  the  same  result 
can  be  attained  by  present  means  at  less  cost — a  cost  wrhich,  moreover, 
promises  to  become  still  smaller  as  the  mines  progress  in  depth. 


Under  the  present  system  of  operating  the  mines,  the  ore  and  the 
refuse  rock  are  raised  to  the  surface  through  the  shafts  by  steam-power, 
the  ore  being  transported  to  the  mills  by  wagons  or  by  the  railroad  be- 
fore alluded  to,  and  the  refuse  rock  deposited  at  the  dumps  contiguous 
to  the  shafts.  The  items  of  expense,  as  given  by  the  superintendents, 
vary  somewhat,  as  might  have  been  expected,  in  view  of  the  different 
circumstances  in  each.  The  average  of  certain  of  the  more  important 
of  them  may,  however,  be  stated  with  sufficient  accuracy,  as  follows : 

Cost  per  ton  of  hoisting  from  depths  vary ing  from  1,250  to  1,750  feet,  being 

the  average  reported  for  seven  of  the  principal  mines  of  the  lode $0  51. 17 

Cost  of  pumping  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1871,  as  arrived  at  by  the 
commission,  by  taking  the  cost  of  the  mines  as  far  as  reported  and  esti- 
mating for  the  rest „ 124,674  00 


SUTRO    TUNNEL.  9 

Tbc  superintendent  of  the  Ophir  mine,  a  very  intelligent  man,  estimates 
the  total  cost  for  pumping1  oil  the  Comstock  lode  for  the  past  year  as  not 
exceeding $150, 000  00 

If  we  assume  what  appears  from  the  reports  and  from  other  sources 
as  an  average  yield  of  the  mines — viz:  365,600  tons  annually — the  cost 
for  certain  items  of  expense  by  the  present  method  of  working  will  be 
as  follows : 

Hoisting  365.600  tons  of  pay  ore,  at  51.17  cents $187, 077  52 

Transportation  of  same  to  mills,  at  $1  50 548, 400  00 

Pumping  for  last  year,  (commission's  estimate) 124, 674  00 

Hoisting  and  lowering  3,000  miners,  at  8  cents  each  way,  or  16  cents 

each 175,000  00 


Total 1,035,151  52 


In  the  above  statement  the  cost  of  hoisting  the  refuse  rock  from  the 
drifts,  .winzes,  &c.,  is  not  included,  as  the  quantity  is  wholly  indeter- 
minate, being  the  greatest  in  those  mines  where  prospecting  alone  is 
being  carried  on,  and  the  least  in  those  which  are  working  upon  ore 
bonanzas.  Indeed,  in  the  latter  the  amount  of  debris  is  inconsiderable. 
It  would  be  of  the  highest  importance  to  a  full  and  accurate  comparison 
of  the  cost  of  working  the  mines  by  the  present  method  and  by  the 
tunnel,  to  introduce  this  item,  as  it  is  very  considerable,  and  the  ex- 
penditure per  ton  for  hoisting  it  is  the  same  as  for  ore  j  but  this  seems 
quite  impossible,  owing  to  the  indefiniteness  of  the  quantity  of  refuse 
removed  from  the  mines. 

In  considering  the  cost  of  operating  the  mines  by  the  tunnel,  it  must  be 
stated  that,  under  the  provisions  of  the  act  of  Congress  approved  July 
25  1866,  the  tunnel  company  is  authorized  to  collect  from  all  the  com- 
panies mining  upon  the  Comstock  lode  a  royalty  of  $2  per  ton  for  each 
and  every  ton  of  ore  taken  from  the  mines  after  the  tunnel  shall  be  con- 
nected with  them,  Avhether  the  tunnel  be  used  by  the  mines  or  not ; 
that  a  tariff  of  25  cents  per  ton  per  mile  (or  such  lesser  sum  as  may  be 
agreed  upon)  for  the  transportation  through  the  tunnel  may  be  estab- 
lished ;  also  a  charge  of  25  cents  each  way  for  every  man  connected  with 
the  mines  who  is  carried  through  the  tunnel.  The  cost  of  working  the 
mines  through  the  tunnel,  as  compared  with  the  same  items  as  given 
above  for  working  by  the  present  method,  may  then  be  stated  as  fol- 
lows: 

Lowering  365, 600  tons  pay-ore  to  tunnel  level,  at  10  cents $36, 560  00 

Transportation  of  same  an  average  of  five  miles,  at  $1  25 457, 000  00 

Transportation  of  3, 000  workmen,  at  50  eente=f  1, 500  per  day 547J  500  00 

1,041,060  00 

To  this  should  be  added  the  royalty  of  $2  per  ton,  which  for  the  average 
production  of  365, 600  will  amount  to 731,200  00 

Which  makes  a  total  of 1,772,260  00 


The  item  of  drainage  is  not  included  in  the  above,  as  the  tunnel  will 
thoroughly  drain  all  the  mines  connected  with  it  without  cost.  This 
is  not  a  favorable  showing  for  the  economy  of  working  by  the  tunnel, 
but  it  should  be  stated  that  while  the  act  of  Congress  authorizes  the 
tunnel  company  to  make  a  charge  of  25  cents  per  ton  per  mile  for  trans- 
portation of  ore,  rock,  debris,  &c.,  it  is  claimed  by  Mr.  Sutro  that  such 
transportation  can  be  done  profitably  at  10  cents  per  ton,  and  that  no 
higher  tariff  will  be  demanded.  It  is  also  understood  that  a  similar 
diminution  will  be  made  in  the  charge  for  transportation  of  workmen. 


10  SUTRO    TUNNEL. 

Such  reductions  in  tariff  would  make  a  material  change  in  the  estimate 
given  above,  which  would  then  stand  as  follows  : 

Lowering  365,600  tons  pay-ore  to  tunnel  level,  at  10  cents §36, 560 

Transportation  of  same  an  average  of  five  miles,  at  50  cents 182,  800 

Transportation  of  3, 000  workmen  at  20  cents,  or  $600  per  day 210,  000 

433, 360 
Royalty  on  365,600  tons  ore,  at  $2 731,200 

Total '. 1,169,560 

Even  with  this  reduction  in  tariff,  the  balance  would  be  against  work- 
ing through  the  tunnel  when  the  royalty,  which  is  the  most  important 
item,  is  included,  (at  lower  levels  the  comparison  would  be  more  favor- 
able ;)  and  were  there  no  other  considerations  to  be  taken  into  account, 
the  opinion  of  the  commission  would  necessarily  be  against  the  tunnel  in 
the  point  of  economy  of  operating  the  mines. 

Before  presenting  these  other  considerations  it  should  be  stated  that 
not  one  of  the  superintendents  of  mines  has  expressed  himself  in  fa- 
vor of  a  change  in  the  present  mode  of  working;  and  that  some  of 
them  have  given  the  opinion,  in  effect,  that  should  the  tunnel,  when 
completed,  with  all  its  drifts  and  branches,  be  offered  free  of  charge, 
not  one  mine  on  the  Coinstock  would  be  operated  through  it,  for  the 
reason  that  the  present  mode  of  working  would  be  cheaper  and  more 
expeditious.  This  opinion  is,  no  doubt,  founded  upon  the  supposition, 
as  it  is  indeed  stated  in  one  of  these  reports,  that  the  ore  taken  through 
the  tunnel  to  its  mouth  is  afterward  to  be  transported  to  the  present 
mills,  thereby  involving  a  cost  for  transportation  about  equal,  perhaps, 
to  what  is  now  paid  for  carrying  the  ore  from  the  mouths  of  the  shafts  to 
the  mills.  Were  the  present  mills  to  be  employed  for  the  reduction  of 
the  ore  brought  out  through  the  proposed  tunnel,  this  opinion  would, 
no  doubt,  be  correct,  and  the  tunnel  project  would  have  to  be  condemned. 
But  it  is  a  part,  and  an  essential  part,  too,  of  the  scheme  to  have  re- 
duction works  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  to  be  operated  by  the  water- 
power  of  the  Carson  liiver,  by  which  the  cost  of  the  further  transporta- 
tion of  the  ore  alluded  to  above  will  be  saved.  This  plan,  which  is  one 
of  the  considerations  to  which  we  have  referred,  would  involve  the  sup- 
pression of  the  present  mills,  or  at  any  rate  such  of  them  as  now  draw 
their  supplies  of  ores  from  mines  which  would  use  the  tunnel,  and 
also  seriously  injure  financially  the  railroad  leading  to  Carson  City, 
which  was  built  for,  and  mainly  depends  upon,  the  carrying  of  the  ores 
to  the  reduction  works.  So  far  as  the  milling  interests  are  concerned 
this  would  be  of  comparatively  small  consequence,  and  the  machinery 
requires  renewal  in  large  part  every  two  or  three  years,  and  the  mills 
would  be  maintained  in  the  interval  with  a  view  to  their  abandonment 
on  the  completion  of  the  tunnel  or  to  the  transfer  of  their  machinery  to 
new  sites  at  its  mouth.  To  the  railroad,  however,  the  results  would  be 
more  injurious,  as  the  interests  outside  of  the  transportation  of  ore, 
timber,  and  other  supplies  for  the  mines,  would  probably  not  be  suffi- 
cient for  its  maintenance.  How  far  these  injuries  to  vested  interests 
should  influence  action  in  regard  to  the  construction  of  the  proposed 
tunnel,  is  not  for  the  commission  to  determine.  It  is  clear,  however,  that 
the  successful  working  of  the  tunnel  would  have  an  effect  upon  the  rail- 
road similar  to  that  which  the  latter  has  produced  upon  the  very  excel- 
lent and  costly  wagon-roads  which  were  constructed  to  facilitate  trans- 
portation in  the  earlier  days  of  mining  upon  the  Coins tock. 

As  has  been  stated,  the  tunnel  project  includes,  as  an  important  and, 


SUTRO   TUNNEL.  11 

indeed,  inseparable  adjunct,  the  establishment  of  mills  at  its  mouth,  for 
the  reduction  of  the  ore;  and  in  order  that  these  should  be  separated 
cheaply  and  successfully,  a  sufficiency  of  water-power  is  necessary. 
Water,  to  some  extent,  may  be  counted  upon  from  the  drainage  through 
the  tuiiuel,  a  quantity  sufficient,  perhaps,  for  purposes  other  than  mo- 
tive1 power,  but  not  for  running  the  mills,  the  power  for  which,  suppos- 
ing water  only  is  to  be  used,  is  to  be  had  from  the  Carson  Eiver  alone. 

This  stream,  which  has  its  sources  in  the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains, 
and  is  fed  almost  entirely  from  its  melting  snows,  is  not  at  all  times  to 
be  depended  upon  in  its  natural  condition  for  a  supply  of  power.  Art 
is  here  necessary  in  aid  of  nature.  At  certain  seasons  of  the  year  this 
river  becomes  a  rushing  torrent,  overflowing  its  banks  and  covering  its 
valley  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  for  a  considerable  extent ;  at 
others,  it  is  reduced  to  a  comparatively  insignificant  rivulet.  When  the 
commission  was  in  Nevada,  it  was  represented  to  be  at  about  its  lowest 
stage,  and  all  its  water,  when  led  into  the  flumes,  was  insufficient  to  run 
the  mills  established  along  its  valley  to  their  full  capacity. 

In  carrying  out  fully  that  part  of  the  project  which  requires  the  es- 
tablishment of  mills  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  it  will,  therefore,  be 
necessary  to  secure  by  artificial  aid  an  adequate  supply  of  water  for 
running  them  at  all  seasons  of  the  year — at  those  times  in  which  the 
flow  is  insufficient,  as  well  as  those  in  which  the  supply  is  far  beyond 
what  is  necessary.  This,  it  is  believed,  may  be  accomplished  by  the 
construction  of  a  high  dam  across  a  narrow  gorge  of  the  Carson  Eiver, 
some  five  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  which,  by  damming 
back  its  waters,  shall  form  a  lake  or  reservoir  that  will  afford  a  supply 
during  all  seasons  of  the  year,  for  operating  all  the  mills  required  for 
reduction  of  the  ore  which  can  be  taken  from  the  Comstock  and  from  the 
other  lodes  which  may  be  intersected  by  the  tunnel.  That  this  can  be 
accomplished,  the  commission  does  not  entertain  a  doubt ;  yet  it  should 
be  understood  that  this  opinion  is  based  upon  observation  alone,  and 
not  upon  its  actual  survey.  It  should  be  here  stated,  by  way  of  expla- 
nation of  the  reasons  why  the  commission  did  not  institute  surveys  for 
ascertaining  exactly  all  the  points  involved  in  this  connection,  was  that 
it  did  not  come  within  the  original  project  of  the  Sutro  Tunnel  scheme, 
and  its  importance  was  not  so  clearly  seen  while  the  commission  was  in 
Nevada,  as  it  is  at  the  writing  of  this  report,  when  the  various  data, 
upon  which  many  of  its  conclusions  are  founded,  have  been  fully  ex- 
amined and  compared.  The  opinion  we  have  expressed  is,  however, 
borne  out  by  the  rather  imperfect  examinations  made  since  our  visit  by 
the  tunnel  company,  through  the  agency  of  the  surveyor  general  of  Ne- 
vada. The  commission  is,  however,  of  the  belief  that  his  results  are 
less  favorable  to  the  project  than  a  more  detailed  survey  would  have 
shown.  The  report  of  the  surveyor  general,  furnished  by  the  tunnel 
company  to  the  commission,  will  be  found  in  the  appendix. 

But  should  the  foregoing  be  practicable,  it  still  seems  necessary  to  the 
economical  working  by  the  tunnel,  as  against  the  present  mode  of  oper- 
ating the  mines,  that  an  improved  system  of  concentration  of  ores 
should  be  established.  It  is  claimed  by  the  advocates  of  the  tunnel 
that,  with  an  abundant  supply  of  water,  concentration  works  may  be 
put  up  after  the  methods  followed  in  the  mining  regions  of  Germany 
and  England,  by  which  the  refuse  matter  may  be  mechanically  separated 
from  the  valuable  ores,  so  that  only  one  ton  in  fifty,  perhaps,  need  be 
subjected  to  the  process  of  reduction  for  securing  the  .precious  metals. 
According  to  the  accounts  received  of  the  workings  of  the  German 
mines,  ores  assaying  less  than  $5  per  ton  are  mined  with  profit,  and  that 


SUTEO  TUNNEL. 


ID  the  English  mines,  in  Cornwall,  one  is  worked  which  produces  inlv 
three  ounces  ot  sll        or  say  $3  9Q        tou  en  P.O  rtua  s  only 

yield  six  ounces  and  ten  ounces  respectively,  and  all  at  a  profit  through 
unproved  methods  of  concentration.  The  commission  l  te  ex  *  "sf  d 
much  dihgence  toward  ascertaining  the  actual  facts  in  ro''  ml  to  tl  ese 
statements,  as  they  are  of  the  highest  importance  in  coX'c  ion  with 
the  question  under  'consideration;  and  it  has  visited  the  Passaic  mine 
at  Irankhn  New  Jersey,  and  the  Lehigh  mine,  near  Bethlehem 
sylvjima  ,  where  machines,  claimed  to  be  constructed  after  the 
employed  in  Germany  and  England,  are  used  iu  the  concentration 

is  applicable  to 


Nevada  it  ,8  not  far  from  35  per  cent,  in  milling^  with  a  savin'-  «  per 
haps  10  per  cent,  more  in  the  subsequent  workings  of  the  tailings  and 
dimes,  making  less  than  75  per  cent,  in  all.  The  actual  loss  in  re  SctZ 


o  per  cent,  i 

It  would  appear  to  be  very  singular  that  this  saving  should  not  be 
made  m  the  working  of  the  most  important  mines  in  our  country  rf  the 
statements  just  referred  to  are  reliable,  But  it  is  denied  by  some  of 
the  mining  authorities  upon  the  Comstock  that  this  statement  is  coirect 
and  it  was  asserted  that  large  sums  had  been  offered  in  vain  for  pro- 
ducing like  results.  Indeed  it  seems  quite  impossible,  from  the  informa- 
tion we  have  been  able  to  obtain,  to  speak  positive  upon  the  subject 
A  personal  examination  of  the  foreign  mines  referred  to  by  one  or  more 
competent  individuals  is  the  only  sure  mode  of  ascertaining  the  actual 
facts,  as  applicable  to  the  treatment  of  the  ores  of  the  Comstock  Yet 
some  better  mode  of  reduction  than  is  now  practiced  in  Nevada  may 
undoubtedly  be  devised,  which  shall  secure  a  part  at  least  rf  the  iS 
amount  now  lost  in  the  separation  of  the  precious  ores  from  the  refuse 
matter. 

Still  another  consideration  appeals  strongly  for  this  economy  in  the 
working  of  the  ores—in  the  saving  of  a  large  percentage  of  metal  now 
lost  in  reduction.     Of  the  bodies  of  ore,  other  than  those  of  low  grade 
now  known  to  exist  in  the  Comstock,  the  greater  part  will  be  worked 
out  before  the  tunnel  will  be  completed.     Whether  other  bodies  will  be 
discovered  is  a  matter  of  conjecture.     That  the  lode  is  a  true  fissure 
vein  is,  in  the  opinion  of  the  commission,  beyond  question.    But  whether 
the  vein  will  continue  to  be  metal-bearing  to  indefinite  depths  cannot 
be  stated  with  any  degree  of  certainty,  though,  in  the  opinion  of  the 
commission,  the  weight  of  reasoning  and  the  experience  in  mining  in 
other  parts  of  the  world  largely  favor  such  continuance.    But,  supposin  «• 
hat  no  further  deposits  of  the  precious  metals  should  be  discovered 
the  tunnel  if  constructed,  would  have  to  depend  upon  the  workin-  of 
the  large  bodies  of  low-grade  ores,  which  have  thus  far  been  passed 
oyer  as  unprofitable  under  the  present  expensive  system  of  mining  and 
reduction.     That  such  ores  exist  in  large  quantities  in  the  mines?  con- 
taming  from  eight  or  ten  to  twenty-five  dollars  per  ton,  is  generally 
admitted,  and  seems  to  be  undeniable,    Only  one  of  the  mining  super- 
intendent with  whom  we  conferred  doubted   this,  and  his  opinion, 
we  are  satisfied  from  other  testimony,  is  erroneous.    Ores  milling  less 


SUTRO    TUNNEL.  13 

than  about  $20  per  tori,  or  assaying  less  than  about  $30,  cannot  be 
mined  with  profit  under  the  present  imperfect  process  of  reduction  and 
the  high  price  of  labor  which  prevails  in  the  mining  districts  of  Nevada. 
Economy  must,  therefore,  be  sought  for  before  the  immense  amount  of 
low-grade  ores  can  be  profitably  worked ;  and  this  economy  is  to  be 
found  in  improved  modes  of  reducing  the  ores,  including  concentration  5 
in  the  general  application  of  water-power,  and  in  the  more  general  sub- 
stitution of  machinery  for  manual  labor,  rather  than  in  a  reduction  of 
the  present  rates  of  wages.  A  savin  g^ of  95  per  cent,  of  the  gold  and 
silver  contained  in  the  ore,  as  is  asserted  to  be  the  case  in  the  German 
mines  of  similar  character  to  the  Comstock,  would  go  far  toward  giving 
value  to  the  millions  contained  in  the  low-grade  ores  which  have  been 
thrown  aside  or  passed  over  as  worthless.  While  it  is  not  assumed  that 
mining  can  be  carried  on  as  cheaply  here  as  in  Europe,  owing  to  the 
higher  value  of  labor  in  our  country,  it  is  not  seen  why,  in  other  respects, 
the  cost  to  us  should  be  greater,  provided  we  adopt  the  same  or  im- 
proved means  in  the  reduction  of  the  ores.  If,  therefore,  ores  assaying 
but  $5  per  ton  can  be  there  mined  and  reduced  at  a  profit,  we  do  not 
see  why  ores  of  the  same  character  assaying  $10  may  not  be  profitably 
worked  with  us,  with  our  higher  rates  of  labor.  This  would  render 
valuable  the  vast  amount  of  now  worthless  low-grade  ores  in  the  Coin- 
stock,  and  add  millions  to  the  world's  circulation.  Hence  the  importance 
to  the  nation  of  any  scheme  which  promises  increased  economy  in  the 
working  of  mines. 

Whether  the  Sutro  Tunnel  project  fulfils  this  condition  of  economy 
depends,  in  the  opinion  of  the  commission,  upon  the  practicability  of 
securing  a  sufficient  water-power  from  the  Carson  Eiver,  at  all  seasons, 
for  the  reduction  of  the  ores,  the  possibility  of  which,  though  not  fully 
proved  by  accurate  surveys,  no  doubt  is  entertained,  and  upon  the 
efficacy  of  the  methods  employed  in  Germany  and  other  countries  of 
Europe  for  the  concentration  of  ores,  of  which  we  are  unable  to  vouch. 

Assuming  the  correctness  of  these  two  points,  of  abundant  water  and 
of  concentration  of  ores,  we  would  express  an  opinion  favorable  to  the 
tunnel  and  its  accessories  as  an  economical  mode  of  working  the  mines 
of  the  Comstock;  otherwise,  we  should  advise  that  the  mines  continue 
to  be  operated  as  at  present  practiced. 

FEASIBILITY  OF  THE  TUNNEL. 

Of  the  practicability  of  the  project  there  is  no  doubt.  It  is  a  question 
of  cost  alone.  So  many  tunnels  have  been  run  in  this,  as  well  as  in  other 
countries,  through  material  much  more  difficult,  that  no  reasonable 
grounds  exist  for  questioning  the  feasibility  of  the  one  we  are  con- 
sidering. So  far  as  surface  indications  are  to  be  relied  upon,  the  rocks 
to  be  penetrated  do  not  differ  materially  from  those  which  are  met  with 
in  the  operations  on  the  Comstock,  in  the  shafts,  drills,  and  winzes 
which  have  been  opened  in  those  mines  in  the  search  for  the  precious 
metals.  While  it  is  quite  impossible  to  predict  with  any  degree  of  cer- 
tainty exactly  what  kinds  of  rock  will  be  met  with  in  the^ progress  of  the 
tunnel,  or  in  what  proportions,  it  is  safe  to  assume  that  nothing  will  be 
encountered  which  will  offer  any  serious  obstacle  to  the  miner.  We, 
therefore,  dismiss  this  portion  of  the  investigation  with  the  expression 
of  the  opinion  of  the  commission  in  favor  of  the  entire  feasibility  of  the 
tunnel  project,  so  far  as  its  construction  is  concerned. 


14  SUTRO    TUSTNEL. 

COST  OF  THE  TUNNEL. 

In  making  the  estimate  of  cost,  the  commission  has  been  governed 
mainly  by  costs  of  shafts  and  drifts  in  the  mines  on  the  Comstock,  and 
by  the  actual  expenditures  as  reported  by  the  tunnel  company  in  run- 
ning its  preliminary  tunnel  or  drift,  which,  as  has  been  stated,  has 
already  penetrated  over  2,500  feet  under  the  mountains  lying  between 
its  mouth  and  the  lode.  Taking  all  these  elements  of  information  into 
consideration,  an  average  of  cost  per  foot  of  length  has  been  deduced, 
which,  in  the  judgment  of  the  commission,  is  as  reliable  as  any  that  can 
be  arrived  at  for  an  estimate  for  a  tunnel  which  is  to  run  for  so  great  a 
length  through  rocks,  the  character  of  which  can  only  be  judged  of,  and 
then  only  imperfectly,  by  surface  indications.  This  cost,  which  is  given 
for  the  main  tunnel  and  its  shafts  separately  from  that  of  the  cross  or 
branch  tunnel,  is : 

For  the  main  tunnel  and  four  shafts .  — $2, 707, 595  15 

For  the  branch  tunnel  and  two  shafts  ...^ 1,710,734  35 


Total  in  gold .- 4,418,329  50 


This  estimate,  the  details  of  which  are  given  in  the  appendix,  em- 
braces all  the  expenditures  supposed  to  be  necessary  for  the  completion 
of  the  work,  including  machinery,  fuel,  shelter,  superintendence,  &c. 
It  is  but  proper  to  remark,  however,  that  its  correctness  will  depend  in 
a  large  degree  upon  the  character  of  rock  met  with,  and  may  be  either 
too  large  or  too  small  as  the  difficulties  shall  be  found  to  exceed  or  fall 
short  of  the  supposition  upon  which  the  estimate  is  based.  The  prices 
stated  are  in  gold,  which  is  the  only  basis  of  value  recognized  in  Nevada. 

TIME  REQUIRED  FOR  THE  CONSTRUCTION  OF  THE  TUNNEL. 

Our  estimates  are  based  upon  the  progress  made  in  the  shafts  and 
drifts  in  the  mines  of  the  Comstock  lode,  and  also  upon  the  actual  prog- 
ress in  the  construction  of  the  preliminary  tunnel  so  far  as  it  has  been 
prosecuted,  all  of  which  have  been  executed  by  manual  labor.  Under 
this  supposition  of  progress  it  will  require  1,186  days,  or  about  three  and 
one-fourth  years,  for  the  completion  of  the  main  tunnel  after  the  work 
shall  have  been  fairly  commenced  at  all  the  shafts  ;  and  if  the  cross  or 
branch  tunnel  be  commenced  at  the  same  time,  as  it  may  be,  and  pushed 
forward  correspondingly,  the  whole  may  be  completed  in  nearly  the 
same  time ;  that  is,  in  about  three  and  four-tenths  years  after  vigorous 
operations  shall  have  been  undertaken  upon  all  parts.  But  if  ma- 
chinery be  judiciously  employed,  there  seems  to  be  no  doubt  that  the 
tunnel  may  be  completed  in  two  and  three-tenths  years.  Considerable 
attention  has  been  given  to  the  subject  of  the  application  of  machinery 
to  this  object,  resulting  in  the  conviction  that  the  time  needed  for  the 
completion  of  the  tunnel,  beyond  what  would  be  required  if  manual 
labor  alone  were  employed,  may,  by  its  use,  be  shortened  at  least  one- 
third. 

THE  VALUE  OF  THE  BULLION  EXTRACTED  FROM  THE  MINES  ON  THE 

COMSTOCK  LODE. 

To  ascertain  with  perfect  accuracy  the  total  value  of  the  bullion 
extracted  from  the  mines  of  this  lode  is  quite  impossible,  owing  to  the 
almost  total  absence  of  records  during  the  early  days  of  mining.  The 


SUTRO   TUNNEL.  15 

commission  Las,  however,  obtained  a  statement  of  the  bullion  sent  by 
express,  by  which  it  has  been  mainly  transported,  amounting' for  the  ten 
years  from  1861  to  1870.  both  inclusive,  to  $123,607,278;  and  it  is  the 
opinion,  of  those  well  informed  upon  the  subject,  that  the  product  of 
the  mines  previously  to  1861,  including  bullion  taken  away  by  private 
parties,  will  swell  the  total  production,  irom  1859  to  1871,  to  $125,000,000. 

PRESENT  AND  PROBABLE  FUTURE  PRODUCTION. 

The  mines  which  are  now  productive  are  given  below,  with  the  amount 
of  bullion  for  the  last  year  so  far  as  ascertained;  all  the  other  mines 
on  the  ledge  being  engaged  in  prospecting  only: 

1.  Savage $818,216  50 

2.  Hale&  Norcross 1,632,500  03 

3.  Chollar  Potosi 3,455,423  08 

4.  Yellow  Jacket 2,000,000  00 

5.  Kentuck Not  reported. 

6.  Crown  Point Do. 

7.  Uelcber Do. 

The  present  annual  production  may,  it  is  believed,  be  taken  with  suf- 
ficcnt  accuracy  at  $15,000,000. 

As  regards  the  probable  future  yield,  no  claim  can  be  made  to  any- 
thing like  accuracy,  except  in  the  few.  instances  in  which  ore-bodies  are 
now  developed.  The  commission  has  already  stated  its  belief  in  the 
lode  being  what  is  known  as  a  true  fissure  vein,  or  as  continuing  down- 
ward indefinitely  in  the  crust  of  the  earth ;  but  whether  the  vein  will 
continue  to  be  ore-bearing  cannot  be  predicted  with  any  degree  of  cer- 
tainty. It  is  a  matter  of  opinion,  to  be  based,  however,  upon  proba- 
bilities and  the  actual  results  experienced  in  deep  mining  in  other  parts 
of  the  world.  These,  in  the  judgment  of  the  commission,  favor  the 
finding  of  ore  down  to  the  lowest  depths  that  can  be  reached;  and  that 
this  opinion  is  shared  by  most  of  the  mining  authorities  seems  to  be 
shown  by  their  continued  downward  search. 

Some  few  of  the  mines,  as  the  Crown  Point,  Belcher,  Hale  &  Norcross, 
and  Yellow  Jacket,  have  ore  enough  in  sight  to  occupy  them  for  three 
or  four  years  to  come;  others,  like  the  Savage,  will  exhaust  all  known, 
bodies  in  a  shorter  time,  while  others  still  will  have  to  depend  for  their 
future  upon  the  success  of  the  prospecting  in  which  they  are  engaged, 
or  upon  the  low-grade  ores  which  have  been  passed  over  or  thrown 
aside  as  not  paying  for  the  cost  of  working ;  this  last  involving  the 
necessity  for  a  large  economy  beyond  what  is  now  practical  in  the 
working  of  the  mines  and  in  the  transportation  and  reduction  of  the 
ores. 

ON  THE  "GEOLOGICAL  AND  PRACTICAL  VALUE"  OF  THE  SUTRO  TUN- 
NEL "AS  AN  EXPLORING  WORK." 

-  In  view  of  the  limitations  contained  in  the  law,  the  commissioners 
confined  their  geological  investigations  to  the  line  of  the  tunnel  and  its 
immediate  vicinity. 

To  the  works  of  Baron  Eichthofen,  who  devoted  many  months  to  a 
careful  examination  of  the  rock  formations  of  the  Washoe  district;  to 
Professor  Whitney,  who  determined  by  barometrical  measurements  the 
elevation  of  the  mountains  and  valleys,  and  determined  the  geologic 
age  ot  the  deposits  near  Dayton  ;  and,  finally,  to  the  able  report  of  Mr. 
Clarence  King,  recently  issued  from  the  Government  press,  we  ackuowl- 


16  SUTRO    TUNNEL. 

edge  our  obligations.    With  the  extended  labor  of  these  gentlemen  on- 
the  general  geology  of  the  country,  it  is  not  a  subject  of  regret  that 
economic  geology,  with  its  special  application,  forms  the  limit  of  our 
investigation. 

The  entire  region  in  the  vicinity  of  Virginia  City  gives  the  evidence 
of  an  extensive  dynamical  disturbance,  continued  through  a  long  period 
of  time  with  more  or  less  activity.  Volcanic  action  to  an  extent  and  of 
an  intensity  not  met  with  in  modern  times,  has  played  an  important 
part  in  the  formation  of  numerous  mountain  peaks,  and  in  giving  to  the 
scenery  a  broken  and  rugged  aspect,  which  is  heightened  by  the  ster- 
ility of  the  soil.  Without  a  tree  or  shrub  to  relieve  the  eye,  excepting 
the  sickly-looking  artemesia  or  sage-brush,  struggling  for  existence,  the 
broken  and  jagged  trachytic  rocks  impart  a  character  of  wilderness  to 
the  country,  and  the  name  of  "Devil's  Gate,"  given  to  one  of  the  passes, 
indicates  the  feeling  which  prompted  the  first  rude  settlers  to  bestow 
such  a  name  to  the  rugged  scenery.  Passing  from  Virginia  City  east- 
ward for  a  distance  of  four  miles  in  a  right  line,  we  reach  the  compara- 
tively fertile  valley  of  the  Carson,  while  within  the  range  of  vision  to  the 
northward  the  sand  clouds  may  be  seen  sweeping  over  the  desert  region 
known  as  the  Sink  of  the  Humboldt.  We  do  not  design  giving  a  full 
topographical  description  of  this  interesting  but  sterile  country,  but 
desire  to  convey  the  idea  of  the  worthlessuess  of  these  mountains  except 
for  the  boundless  wealth  in  minerals  which  they  contain. 

The  various  ages  and  modes  of  deposit  of  the  rock  formations  have 
an  important  practical  bearing,  and  require  our  special  attention. 

Mount  Davidson,  from  its  height  and  position,  as  well  as  from  its  litho- 
logical  character,  was  the  first  to  make  its  appearance  amid  the  snow 
mountain  peaks  of  the  Washoe  district.  It  is  a  syenitic  rock,  compact 
in  structure,  difficult  to  work,  and  bears  important  relations  to  the 
Com  stock  lode,  forming  the  west  wall  for  a  considerable  distance,  if  not 
through  its  entire  extent.  The  elevation  of  Mount  Davidson  has  been 
determined  at  7,827  feet,  its  summit  rising  1,022  feet  above  Virginia 
City,  and  has  a  range  of  outcroppings  of  quartz  rock  skirting  its  eastern 
side  some  1,500  feet  below  its  summit. 

To  the  eastward  on  the  line  of  the  proposed  tunnel  are  numerous  hills, 
intersected  by  valleys  or  deep  ravines,  extending  to  the  plains  of  the 
Carson  Eiver. 

Next  in  order  to  the  syenite  is  an  extensively  diffused  volcanic  rock 
called  propylite,  which  was  spread  over  the  entire  portion  of  the  tunnel 
section.  This  is  the  green-stone  or  "  green-stone  trap"  of  the  miners, 
and  works  with  great  facility.  It  is  thickly  studded  with  fine  granules 
and  occasionally  with  distinct  crystals  of  sulphuret  of  iron.  It  is  im- 
portant as  furnishing  the  eastern  or  hanging  rock  of  the  Comstock  lode. 

Through  the  propylite,  at  a  later  period,  volcanic  craters  have  been 
opened,  and  formed  by  their  ejections  hills  or  mountains  of  considerable 
elevation,  varying  much  in  their  color,  compactness,  and  the  circumstances 
attending  their  formation.  The  most  common  variety  of  this  trachy- 
tic rock  is  a  simple  greyish,  pasty  mixture,  with  its  particles  loosely  ce- 
mented together,  easily  worked  with  the  pick,  except  at  considerable 
depths,  when  it  becomes  compact  and  is  useful  as  a  building-stone.  The 
structure  of  the  rock  indicates  that  the  volcanic  ashes  of  which  it  is 
composed  were  ejected  in  connection  with  water  or  steam  and  cooled 
rapidly  after  its  deposit.  The  mud  volcanoes  of  Western  Mexico  fur- 
nish a  type  of  this  form  of  deposit.  Another  variety  of  the  same  color, 
with  numerous  crystals  of  glassy  feldspar  diffused  through  its  mass, 
from  which  it  has  received  the  name  of  sauadin  trachyte,  was  deposited 


SUTRO    TUNNEL.  17 

ill  a  similar  manner,  but  cooling-  slowly  gave  an  opportunity  for  the  play 
'of  chemical  affinities,  by  which  the  crystals  were  formed,  and  a  more 
compact  structure  of  the  rock  resulted. 

A  third  variety,  with  a  color  ashy  grey,  or  of  a  more  or  less  deep  red 
color,  is  found  one  and  a  half  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel.  With 
the  same  chemical  constituents,  except  the  addition  of  oxyde  of  iron, 
we  have  in  this  a  firm,  hard  rock,  working  with  difficulty. 

Still  another  variety  of  considerable  practical  importance  is  met  with, 
which  has  been  passed  through  for  a  distance  of  750  feet  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  tunnel,  which  may  be  distinguished  under  the  name 
of  trachytic  conglomerate.  It  is  characterized  by  numerous  angular 
masses,  sometimes  of  great  size,  cemented  together  by  the  ash-colored 
trachytic  matter,  and  offering  to  the  drill  and  giant  powder  serious  ob- 
stacles to  rapid  progress  in  the  work  of  constructing  the  tunnel.  This 
formation  is  due  to  the  breaking  down  of  the  walls  of  the  crater  and  the 
projection  of  their  broken  up,  angular  masses  into  the  ashy  deposits  from 
the  volcano.  These  walls  were,  at  this  place,  composed  of  metamorphic 
porphyry,  the  fragments  of  which  are  now  held  together  firmly  by  the 
cementing  material. 

Numerous  recent  instances  might  be  cited  for  illustrating  the  action 
of  ancient  volcanoes,  the  same  laws  which  governed  in  former  times 
being  operative  at  the  present,  but  with  far  less  intensity. 

In  1813  a  volcanic  eruption  of  ashes  occurred  on  the  Island  of  St.  Vin- 
cent, which  fertilized  the  Island  of  Barbadoes,  the  ashes  falling  in 
Bridgetown  to  a  depth  of  several  inches.  The  amount  of  material 
thrown  out  must  have  been  immense,  as  the  transfer  was  made  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  trade-winds. 

The  once  beautiful  and  symmetrical  volcano  of  Consaguina,  in  Central 
America,  some  forty  years  ago  exploded  with  a  report  heard  at  Santa 
Fe  de  Bogota,  a  distance  in  a  right  line  of  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
miles,  and  emitted  ashes  in  such  quantities  that,  for  hundreds  of  square 
miles,  the  sun  was  obscured,  and  for  ten  days  made  a  midnight  darkness 
over  most  of  Honduras  and  San  Salvador.  -The  ruins  of  Pompeii  and 
Herculaneum  furnish  us  with  well-known  examples  of  similar  volcanic 
eruptions. 

The  other  formations  on  the  line  of  the  tunnel  are  of  much  less  conse- 
quence in  this  connection.  At  the  St.  John's  mine,  on  the  Monte  Christo 
lode,  is  a  deposit  of  granular  limestone,  which  disappears  at  some  200 
feet  in  depth  where  the  propylite  is  in  place. 

Andesite,  a  hard  hornbleudic  rock,  caps  one  of  the  hills  near  the  route 
of  the  tunnel.  This  is  of  volcanic  origin,  and  is  only  less  hard  than  ob- 
sidian, of  which  a  few  scattered  specimens  were  met  with. 

To  recapitulate,  we  have  for  a  basis  the  syenite  of  Mount  Davidson,, 
then  propylite,  (with  porphyry,)  sauidin  trachyte,  loosely  aggregated, 
and  compact  trachyte,  trachyte  conglomerate,  andesite,  and  carbonate 
of  lime  on  or  near  the  line  of  the  tunnel. 

It  becomes  a  matter  of  much  importance  to  determine  the  character 
of  the  rock  excavation  in  estimating  the  cost  of  construction  and  the 
time  required  to  complete  the  tunnel.  The  quartzite  met  with  in  the 
Hoosac  tunnel  has  greatly  impeded  the  progress  of  tbat  great  work, 
causing  a  weary  delay,  and  leading  to  great  expense  in  construction.. 
With  this  example  before  us  for  not  relying  upon  surface  indications 
alone  for  the  character  of  the  rock  excavation,  your  commissioners 
sought  every  indication  possible  for  obtaining  a  correct  idea  of  the  forma- 
tions through  which  the  Sutro  Tunnel  will  be  required  to  penetrate.  We- 
were  still  more  strongly  impressed  with  the  necessity  for  using  great 
S.  Ex.  15 2 


18  SUTRO    TUNNEL. 

Erecaution  in  our  determinations,  as  unexpected  results  had  already 
een  obtained  in  the  portion  of  the  tunnel  or  heading  which  had  been 
driven  some  2,300  feet.    The  surface  indicated  that,  for  this  and  a  much 
greater  distance,  the  tunnel  would  pass  through  trachytic  rock  only.    On 
the  contrary  the  following  results  were  obtained,  viz: 

Feet. 

1.  Trachytic  conglomerate 750 

2.  Trachyte 500 

3.  Trap-dyke 40 

4.  Red  clay 70 

5.  Blue  clay  (porphyriiic) 100 

6.  Porphyry 840 

The  firmness  of  the  conglomerate  will  be  sufficient  to  support  itself 
without  timbering.  All  the  others  will  require  this  support,  and  the 
blue  clay  continually  acts  upon  and  crushes  the  frame-work,  requiring 
constant  care  and  frequent  excavations  behind  the  timbers  to  prevent 
the  complete  closure  of  the  adit.  This  difficulty  is  encountered  in  many 
of  the  mines,  until ,  the  clay  becomes  sufficiently  dry  to  resist  the  great 
pressure  of  the  vast  body  of  the  same  material  behind  it.  No  part  of 
the  tunnel  will  cost  as  much  per  hundred  feet  as  that  passing  through 
this  clay. 

In  an  economic  view,  the  porphyry  and  propylite  may  be  considered 
the  same,  having  about  equal  density,  and  working  equally  well  under 
the  drill.  In  the  former,  a  greater  liability  exists  of  encountering  clay 
seams,  as  a  result  of  the  disintegration  of  the  feldspar,  which  enters 
largely  into  its  composition. 

With  but  comparatively  slight  exceptions,  these  two  formations  will 
be  the  only  ones  encountered  in  the  construction  of  the  tunnel,  for  they 
underlie  the  trachytic  and  other  volcanic  rocks,  and,  except  in  chimneys, 
these  later  formations  will  not  be  encountered. 

The  propylite  by  exposure  to  moist  air  too  readily  disintegrates  in 
consequence  of  the  changes  effected  in  the  sulphuret  of  iron,  with  which 
it  is  filled,  and  will  require  to  be  timbered  in  consequence.  All  the  cir- 
cumstances named  have  been  taken  into  consideration  in  forming  an 
estimate  of  cost,  and  as  an  element  in  determining  the  uiine  required  in 
construction. 

By  the  cooling  of  the  vast  field  of  propylite  which  had  been  poured 
out,  we  may  assume  that  the  contraction  was  sufficient  to  cause  a  vast 
fissure  near  or  at  its  junction  with  the  sienite. 

The  period  of  active  volcanic  movement  again  occurring,  there  was 
injected  from  below  a  body  of  quartz  in  quantity  sufficient  to  fill  this 
fissure.  Practically,  it  does  not  matter  whether  this  was  accomplished  by 
solfataric  action  or  by  direct  volcanic  forces,  or  whether  we  consider  the 
metallic  wealth  deposited  in  the  lode  by  super-heated  steam  and  the 
action  of  acids,  or  consider  that  with  the  silex  the  gold  and  silver  were 
thrown  up  by  the  same  force. 

We  know  that  for  a  distance  of  five  miles,  with  a  varying  width  of 
from  50  to  500  feet,  and  to  an  unexplored  depth,  the  Comstock  lode  is 
found  one  of  the  richest,  most  productive  and  extensive  in  the  records 
ef  mining. 

It  is,  however,  of  very  great  importance  to  determine  whether  the 
Comstock  be  a  true  fissure- vein,  as  declared  by  most  intelligent  geolo- 
gists, or  be  but  a  gash- vein,  with  its  material  filled  in  from  adjacent 
rocks.  The  permanency  of  the  mining  interests  of  Nevada  depends 
'upon  which  of  these  views  prove  correct.  In  the  first  contingency  we 
may  claim  that  no  true  fissure  vein  has  ever  been  worked  out,  and  from 


SUTRO    TUNXEL.  19 

analogy  we  may  draw  the  conclusion,  with  a  good  degree  of  certainty, 
that  the  Corastock  cannot  be  exhausted  by  the  labor  of  man.  If  but  a 
gash- vein,  the  conditions  are  so  changed  that  exhaustion  must  at  no 
distant  day  be  the  result.  In  a  careful  examination  of  the  rocks  near 
the  lode,  we  do  not  find  a  loss  of  any  proportion  of  the  quartz  which 
belongs  to  them.  From  whence,  then,  could  this  mineral  have  been 
derived  ?  Again,  the  only  source  of  supply  by  washing  in  must  have 
been  obtained  from  a  higher  level,  or  the  syenite  of  Mount  Davidson. 
This  would  imply  a  decomposition  of  that  rock ;  and  the  hornblende, 
one  of  its  constituents,  would  as  readily  be  carried  into  the  opening  as 
the  quartz.  The  hornblende  is  not  found  mingling  with  the  silicious 
deposit,  therefore  the  latter  could  not  have  been  received  from  the 
syenite. 

We  are  left  to  the  only  possible  explanation  of  the  occurrence  of  this 
wonderful  deposit,  i.  e.,  that  it  is  a  true  fissure-vein  filled  from  below, 
and,  like  other  fissure- veins,  extends  to  a  depth  beyond  the  power  of 
man  to  reach.  The  explanation  of  the  clay  selvages  bounding  the  vein- 
niatter,  the  formation  of  "horses'7  by  the  falling  of  portions  of  the 
hanging  rock,  the  exhaustion  of  rich  bonanzas  or  bodies  of  paying  ore, 
the  barren  condition  of  much  of  the  quartz,  are  none  of  them  peculiar 
to  the  Comstock  lode,  but  are  met  with  in  other  mines  of  a  similar  char- 
acter, and  have  been  fully  described  elsewhere.  The  crushed  and 
crumbly  condition  of  much  of  the  vein-matter  has  been  ascribed  to  dy- 
namical action,  supplemented,  doubtless,  by  chemical  changes  in  the 
sulphurets  met  with  in  considerable  quantities  in.  the  lode.  With  refer- 
ence to  the  future  productiveness  of  the  mines,  until  carefully  explored 
at  deep  levels,  much  must  be  left  to  conjecture.  The  mere  fact  that 
the  Comstock  is  a  true  fissure-vein  establishes  that  the  vein-matter  or 
quartz  extends  downward  indefinitely,  but  does  not  prove  that  this  ma- 
terial is  charged  with  the  precious  metals.  Reasoning  from  the  past 
history  of  fissure-veins  in  other  countries,  we  have  just  grounds  for  be- 
lieving that  the  metallic  wealth,  thousands  of  feet  below  the  surface, 
will  fully  equal  or  be  even  greater  than  that  from  higher  levels.  The 
Sampson  mine  in  Germany  has  reached  a  depth  of  3,000  feet  without 
any  diminution  of  its  yield  of  silver.  This,  compared  with  the  Com- 
stock, is  a  small  vein,  but  for  that  very  reason  is  far  more  likely  to  be 
lost  by  a  fault  than  one  of  the  magnitude  of  the  lode  under  considera- 
tion. 

It  is  quite  probable  that  at  great  depths  the  metals  are  more  equally 
distributed  through  the  vein  matter,  in  which  case  the  very  rich  ores 
will  not  be  met  with,  but  the  whole  mass  will  yield  an  equally  favora- 
ble result,  without  the  large  expenditures  required  in  drifting  for  bonan- 
zas. The  recent  discoveries  in  the  Crown  Point  and  Belcher  mines  of 
immense  bodies  of  "  rich  rock  "  at  nearly  1,700  feet  below  the  initial 
point  is  a  most  encouraging  feature  for  the  permanent  value  of  the 
lode. 

We  had  the  privilege  of  examining  such  portion  of  the  bonanza  of 
the  Crown  Point  as  had  been  uncovered,  estimated  to  be  worth 
$15,000,000,  with  a  prospect  of  equal  value  at  a  still  greater  depth. 
Judging  from  the  present  quotations  of  the  Belcher  stock,  this  latter 
mine  should  give  even  greater  results  than  the  Crown  Point. 

One  other  feature  of  the  recent  discovery  becomes  important  to  the 
mine  owners  and  to  the  country.  Upon  the  upper  levels  of  this  and 
some  other  mines,  if  not  in  all,  the  yield  of  gold  was  greater  in  value 
than  of 'silver.  As  the  mining  progressed  in  depth,  the  silver  yield  to 


20  SUTRO    TUNNEL. 

the  ton  of  ore  became  the  greater,  but  in  the  new  discoveries  the  more 
precious  metal  is  restored  to  its  previous  relative  proportion. 

An  examination  of  the  reports  of  superintendents  give  us  a  much 
higher  per  cent,  of  the  gold  contained  in  the  ore  secured  than  of  silver. 
In  the  report  of  the  Savage  mine,  of  this  year,  we  find  that  the  loss  in 
working  from  the  assay  value  of  the  ores  is,  of  gold,  25^  per  cent.,  fo 
silver,  34T2^  per  cent.  The  larger  the  proportion  of  gold  in  the  ore,  the 
less  absolute  loss  is  made  in  the  working. 

The  above  statement  is  the  result  of  the  workings  in  the  Occidental 
mill,  under  the  direct  control  of  the  Savage  Company,  and  includes  all 
savings  from  slime  and  tailings  secured  to  the  company. 

In  the  Custom's  mills,  the  report  shows  a  less  favorable  result  on  the 
silver  product,  as  follows :  Gold  loss,  23^  per  cent. ;  silver  loss,  44  per 
cent. 

It  may  not  be1  out  of  place  to  remark  that  the  loss  on  the  gold  pro- 
duct is  ascribed  to  "  float  gold,"  which  might  possibly  be  secured  by 
running  the  surface-water  or  "  float w  through  sponges/  The  loss  of  sil- 
ver is  due  to  a  failure  in  the  works  to  secure  the  sulphuret  of  silver, 
and,  to  a  limited  extent,  to  particles  of  clay,  carrying  with  them  minute 
portions  of  silver,  as  suggested  in  the  report  of  Mr.  Clarence  King. 

It  is  well  understood  by  all  who  have  given  their  attention  to  the 
subject,  that  the  inetalic  deposits  are  not  equally  diffused  through  the 
vein-matter,  but  are  found  in  detached  bodies  called  "  bonanzas."  This 
rule  holds  good  in  the  Comstock  lode  as  well  as  in  all  other  silver  lodes, 
having  quartz  as  a  gangue.  An  examination  of  the  mining  map,  ex- 
hibiting the  workings  of  this  lode  in  detail,  proves  the  deposition  of  the 
rich  ores  of  the  precious  metals  in  bodies,  and  the  comparatively  barren 
quartz  in  other  portions. 

There  is  no  law  yet  evolved  from  experience  or  science  for  determin- 
ing the  position  of  these  rich  bodies  of  ore  j  explorations  alone  can  dis- 
cover their  position  and  value.  It  is,  however,  sufficient  to  know  that 
they  are  confined  to  the  vein-matter,  and  their  discovery  may  be  ex- 
pected so  long  as  we  confine  our  workings  within  the  boundaries  of  the 
"  country  rocks." 

By  the  present  system  of  working  the  ores  from  these  mines,  rock 
that  yields  by  assay  less  than  $30  to  the  ton,  cannot  be  reduced  at  a 
profit. 

The  amount  of  low-grade  ores,  ranging  from  $10  to  $35  in  the  Com- 
stock lode,  amounts,  by  the  testimony  of  some  witnesses,  to  millions  of 
tons.  The  following  forms  a  small  portion  of  the  evidence  obtained 
upon  this  subject :  Colonel  Eequa,  superintendent  of  the  Chollar  Potosi 
mine,  in  his  various  reports,  mentions  the  large  amount  of  ores  that  at 
some  future  time  may  be  made  available  to  the  owners,  that  with  pres- 
ent prices  for  labor  and  by  the  present  processes  of  reduction  cannot 
be  utilized.  He  stated,  personally,  that  very  large  bodies  of  sixteen-dol- 
lar  ore  exist  in  the  mine. 

A  former  superintendent  of  the  Empire  and  Imperial  mine  stated 
that  while  in  charge  he  struck  a  body  of  ore  that  yielded  $19  per  ton, 
which,  at  the  then  cost  of  mining,  transport,  and  reduction,  did  not  pay. 
This  body  was  prospected  in  the  middle  of  the  lode,  more  than  100  feet 
wide,  to  a  depth  of  6  feet  only.  How  large  this  body  of  ore  may  be  he 
was  unable  to  state. 

Mr.  George  Atwood,  at  present  superintendent  of  the  Eberhart  mine, 
has  worked  as  foreman,  &c.,  for  eight  years  on  various  mines  of  the 
Comstock  lode,  states  that  in  the  south  mine  of  the  Ophir  a  body  of  ore 
exists  that  has  been  mined  and  used  for  filling  in  stopes  for  a  distance 


SUTRO   TUNNEL.  21 

of  300  by  300  by  100  feet,  which  will  average,  by  assay,  $20  per  ton. 
A  large  body  in  the  north  mine,  yielding  but  little  less,  is  found  in  place. 
Ife  further  states  that  in  the  Crown  Point,  on  the  200-feet  level,  an  es- 
timated amount  of  100,000  tons  of  ore,  that  will  assay  $20  per  ton,  may 
be  found.  Was  for  three  years  connected  with  that  mine,  and  is  tho- 
roughly acquainted  with  the  upper  levels. 

From  our  own  observation,  and  the  evidence  of  others,  we  do  not  hesitate 
in  stating  that  vast  amounts  of  what  are  designated  as  low-grade  ores 
abound  in  these  mines,  that  may  yet  be  made  available  in  increasing  the 
national  wealth. 

At  each  extremity  north  and  south  from  the  principal  mines  the  work- 
ings are  carried  on  exclusively  for  gold.  The  Sierra  Nevada  Company, 
the  most  northerly  of  the  group  now  in  operation,  is  understood  to  be 
profitably  engaged  in  working  the  loose  surface  rock  and  soil.  At  the 
other  extreme  the  Succor  mine  and  mill,  situated  on  Gold  Cation,  are  in 
operation ;  the  vein  of  precious  metal  having  been  followed  into  the 
mountain  1,300  feet,  and  the  ore  is  taken  to  the  mill  direct  through  a 
tunnel.  The  facilities  for  working  and  the  ecconomy  exhibited  has 
saved  the  stockholders  from  the  usual  heavy  assessments. 

A  careful  survey  of  the  adit  of  this  mine  developed  an  unexpected 
fact.  Following  the  windings  of  the  tunnel,  which  kept  pace  with  the 
sinuosities  of  the  vein  of  ore,  we  reached  the  same  character  of  quartz 
rock  that  had  become  familiar  to  us  in  the  mines  of  the  Comstock.  This 
was  an  accidental  discovery  of  the  miners  during  a  search  for  the  gold 
vein,  which  had  been  lost  from  a  fault.  This  "white  lode"  assayed 
822  CO  per  ton.  By  taking  the  bearings  by  compass  in  this  and  in  the 
Crown  Point  mine,  they  indicated  a  connection  with  each  other.  The 
theory  has  been  that  near  the  Overman  mine  the  vein  or  lode  bent 
around  to  American  Flat,  where  it  ceased.  Further  research  may  be 
necessary  to  establish  with  certainty  the  view,  that  a  branch  at  least  of 
the  Comstock  lode  passes  down  Gold  Canon  and  shows  itself  in  the 
Succor  mine,  one  and  a  half  miles  below  the  Crown  Point. 

The  appearances  indicate  that  the  "white  lode"  and  the  gold  vein 
will  at  no  great  distance  unite  to  form  a  rich  lead,  and  when  thus  joined 
the  value  of  the  gold  and  silver  lead  will  be  condensed  into  the  gaugue 
of  one  with  the  relative  proportions  of  gold  to  silver  now  met  with  in 
the  Crown  Point. 

The  value  of  the  proposed  Sutro  Tunnel  simply  as  an  exploring  work 
is  so  evident  as  to  be  scarcely  called  in  question.  Cutting,  as  it  does, 
at  right  angles  two  or  more  lodes  before  reaching  the  Comstock,  that, 
in  Europe,  would  be  deemed  valuable;  the  determination  of  their 
wealth  or  poverty  would  prevent  further  ruinous  outlays  in  prospecting. 
There  is  no  certainty  that  rich  bonanzas  will  be  met  with  in  the  pro- 
gress of  the  work,  but  that  an  abundance  of  moderately  rich  ores  will 
be  found  is  quite  probable.  We  found  at  the  Occidental  mine,  on  the 
Monte  Christo  lode,  two  adits  or  tunnels  had  been  run,  one  to  the  dis- 
tance of  1,850  feet  for  a  considerable  distance  through  crystalline  lime- 
stone, after  which  porphyry  and  then  propylite  made  their  appearance 
as  we  penetrated  the  tunnel. 

The  quartz  vein  is  often  broken  down  and  crumbly  and  colored  by 
oxide  of  iron.  In  the  limestone  excavated  we  noticed  arborescent  crys- 
tals of  manganese.  Extensive  galleries  and  wide  chambers  were  met 
with,  from  which  rock  working  from  $10  to  $33  had  been  taken.  The 
upper  tunnel  had  been  run  for  1,500  feet  and  connected  by  a  shaft  to 
the  lower  one.  We  noticed  that  the  current  of  air  passed  down  the 
shaft  and  out  at  the  lower  tunnel.  Much  of  the  quartz  rock  is  nearly 


22  SUTRO    TUNNEL. 

or  quite  barren,  but  we  were  informed  that  millions  of  tons  assaying 
from  $8  to  $10  to  the  ton  existed  in  the  mine.  We  believe  this  to  be  a 
fair  index  of  the  character  of  the  Monte  Christo  lode  which  we  visited 
in  other  localities.  What  developments  will  be  made  at  the  great 
depth  at  which  the  tunnel  will  cross  its  track  is,  of  course,  uncertain. 
The  heading  which  has  been  run  will,  if  continued  a  few  hundred  feet 
farther,  cut  the  "  Great  Flowery  lode,"  with  what  result  we  are  not 
prepared  to  predict. 

We  made  an  examination  of  the  Lady  Bryan  mine,  said  to  be  located 
on  this  lode.  The  croppings  of  quartz  rock  is  enormous  in  quantity, 
forming  a  hill  about  100  feet  high,  and  would  yield  for  the  whole  mass, 
as  we  were  informed  by  the  superintendent,  an  average  of  $8  per  ton  of 
silver. 

An  open  cut  has  been  made  through  the  hill  or  body  of  quartz  rock 
into  a  large  basin  formed  by  the  excavation  of  material,  some  of  it  valu- 
able, but  a  large  quantity  too  poor  for  working. 

Short  drifts  have  been  run  into  the  hill-sides  in  various  directions, 
which  at  the  time  of  our  visit  were  not  worked.  The  richer  ores  were 
being  assorted  for  milling,  the  mine  furnishing  but  eight  or  ten  tons  per 
day  of  valuable  material.  Only  ten  men  were  employed  on  the  works 
at  the  time,  the  mine  having  recently  passed  into  new  hands. 

With  reference  to  the  tunnel  cutting  Mind  lodes,  we  are  not  prepared 
to  express  an  opinion,  the  very  name  implying  a  complete  want  of  knowl- 
edge of  the  subject.  The  possibility  barely  exists,  with  the  past  history 
of  mining  giving  strong  practical  evidence  against  the  probability  of  a 
favorable  result. 

As  an  exploring  work,  we  think  the  Sutro  Tunnel  may  claim  to  deter- 
mine with  sufficient  certainty  the  ore-bearing  character  of  the  Great 
Flowery  and  Monte  Christo  lodes,  and  settle  definitely  the  question 
whether  the  Comstock  lode  at  great  depths  continues  in  richness  ;  or,  as 
is  believed  by  some,  becomes  worthless  as  the  deep  levels  are  opened. 
It  is  somewhat  remarkable,  as  bearing  on  this  subject,  that  the  Crown 
Point,  once  justly  esteemed  valuable,  and  ranking  high  in  the  stock 
board,  became  almost  worthless  under  the  supposition  that  the  mine 
was  worked  out.  By  the  energy  and  perseverance  of  the  superintendent, 
the  owners  were  rewarded  by  the  discovery,  at  deep  levels,  of  one  of  the 
richest  bonanzas  yet  found  on  the  Comstock  lode,  which  sent  the  stock 
up  from  $2  50  per  share  to  over  $300.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  at 
two  or  three  points  shafts  reaching  as  low  as  the  tunnel  will  be  sunk  by 
the  time  of  its  possible  completion.  This  will  not  be  so  complete  an 
exposure  of  the  value  of  the  lode  as  drifts  from  the  lateral  tunnel,  made 
at  comparatively  small  expense,  at  numerous  points  along  its  course. 

We  cannot  but  think,  therefore,  that,  as  an  exploring  work  for  deep 
mining,  the  Sutro  Tunnel  may  justly  claim  favorable  consideration. 

Eespectfullv  submitted. 

H.  G.  WEIGHT, 
Lieutenant  Colonel  of  Engineers,  Brevet  Major  General. 

J.  G.  FOSTER, 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Engineers,  and  Brevet  Major  General, 

United  States  Army. 
WESLEY  3STEWCOMB, 
Civil  and  Mining  Engineer. 

Brigadier  General  A.  A.  HUMPHREYS, 

Chief  of  Engineers,  United  States  Army,  Washington,  D.  C. 


SUTRO  TUNNEL.  23 

OFFICE  SUTRO  TUNNEL  COMMISSION, 

New  York,  December  2,  1871. 

GENERAL  :  1  have  the  honor  to  transmit  herewith  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Adolph  Sutro,*  iu  which  he  states  that  he  has  not  been  able  as  yet  to 
prepare  the  paper  which  he  desired  to  furnish,  relative  to  the  advan- 
tages of  the  tunnel  as  compared  with  the  present  method  of  working  the 
mines  5  but  he  incloses  a  printed  copy  of  a  speech  delivered  by  him  at 
Virginia  City,  in  support  of  his  project,  and  desires  that  it  may  be  added 
to  the  appendix  of  the  commissioners7  report. 

This  printed  speech  is  also  inclosed,  and  1  would  ask  that  it  be  at- 
tached to  the  appendix  of  the  report,  as  desired  by  Mr.  Sutro.    I  would 
further  suggest  that  his  letter  be  also  appended. 
Very" respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

H.  G.  WEIGHT, 
Lieutenant  Colonel  of  Engineers,  Brevet  Major  General, 

Senior  Officer  of  Commission. 

Brigadier  General  A.  A.  HUMPHREYS, 

Chief  of  Engineers,  United  States  Army,  Washington,  D.  C. 


APPENDIXES. 


APPENDIX  A. 

Estimates  of  cost  of  the  Sutro  Tunnel. 

Cost  of  sinking  shaft  No.  1,  109  square  feet  area  and  depth  of  530  feet, 
including  tools,  labor,  aud  materials  of  all  kinds,  at  $40  24  per  foot  of 
depth,  (being  the  average  cost  iu  the  seven  principal  mines  of  the  . 

Comstocklode) T $21,327  20 

Same,  shaft  No.  2,  109  square  feet,  1,025  feet  deep,  at  $40  24 41, 246  00 

Same,  shaft  No.  3,  109  square  feet,  1,319  feet  deep,  at  $40  24 53, 076  56 

Same,  shaft  No.  4,  109  square  feet,  1,499  feet  deep,  at  $40  24  60, 319  76 

Same,  shaft  No.  5,  109  square  feet,  1,465  feet  deep,  at  $40  24 58, 951  60 

Same,  shaft  No.  6,  109  square  feet,  1,465  feet  deep,  at  $40  24 58, 951  60 

Preliminary  tunnels  or  drifts. 

Cost  of  labor,  tools,  and  materials  of  all  kinds,  for  drift  of 

main  tunnel,  6  feet  wide,  7  feet  high,  and  19,790  feet  long, 

at  $16  90  per  running' foot,  (being  the  average  cost  of  2,185' 

feet  completed  July  1, 1871) $393, 821  00 

Deduct  value  of  one-half  of  timber  of  drift,  which  may  be 

used  again  as  the  enlargement  progresses 14, 644  60 

379, 176  40 

Cost  of  labor,  tools,  and  materials  of  all  kinds,  used  in  drifts 

of  branch  tunnel,  6  feet  by  7  feet,  by  12,000  feet  long,  at 

$10  90  per  running  foot 238,800  00 

Deduct  value  of  one^-half  timber  of  drifts  used  a  second  time        8, 880  00 

229,920  00 

Cost  of  enlargement  of  drift  to  full  size  of  tunnel,  13£  feet  by  12  feet,  by 

19,720  feet  long,  2,366,400  cubic  feet,  at  25  cents 591, 600  00 

Same,  of  branch  tunnel,  12,000  feet  long,  1,440,000  cubic  feet,  at  25  cents.  360,  000  00 
Cost  of  timbering  main  tunnel  full  size,  19,720  feet  in  length,  at  $17  34 

per  running  foot 341, 944  80 

Same,  of  the  branch  tunnel,  12,000  feet,  at  §17  34 208, 080  00 

*  See  Appendix  M. 


24  SUTRO    TUNNEL. 

Cost  of  general  material  and  sundries,  including  surveying  instruments, 
large  transit  building  for  the  same,  boarding  and  lodging  houses,  barns, 
horses,  carts,  magazines,  blowers,  air-pipes,  &c.,  for  four  shafts  of  main 

tunnel $66,439  00 

Same,  for  branch  tunnel,  two  shafts 20,000  00 

Cost  of  hoisting  and  pumping  engines  and  machinery  for  four  shafts  of 

main  tunnel 121, 679  00 

Same,  for  branch  tunnel,  two  shafts 108, 930  00 

Cost  of  boilers  and  parts,  four  shafts,  main  tunnel 33, 736  40 

Cost  of  boilers  and  parts,  two  shafts,  branch  tunnel 25, 256  00 

Cost  of  labor  and  materials  for  the  erection  of  machinery,  and  temporary 

buildings  to  cover  the  same,  for  the  four  shafts  of  main  tunnel 32, 265  00 

Same,  for  the  two  shafts  of  branch  tunnel 21, 510  00 

Cost  of  material  and  time  employed  in  attending  machinery  during  the 

sinking  of  four  shafts,  main  tunnel 138, 734  27 

Same,  for  the  two  shafts  of  branch  tunnel 82, 489  50 

Same,  during  the  running  of  the  preliminary  tunnel  of  the  main  tunnel. .  324, 784  90 

Same,  of  branch  tunnel 216,523  26 

Cost  of  appliances  for  hauling  rock  and  ore  out  of  main  tunnel 50, 000  00 

Cost  of  appliances  for  hauling  rock  and  ore  out  of  branch  tunnel 35, 000  00 

Add  for  office  expenses,  sunerintendence,  engineering,  and  contingencies, 

20  per  cent T 736,388  25 

Total  cost  in  gold 4, 418, 329  50 


RECAPITULATION. 

Main  tunnel.  Branch  tunnel. 

Sinking  shafts $175,969  52  $117,903  20 

Eunning  preliminary  tunnels 379, 176  40  229, 920  00 

Enlargement  of  drifts  to  size  of  tunnel 591,  600  00  360,  000  00 

Timbering  full-size  tunnel 341 , 944  80  208, 080  00 

General  materials  and  sundries 66, 439  00  20,  000  00 

Engines  and  machinery 121,67900  108,93000 

Boilers  and  attachments 33, 736  40  25, 256  00 

Erection  of  machinery  and  temporary  buildings  for  same.         32, 265  00  21, 510  00 

Attending  machinery  in  sinking  shafts 138, 734  27  82, 489  50 

Ditto  in  running  preliminary  tunnels 324, 784  90  216, 523  26 

Endless  wire-rope,  &c : 50,000  00  35rOOO  00 

2,256,329  29  1,425,611  96 

Office  expenses,  superintendence,  engineering,  contingen- 
cies, 20  per  cent .... 451,265  86  285,122  39 

2.707,595  15  1,710,734  35 

Time  required  to  complete  tunnel. 

Depth  of  shaft  No.  4,  (the  deepest) l,499feet. 

Average  daily  progress  in  the  shafts  of  the  Comstock 3  feet. 

Number  of  days  required  to  sink  shaft  No.  4  \  ,499  feet 500  days. 

Whole  length  of  main  tunnel 19, 790  feet. 

Distance  penetrated  by  preliminary  tunnel,  July  1,  1871 2, 185  feet. 

Average  daily  progress  in  preliminary  tunnel 4 nfo  feet. 

Distance  penetrated  when  shaft  No.  4  reaches  tunnel  level : 4, 260  feet. 

Distance  remaining  to  be  penetrated  at  that  time 15, 530  feet. 

Number  of  available  working  headings ' 9 

Greatest  distance  to  be  penetrated  by  any  drift  to  meet  the  drift  from  the 

adjacent  shaft 2,  432  feet. 

Time  required  to  run  above  distance  at  4.15  per  day 586  days. 

Total  time  required  to  sink  shafts  and  run  drifts 1,  086  days. 

Additional  time  required  to  enlarge  tunnel  to  full  size 100  days. 

Total  time  required  to  complete  main  tunnel 1, 186  days. 

Number  of  years  required  to  complete  main  tunnel 3£  years. 

Number  of  feet  of  branch  tunnel  run  from  four  headings  at  bottom  of 

shafts  Nos.  5  and  6,  1,465  feet  deep,  when  main  tunnel  is  completed  . . .  414  feet. 
Additional  time  required  to  extend  branch  tunnel  to  12,000  feet  working 

two  headings 50  days. 

Total  time  to  complete  main  and  branch  tunnels,  (manual  labor) 3^-  years. 

Total  time  to  complete  main  and  branch  tunnels,  (by  machinery) 2y0-  years. 


SUTRO   TUNNEL.  25 

APPENDIX  B. 

Circular  to  superintendent  of  mines. 

OFFICE  SUTRO  TUNNEL  COMMISSION, 

Virginia  City,  Nevada,  July  — ,  1871. 

SIR  :  By  the  act  of  Congress  approved  April  4,  1871,  this  commission  is  required  to 
report,  among  others,  upon  the  following  points,  viz : 

1.  The  value  of  the  bullion  extracted  from  the  mines  on  the  Comstock  lode. 

2.  Their  present  and  probable  future  production. 

3.  The  geological  and  practical  value  of  said  tunnel  as  an  exploring  work. 

Much  of  the  information  required  by  the  above  can  be  obtained  only  from  the  com- 
panies engaged  in  mining  on  the  Comstock  lode ;  and  as  regards  the  rest,  the  in- 
formation which  the  companies  can  afford  will  be  of  the  highest  value  to  the  commis- 
sion in  the  discharge  of  its  duties.  1  am,  therefore,  instructed  to  request  of  you  your 
views  in  writing,  upon  the  points  above  quoted,  as  well  as  upon  any  others  which  yon 
may  deem  to  have  a  bearing  upon  the  question  of  the  construction  of  the  Sutro  Tunnel. 
I  also  take  the  liberty,  under  the  instructions  of  the  commission,  to  append  a  series 
of  questions  having  a  bearing  upon  the  portions  of  our  duties  not  enumerated  above, 
your  answers  to  which  will  be  important  in  making  up  our  estimates  of  the  probable 
cost  of  the  proposed  tunnel,  and  its  value  as  an  aid  to  deep  mining  on  the  Comstock 
lode. 

Should  your  reply  to  the  foregoing  not  he  ready  before  the  commission  leave  Vir- 
ginia City,  please  forward  it  addressed  to  me  at  the  Army  Building,  New  York  City. 
The  earliest  practicable  answer  will,  however,  oblige. 
Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

H.  G.  WRIGHT, 
Brevet  Major  General,  Senior  Officei*  of  Commission. 

To , 

Superintendent  of Mine. 

The  following  are  the  questions  to  which  answers  are  asked : 

1.  Cost  at  various  depths  of  sinking  shafts,  estimated  by  cubic  foot  removed,  or  by 
the  running  foot  for  a  shaft  of  given  dimensions. 

2.  The  present  cost  of  timbering  the  same,  with  increase,  if  any,  with  the  depth. 

3.  The  cost  of  drifting  in  the  various  rocks  met  with  in  your  operations ;  estimated 
either  by  the  cubic  foot  or  by  the  running  foot,  specifying  the  dimensions  of  the  cross- 
section. 

4.  The  cost  of  timbering  the  same. 

5.  The  daily  progress  made  in  the  shafts  and  drifts  through  the  various  rocks,  the 
largest  force  that  can  bo  worked  to  advantage  being  employed. 

6.  The  cost  of  ore,  water,  &c.,  from  various  depths. 

7.  The  cost  of  pumping  at  your  mine  for  twelve  months;  preferably  for  the  year 
ending  June  30,  1871. 

8.  Has  the  water  in  your  mine  increased  or  diminished  with  the  depth,  and  in  what 
proportion "? 

9.  The  cost  per  ton  of  ore  for  milling ;  and  where  the  cost  of  transportation  to  the 
mill  is  included,  the  cost  of  the  latter. 

10.  What  is  the  present  cost  of  the  artificial  ventilation  of  your  mine,  and  how  does 
it  increase  with  the  depth  ? 

11.  How  long  a  time  at  the  present  progress  of  working  will  it  require  to  exhaust 
all  the  profitable  ore  in  the  mine,  above  the  600-foot  level  ? 

12.  How  long  between  the  600  and  1,000- foot  levels  ? 

13.  At  what  depth  will  the  present  machinery  be  available  for  hoisting  the  ore  or 
clearing  the  mine  from  water? 

14.  What  additional  expense  will  be  incurred,  if  any,  per  1,000  feet  of  additional 
depth  for  the  purposes  above  named,  calculating  from  the  1,000-foot  level? 

15.  What  is  the  width  of  the  lode  and  also  of  productive  vein-matter  at  the  various 
levels  of  your  mine  ? 

16.  What  has  been  the  expense  of  prospecting  the  mine  for  the  year  passed  ? 

17.  How  does  the  pay-ore  compare  at  each  level,  from  the  surface  downward  ? 


26  SUTRO   TUNNEL. 

APPENDIX  C. 

OPHIR. 

OFFICE  OPHIR  SILVER  MINING  COMPANY, 

Virginia  City,  Nevada,  September  "21,  1871. 

SIR:  In  compliance  with  your  communication  of  July  28,  asking  niy  views  upon  tho 
question  of  the  construction  of  t«he  Sutro  Tunnel,  I  heg  leave  to  respectfully  submit  the 
following : 

Answer  to  congressional  question  No.  1,  the  value  of  the  bullion  extracted  from  the 
mines  on  tho  Comstock  lode. — Bullion  extracted  from  the  Ophir  mine  since  the  incor- 
poration of  the  company,  in  July,  1860,  $4,631,539  10. 

Nos.  2  and  3.  Their  present  and  probable  future  production,  and  the  geological  and 
practical  value  of  said  tunnel  as  an  exploring  work. 

In  answer  to  congressional  question  No.  3,  I  will  briefly  state,  as  to  its  geological 
value,  I  am  not  competent  to  judge ;  but  as  to  the  practical  value  I  will  offer  a  few 
remarks  :  First,  I  will  consider  its  value  as  an  avenue  through  which  all  the  mines  on 
the  Comstock  may  be  worked,  as  it  is  claimed  by  Mr.  Sutro  that  all  the  machinery  on 
the  lode  may  be  dispensed  with  both  for  hoisting  and  pumping,  and  the  entire  busi- 
ness of  or  work  of  all  the  mines  be  carried  on  through  his  tunnel.  You  will  please 
consider  the  tunnel  with  all  its  lateral  drifts  completed,  and  all  the  mines  on  the  Com- 
stock being  worked  through  it.  No  machinery  is  used  on  the  surface. 

•We  have,  to  begin  with,  (page  19,  "  Sutro  Tunnel/')  3,000  miners  to  carry  to  and  from 
their  work,  an  average  distance  from  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  of  fonr  and  a  half  miles. 
These  3,000  miners  divided  into  three  shifts  of  eight  hours  each,  gives  us  1,000  men  on 
each  watch.  Allowing  ten  men  to  a  car,  it  would  require  one  hundred  cars  to  convey 
the  men  into  the  tunnel.  The  train  would  occupy  1,200  or  1,500  feet  in  length  of  the 
tunnel,  and  when  the  head  of  this  train  would  reach  the  place  of  destination  the  rear 
cars  would  be  quite  an  inconvenient  distance  back  from  the  place  of  destination, 
thereby  creating  much  confusion  and  more  or  less  delay.  It  is  at  this  point  that  the 
miners'  greatest  trouble  begins,  their  respective  stopes  and  places  of  work  being  far 
above  them.  They  commence  to  climb  the  ladders,  and  go  up  various  heights,  many 
from  500  to  1,000  feet.  They  arrive  at  the  place  where  their  day's  work  is  to  be  done 
in  an  exhausted  condition,  positively  unfit  and  unable  to  do  a  day's  work. 

The  timbers  used  in  the  various  mines  are  to  be  conveyed  to  their  respective  desti- 
nations by  the  same  tedious,  slow,  and  expensive  routes — expensive,  because  time  in 
this  country  is  money  in  fact,  the  most  expensive  commodity  that  is  employed  in  the 
working  of  these  mines. 

'Suppose  a  cave  is  threatened  in  some  one  of  the  most  distant  or  inaccessible  mines. 
A  car-load  or  two  of  timbers  immediately  and  judiciously  used,  might,  and  often  does, 
prevent  a  disastrous  cave.  By  the  present  mode  of  working,  in  such  a  contingency  as 
the  above,  the  miner  would  send  his  order  up,  and  in  a  very  few  minutes  the  return 
cage  would  bring  the  desired  timbers,  and  in  a  few  minutes  more  the  timbers  would  be 
in  place,  and  the  threatened  disaster  averted.  How  would  it  be  in  working  through 
the  tunnel  ?  The  miner  would  first  give  his  order  for  timbers,  the  order  conveyed 
down  the  ladder,  probably  1,000  feet  to  reach  the  tunnel,  then  out,  of  the  tunne'l,  a 
distance  of  four  or  live  miles,  to  the  carpenters'  shops  at  the  month  of  the  tunnel;  the 
timbers  procured  and  sent  by  return  cars  to  the  foot  of  the  upraise,  then  raised,  by 
some  as  yet  unexplained  process,  to  the  point  of  danger  or  trouble. 

In  this  way,  hours  might  elapse  before  the  much-needed  timbers  would  arrive,  and 
then  they  would  probably  arrive  too  late  to  prevent  great  damage. 

Another  disadvantage  in  working  the  mines  through  the  Sutro  Tunnel  is,  the  mouth 
of  the  tunnel  being  located  several  miles  farther  from  the  timber  and  lumber  supplies, 
would  necessarily  increase  the  cost  of  the  same  two  or  three  dollars  per  thousand 
more  than  when  delivered  at  Virginia  or  Gold  Hill. 

The  foregoing  are  some  of  the  practical  objections  to  using  said  tunnel  as  an  avenue 
through  which  to  work  the  mines  on  the  Comstock,  and  as  a  practical  miner  of  more 
than  forty  years'  experience  in  various  kinds  of  mining,  I  make  this  assertion,  that 
should  the  tunnel,  with  all  its  lateral  drifts,  be  offered  free  of  charge,  not  one  mine  on 
the  Comstock  would  be  worked  through  it.  And  why  ?  Because  the  present  mode  of 
working  is  cheaper  and  more  expeditious. 

Now  I  will  offer  a  few  remarks  regarding  the  various  charges  imposed  upon  the 
mining  companies  for  the  privilege  of  working  through  this  tunnel.  Mr.  Sutro  (page 
166  of  his  book)  estimates  the  daily  yield  of  all  the  mines  on  the  Comstock  at  1,500 
tons.  For  the  right  to  transport  this  ore  through  the  tunnel,  the  mining  companies 
must  pay  25  cents  per  ton  per  mile,  or  about  on  average  of  $1  12^  per  ton,  amounting 
to  $1,687  50  per  day,  or  $615,937  50  per  annum.  There  should  be  added  to  this  a  like 
amount  for  debris  or  waste,  which,  including  that  from  all  the  shafts,  winzes,  upraise, 
and  drifts  purely  of  a  prospecting  character,  would  be  more  likely  to  overrun  than  fall 


SUTRO    TUNNEL.  27 

below  this  amount,  which  gives  us  $2  25  per  ton,  or  $3,375  per  day,  or  the  large  sum 
per  annum  of  $1,231,875. 

In  addition  to  this,  we  have  the  transportation  of  the  miners,  which,  as  ho  estimates 
3,000  men  to  raise  1,500  tons  of  ore,  gives  us  two  men  for  each  and  every  ton  of  ore, 
equal  to  $1  per  ton,  or  a  total  thus  far  of  $3  25  per  ton,  or  $4,875  per  clay,  or  the  nice 
sum  per  annum  of  $1,779,375. 

As  large  as  this  sum  is,  we  must  again  add  to  it  the  cost  of  conveying  the  timbers 
to  the  respective  mines,  which  is  25  cents  per  ton  per  mile,  (40  cubic  feet  or  480  feet 
board-measure  being  reckoned  as  one  ton,)  and  ho  estimates  the  total  consumption  of 
timber  per  annum  (page  18)  to  be  16,000,000  feet,  which  gives  us  33,333&  tons ;  taken 
at  an  average-  transportation  distance  of  four  and  a  half  miles,  amounts  to  $1  12£  per 
ton.  or  a  total  for  this  item  of  $37,500  ;  or  6.8  cents  per  ton  of  ore,  added  to  the  above, 
amounts  to  $1,816,875.  And  yet  we  are  not  quite  through,  for  we  still  have  to  add  the 
indefinite  amount  of  50  cents  per  head  for  all  superintendents,  foremen,  their  assist- 
ants, attaches,  and  visitors  that  go  in  and  out  of  this  famous  tunnel.  Taking  Mr. 
Sutro's  estimate,  we  now  have  taxes  in  specified  items  amounting  to  $3  31.8  per  ton, 
ami  for  what  ?  For  the  privilege  of  working  the  mines  in  a  more  expensive  and  less 
convenient  way  than  the  present  mode  of  working  them.  But  thus  far  there  is  one 
redeeming  feature  in  the  contract.  It  is  this:  it  is  optional  with  the  different  mining 
companies  whether  they  pay  any  or  all  of  the  before-mentioned  tariffs,  for  if  they  do 
not  work  through  the  tunnel  they  need  not  pay  any  of  them. 

We  now  come  to  a  tax  that  is  more  arbitrary  in  its  character.  No  mine  on  the  Corn- 
stock  lode  can  escape  its  provisions.  It  is  what  is  termed  the.  two  dollars  per  ton 
royalty,  which  is  intended  to  be  a  compensation  for  draining  the  mines,  and  is  claimed 
to  be  ii  cheaper  mode  of  drainage  than  that  of  pumping,  the  mode  now  in  use.  I  will 
now  proceed  to  the  consideration  of  that  branch  of  the  Sutro  Tunnel  question  practi- 
cally considered.  These  mines  have  been  worked  for  about  twelve  years,  more  or  less, 
extensively. 

It  is  little  more  than  ten  years  since  I  first  took  charge  of  a  mine  on  the  Comstock. 
For  about  three-quarters  of  that  time  I  have  been  in  charge  of  mines  here,  having  been 
absent  from  this  locality  about  two  and  a  half  years  of  the  last  ten  ;  hence  I  speak  on  this 
question  from  experience. 

The  mine  that  I  am  now  in  charge  of,  and  have  been  for  more  than  three  years  past, 
(the  Ophir,)  has  been,  and  is  still,  celebrated  as  being  much  the  wettest  mine  on  the 
Comstock,  and  yet  we  have  no  difficulty  in  overcoming  all  troubles  of  an  aqueous  na- 
ture, neither  do  we  anticipate  anything  in  the  future  of  that  character  that  will  give 
us  serious  trouble. 

After  these  general  remarks  I  will  proceed  with  a  few  estimates.  Mr.  Sutro  (on  page 
17)  gives  us  an  estimate  of  what  it  will  cost  to  pump  in  all  the  mines  on  the  Comstock 
when  a  depth  of  1,550  feet  is  attained.  After  very  elaborate  figuring,  he  gives  us  the 
astonishing  sum  of  $5,911,560  per  annum.  That  depth  is  very  nearly  reached  at  this 
time  in  all  the  prominent  mines,  aiffl  a  comparison  can  now  very  justly  be  made  be- 
tween  the  estimates  made  by  Mr.  Sutro  and  the  actual  cost,  which,  taking  the  Ophir 
as  a,  guide,  for  the  year  ending  May  31,  1871,  will  not  exceed  the  sum  of  $150,000  for 
all  the  mines,  showing  the  estimate  of  Mr.  Sutro  to  be  very  wild,  and  renders  calcula- 
tions based  upon  that  estimate  unreliable  in  the  extreme. 

What  is  the  cheapest  and  most  economical  mode  of  freeing  the  mines  on  the  Com- 
stock from  water — the  present  plan  of  pumping,  or  by  means  of  the  proposed  Sutro 
Tunnel  under  the  existing  franchise?  I  state  that  the  present  cost  of  pumping  will 
not  exceed  $150,000  per  annum. 

Taking  the  estimate  of  Mr.  Sutro  as  correct,  that  the  daily  yield  of  the  mine  is  1,500 
tons,  or  547,500  tons  per  annum,  the  two  dollars  per  ton  royalty  give  a  sum  per  annum 
of  $1,095,000,  the  cost  of  drainage  through  the  tunnel. 

Comment  on  these  two  propositions  I  hold  to  be  superfluous.  There  are  two  princi- 
pal causes  or  reasons  operating  to  reduce  the  cost  of  pumping  on  the  Comstock  in  the 
future  as  compared  with  the  past ;  and  these  are,  first,  the  great  reduction  in  the  cost  of 
fuel,  (and  that  reduction  is  bound  to  continue  until  it  reaches  a  price  about  half  the  pres- 
ent cost ;)  and,  secondly,  the  positive  decrease  in  the  quantity  of  water  as  greater  depth 
is  attained  ;  for  I  hold  that  there  is  110  more  certain  event  of  the  future  than  that  the 
water  will  decrease  in  the  Comstock  as  the  mines  grow  deeper,  the  opinions  of  Mr. 
Sutro,  Professor  Richthofen,  or  any  other  scientific  gentlemen,  to  the  contrary  notwith- 
standing, and  the  idea  of  running  a  tunnel  four  miles  or  more  in  length,  at  an  outlay 
of  millions  of  dollars,  to  tap  what  is  almost  certain  to  be  very  nearly  a  dry  fissure, 
seems  to  me  to  partake  of  the  absurd  in  the  extreme.  This  is  a  dry  country,  and  all 
who  have  looked  upon  it  know  it. 

As  a  ventilator,  this  tunnel,  if  finished,  would  amount  to  just  what  a  connection 
between  auy  two  or  more  mines  would— no  more  and  no  less.  Neither  one  could  possi- 
bly be  made  to  ventilate  auy  exploring  or  prospecting  work  for  which  some  mode  of 
artificial  ventilation,  either  by  patent  blower,  air-pumps,  or  some  other  more  efficient 
method,  is  necessary. 


23  SUTRO    TUNNEL. 

But  the  most  important  question  of  all  in  this  connection  presents  itself,  and,  as  yet, 
is  unanswered — does  ore  in  paying  quantities  exist  in  the  Comstock  at  these  great 
depths  ?  Taking  a  practical  and  the  most  hopeful  view  of  this  question  that  the  facts 
thus  far  developed  will  warrant,  I  am  compelled  to  say  there  are  grave  doubts,  not- 
withstanding Professor  Richthofen  comes  to  the  rescue  and  assures  us  that  by  his 
scientific  and  theoretical  vision  he  sees  it,  and  there  is  no  doubt  but  ore  in  paying 
quantities  exists  in  the  Comstock  fissure  from  the  surface  to  untold  depths.  But  gen- 
tlemen of  his  class  have  deceived  us  so  often  that,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  we  miners  have 
little  faith  in  their  scientific  prognostications. 

I  will  now  proceed  to  consider  the  following  questions  propounded  by  the  commission,  i 
so  far  as  they  apply  to  the  workings  of  the  Ophir  mine : 

1.  Cost  at  various  depths  of  sinking  shafts,  estimated  by  the  cubic  foot  removed,  or 
by  the  running  foot  for  a  shaft  of  given  dimensions. 

Actual  cost  of  sinking  main  sliaftfrom  270  feet  to  1,002  fcet= 282  feet. 

Time,  3  months— June,  July,  and  August,   1871.     Dimensions  of  shaft,   outside  of 
timbers,  18  feet  8  inches  by  7  feet  4  inches. 


Total  cost. 

Cost  per  foot. 

Labor  : 
Miners  .       ........ 

$10,092  00 

Carmen  .         c 

959  00 

Blacksmiths  and  helpers 

1  242  00 

Engineers  and  firemen  . 

1,300  00 

Wood-haulin  <*•  . 

185  00 

dfciq  770  nn 

<&48  ftz>3- 

Powder  : 
647^  pounds  giant  powder  .... 

$760  81 

W^°    C'JlO 

500  pounds  Hercules  powder 

310  00 

Fuse  and  caps 

51  00 

1  121  81 

3  97A- 

Steel  : 
757  pounds,  at  20  cents 

151  40 

53AA, 

Candles  : 
1,300  pounds  

244  65 

86£fc 

Wood  : 
276£  cords,  at  $10 

• 

2  765  00 

9  80t\r 

Total  amounts  .  

18,060  86 

64  04-fV 

Cost  per  cubic  foot 

46-^0 

2.  The  present  cost  of  timbering  the  same,  with  the  increase,  if  any,  with  the  depth- 

Actual  cost  of  timbering  main  shaft. 
47  sets  timbers,  6  feet  each  =  282  feet. 


Total  cost. 

Cost  per  foot. 

Timbers  in  set  : 
1,912  feet  by  47  sets  —  89,864  feet,  at  $22  per  M  

$1,977  00 

$7  01 

Labor  : 
1  carpenter  and  1  timberman,  at  $5  each  per  dav  

920  00 

3  26 

Total  amounts 

2  897  00 

10  27 

hrp  od  ertao  nrs        g.f  ceNtaxeeei 


SUTRO  TUNNEL. 

Total  cost  of  sinking  and  timbering  main  shaft  282  feet. 


29 


Total  cost. 

Cost  per  foot. 

Cost  of  sink  in  <*                               . 

$18  060  86 

$64  04A 

2,897  00 

10  27 

Total  amounts 

20  957  86 

74  31vW 

3.  The  cost  of  drifting  iii  tbo  various  rocks  met  with  in  your  operations,  estimated 
either  by  the  cubic  foot,  or  by  the  running  foot,  specifying  the  dimensions  of  the  cross- 
section. 

Cost  of  running  drift  from  700-foot  level,  866  feet. 

Blasting  ground.  No  timbers  required.  Size  of  drift,  4  feet  6  inches  "wide  by  6  feet 
6  inches  high.  Time,  8  months;  February  15  to  October  15,  1869.  Six-hour 
watches— three  men  on  each  watch. 


Cost. 

Per  foot. 

Labor  : 
Miners  $16,  596  00 

Blacksmiths  1  452  00 

<ftiQ  OAQ  oft 

$90  P-l 

Blasting  material  . 

3  099  72 

3  57-A 

Steel  and  tools  .  .   .  . 

132  72 

15A 

Caudles  

467  00 

53A 

Total  amounts    .  .  . 

21  747  44 

25  11 

Cost  per  cubic  foot  

86Anr 

4.  The  cost  of  timbering  the  same. — No  timbers  used. 

5.  The  daily  progress  made  in  the  shafts  and  drifts  through  the  various  rocks,  the 
largest  force  that  can  be  worked  to  advantage  being  employed. 

In  main  shaft,  described  in  answer  to  question  No.  1,  six-hour  watches  are  worked, 
with  six  men  on  each  watch.  Average  daily  progress,  3.06  feet. 

In  running  drift  described  in  answer  to  No.  3,  six-hour  watches,  with  three  men 
per  watch,  were  employed.  Average  daily  progress,  3.578  feet. 

6.  The  cost  of  raising  ore,  water,  &c.,  from  various  depths. 

Estimate  of  cost  of  raising  ore  from  a  depth  of  1,750  feet,  (level  of  the  Sutro  Tun- 
nel,) with  the  machinery  now  iu  use.  Size  of  cylinder  of  hoisting  engine,  18  inches 
by  27  inches. 

This  estimate  is  based  upon  the  following  proposition :  That  two  reel-shafts  be 
coupled  into  one,  running  one  cage  up  and  one  down  at  the  same  time ;  machinery 
being  geared  so  that  speed  of  the  cage  in  the  shaft  is  800  feet  per  minute  ;  double-deck 
cages  being  used,  hoisting  two  cars  at  a  time,  each  car  containing  1,500  pounds  of  ore. 
Estimated  to  make  six  trips  per  hour,  inclusive  of  all  necessary  stoppages  or  delays 
occasioned  by  lowering  and  hoisting  men,  and  lowering  timbers  into  the  mine,  and  all 
necessary  delays  for  repairs  : 

Engineers'  wages,  per  day $10  25 

Foremen's  wages,  per  day 4  00 

Wood-haulers'  wages,  per  day 2  50 

Three  cords  wood  per  day 30  00 

Tar  for  ropes  and  oil  for'  machinery,  per  day 2  00 

Scaling  boilers,  per  day _* 1  00 

Wear  and  tear  of  machinery,  per  day 5  00 

Interest  on  cost  of  machinery,  $28,000,  at  1  per  cent,  per  mouth 9  20 

Total  amount 63  95 


Total  cost  per  day  for  hoisting  216  tons  of  ore  1,750  feet,  $63  95,  or,  29.6  cents  per 
ton. 


30 


SUTRO   TUNNEL. 


7.  The  cost  of  pumping  at  your  mine  for  twelve  months,  preferably  for  the  year  ced- 
ing June  30,  1871. 

Actual  cost  of  pumping  700  feet,  for  tlic  year  ending  May  31,  1871. 

Labor : 

Pitman's  wages $2,007  50 

Engineers  and  firemen 5, 309  50 

Wood  hauler 703  00 


Fuel : 

1,387  cords  of  wood,  at  $12 16,644  00 

27f  tons  of  coal,  at  $20 ,. 555  00 

Oil  and  tallow : 

Lard  and  other  oils 215  67 

1,315  pounds  of  tallow 162  37 

Interest  on  cost  of  pumping-machinery,  $31,000,  at  1  per  cent, 
per  month 


Total  cost 

Value  of  water  raised. 


Net  cost  of  raising  water 


$8, 020  CO 
17, 199  CO 

378  04 
3,720  00 

29,317  04 

8,975  00 

20,342  04 


Amount  of  water  raised  during  the  year  ending  May  31, 1871. 
Monthly  average  of  daily  measurements  : 


1870. 

Jtme. 

18  inches. 

Present  flo\v  of  water  September  10,  1871,  5  inches. 

July. 

16  inches. 

August. 

11  inches. 

September. 
October. 

11  inches. 
10  inches. 

Decrease  in  amount  of  water  at  700-foot  level,  from  Jr.ce, 
,    1870,  to  date,  72.23  per  cent. 

November. 

10  inches. 

December. 

10  inches. 

1871. 

January. 

9  inches. 

February. 

9  inches. 

March. 

9  inches. 

April. 

8  inches. 

May. 

7  inches. 

The  above  measurement  is  what  is  termed  on  this  coast  "  Miner's  measurement,''  the 
water  running  under  a  six-inch  pressure. 

13.  At  what  depth  will  the  present  machinery  be  available  for  hoisting  the  ore  or 
clearing  the  mine  from  water  ? — Hoisting  machinery,  2,500  feet ;  pumping  machinery, 
1,500  feet. 

16.  What  has  been  the  expense  of  prospecting  the  mine  for  the  year  passed  ? — Total 
mine  expense  for  the  year  ending  August  31,  1871,  $140,571  87.  All  work  being  of  a 
prospecting  nature. 

Should  any  of  the  foregoing  answers  require  explanation,  I  shall  be  pleased  to  fur- 
nish the  same  at  your  request. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

H.  H.  DAY. 

Superintendent  Opliir.  Silver  Mining  Company, 
H.  G.  WRIGHT, 

Brevet  Major  General  and  Senior 

Officer  Sutro  Tunnel  Commission. 


SUTRO    TUNNEL.  31 

APPENDIX  D. 
GOULD  &  CURRY. 

SUPERINTENDENT'S  OFFICE,  GOULD  & 
CURRY  SILVER  MINING  COMPANY, 

Virginia,  Nevada,  September  2,  1871. 

GENERAL  : — In  accordance  •with,  your  request,  I  herewith,  inclose  answer  to  your 
interrogatories  of  28th  of  July. 
Yours,  respectfully, 

C.  C.  BATTERMAN, 

Superintendent  Gould  $  Curry  Silver  Mining  Company. 
H.  G.  WRIGHT, 

Major  General,  Senior  Officer  Sutro  Commission. 

No.  1.  The  value  of  the  bullion  extracted  from  the  Comstock  lode? 

Answer.  The  value  of  the  bullion  extracted  from  the  Gould  &  Curry  mine  up  to  and 
including  Juno  30,  1871,  is  $15,555,232  24. 

No.  2.  The  present  and  probable  future  production  ? 

Answer.  Present  production  nothing — the  future,  dependent  upon  the  success  of  the 
explorations  now  in  progress. 

No.  3.  The  geological  and  practical  value  of  said  tunnel  as  an  exploring  work  ? 

Answer.  Geologically,  it  would,  no  doubt,  be  of  value  to  the  scientist.  To  the  Tun- 
nel Company  it  would  bo  of  great  value  as  determining  the  existence  or  otherwise  of 
ore  deposits  within  the  bounds  of  its  land  grant,  and  to  the  eastward  of  the  explora- 
tions made  by  the  mining  companies  at  work  upon  the  Comstock  lode.  To  the  Com- 
stock it  would  be  of  no  practical  value.  The  advantages  of  ventilation  supposed  to 
accrue  from  the  construction  of  the  tunnel  are  more  imaginary  than  practical.  The 
current  of  air  supposed  to  be  created  by  the  connection  of  the  tunnel  with  the  working 
drifts  of  the  various  mines  will,  no  doubt,  be  confined  to  the  main  drifts  and  shafts, 
while  the  stopes— which  are  the  working  points  in  all  mines — will  have  to  be  furnished 
with  air  then  as  now,  by  artificial  means,  which  can  be  done  by  air-engines  much  more 
cheaply  through  the  present  shafts  than  through  the  proposed  adit. 

The  economy  claimed  over  the  present  method  in  bringing  the  ore  to  the  surface  is 
entirely  imaginary  ;  that  I  assert  this  advisedly,  allow  me  to  call  your  attention  to  the 
table  in  answer  to  supplemental  question  No.  6— to  the  accuracy  of  which  I  am  willing 
to  certify.  The  cost  of  "  chuteing"  the  rock  from  any  point  in  this  mine,  say  500  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  proposed  tunnel,  would  be  greater  than  to  raise  the  rock  to  the 
surface  from  that  depth  through  the  shaft  where  it  would  be  in  dump  ready  for  trans- 
portation, while  after  deli  very  by  "chute"  to  tunnel  level  there  would  still  remain  four 
miles  of  transportation  to  reach  the  surface  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  where  the  ore 
would  be  at  a  greater  distance  from  the  reduction  works  than  when  in  the  dump  at 
the  top  of  the  shaft. 

In  this  connection,  allow  me  to  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  there  is  a  consid- 
erable quantity  of  low-grade  ore  remaining  in  this  mine  that  cannot  be  worked  now 
with  profit,  but  which,  at  a  lower  cost  for  reduction  and  material,  can  be  extracted  with 
a  moderate  profit  to  the  mine ;  but  if  to  this  is  to  be  attached  a  royalty,  I  fear  the  day 
is  still  far  distant  when  it  shall  be  made  available. 

The  average  value  of  the  ore  extracted  from  this  mine  in  1868 — and  which  was 
selected  from  the  reserve  just  mentioned— was  $18  14  per  ton,  at  a  cost  of  $16  35  per 
ton  for  extraction  and  reduction ;  if  to  this  cost  had  attached  the  proposed  royalty, 
the  result  would  have  been  a  loss  to  the  company.  Some  of  the  other  mines  on  the 
Comstock  have  a  greater  quantity  of  this  class  of  ore  than  the  Gould  &  Curry,  and  as 
an  illustration  of  the  meager  margin  of  profit  1  beg  leave  to  call  your  attention  to  the 
report  of  operations  in  the  Savage  mine  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1871,  when  the 
average  profit  for  the  year  in  ore  extracted  was  42  cents  per  ton,  the  gross  yield  being 
$21  43  per  ton. 

The  tunnel,  if  of  any  value  at  all  to  the*  Comstock,  would  be  as  a  drain-tunnel,  though 
even  this  proposition  is  a  matter  of  doubt,  the  explorations  on  the  lode  all  going  to 
show  a  decrease  of  water  with  increase  of  depth  attained. 

From  careful  estimates,  I  am  satisfied  that  in  this  mine  6,500  gallons  of  water  per 
hour  can  be  raised  from  a  depth  of  2,000  feet  at  a  cost  of  $84  per  day  ;  from  this  should 
be  deducted  the  value  of  the  water,  which,  at  present  rates,  would  be  about  $1,000  per 
mouth,  leaving  the  cost  of  pumping  $1,GOO  per  month  of  thirty  days ;  this  on  the 
amount  of  ore  produced  last  year,  24,305  tons,  would  amount  to  75  cents  per  ton  ;  add 
to  this  the  cost  of  raising  rock  from  same  depth,  71  cents  per  ton,  and  wo  have  a  total 
cost  for  rock  and  water  of  $1  46  per  ton,  or  27  per  cent,  less  than  the  proposed  royalty. 

If  the  yield  of  ore  should  be  equal  to  the  capacity  of  the  machinery  at  a  depth  of 
2,000  feet,  194  tons  per  day,  the  cost  of  pumping  water  and  raising  ore  would  be  81  02 
per  ton,  or  50  per  cent,  less  than  the  proposed  royalty,  and  only  equaling  the  proposed 
toll  of  25  cents  per  ton  per  mile. 


32  SUTRO  TUNNEL. 

Supplemental  questions. 

No.  1.  Cost,  at  various  depths,  of  sinking  shafts,  estimated  by  the  cubic  foot  removed, 
or  by  the  running  foot,  for  a  shaft  of  given  dimensions. 
Answer.  Size  of  shaft,  13  feet  2  inches  by  8  feet  10  inches. 

Cost  of  labor  for  running  foot $48  86 

Cost  of  keeping  tools  in  repair 1  97 

Cost  of  powder,  fuse,  &c ., 7  36 

Total 58  19 

The  above  is  the  actual  cost  of  sinking  109  feet  in  this  mine,  commencing  1,191  feet 
from  the  surface  and  terminating  at  1,300  feet.  The  rocks  passed  through  were  quartz 
and  porphyry,  the  former  predominating  unusually  hard,  consequently  the  progress 
was  very  slow  and  the  work  exceptionally  costly. 

No.  2.  The  present  cost  of  timbering  same,  with  the  increase,  if  any,  with  the  depth. 

Answer.  Size  of  timber  used,  12£  by  14  inches ;  lagging,  3-iuch  plank. 

Cost  of  timber,  &c.,  per  foot  in  depth $8  84 

Cost  of  labor  framing 2  00 

Total  cost  per  foot  in  depth $10  84 

The  cost  of  labor  in  placing  the  timbers  in  position  is  included  in  the  cost  of  labor 
for  sinking.  No  material  increase  of  cost  with  increase  of  depth. 

No.  3.  The  cost  of  drifting  in  the  various  rocks  met  with  in  your  operations,  estimated 
either  by  the  cubic  foot  or  by  the  running  foot,  specifying  the  dimensions  of  the  cross- 
section. 

Answer.  The  following  is  the  actual  average  cost  per  running  foot  of  two  drifts  run 
in  this  mine  during  the  year  1870.  I  have  selected  these  two  for  the  reason  that  they 
were  of  the  greatest  length,  and  the  work  was  prosecuted  uninterruptedly,  affording  a 
fair  average  as  to  progress  and  cost. 

Eldorado  Potosi  drift,  101  feet  below  the  surface,  480  feet  in  length,  running  obliquely 
across  the  stratification,  44  feet  hard-blasting  porphyry,  30  feet  clay,  80  feet  of  quartz, 
326  of  porphyry,  that  was  worked  with  pick.  Size  of  drift  outside  of  timbers,  8  feet 
high,  5  feet  9  inches  wide  at  top,  6  feet  10  inches  at  bottom  inside  of  timbers ;  6  feet  3 
inches,  3  feet  6  inches,  and  4  feet  8  inches.  The  cost  of  placing  timbers  in  position  in- 
cluded in  cost  of  running  drift. 

Per  foot. 

Average  cost  ot  44  feet $8  00 

Average  cost  of  436  feet 5  00 

Seventh-station  drift,  1,167  feet.below  surface,  600  feet  in  length,  running  obliquely 
through  heavy  clay  and  hard  porphyry.  Size  outside  of  timbers,  8  feet  10  inches  in 
height,  3  feet  9  inches  wide  at  top,  6  feet  9  inches  in  center,  5  feet  10  inches  at  bottom.  In- 
side size,  6  feet  4  inches,  2  feet,  3  feet  10,  and  3  feet  6  inches.  Average  cost  per  running 
foot,  including  placing  of  timbers,  $8  10.  In  this  drift  the  clay,  by  swelling,  was  contin- 
ually displacing  the  timbers,  which  had  to  be  eased  by  cutting  away  behind  them;  in 
many  instances  we  wTere  compelled  to  use  jack-screws  to  force  them  back  to  position, 
which  makes  the  average  cost  of  this  drift  more  than  it  would  otherwise  have  been. 

No.  4.  The  cost  of  timbering  the  same. 

Answer.  The  Potosi  drift,  timbered  in  square-tunnel  sets,  size  of  timber  8  by  10  inches, 
and  3  by  6  inch  lagging  ;  sets  placed  5  feet  apart ;  cost  per  running  foot,  including 
framing,  $1  89. 

Seventh-station  drift,  size  of  timber  used  14  by  14  inches,  framed  in  arch  plank  lag- 
ging ;  sets  placed  5  feet  apart ;  cost  per  running  foot, 'including  framing,  $4  90.  The  cosfc 
per  running  foot,  timbered  in  square  sets,  would  have  been  $4  76. 

No.  5.  The  daily  progress  made  in  the  shafts  and  drifts  through  the  various  rocks, 
the  largest  force  that  can  bo  worked  to  advantage  being  employed. 

Answer.  In  sinking  shaft  from  seventh  to  eighth  station,  that  is,  from  1,167  to  1,300 
feet,  the  excavation  has  been  entirely  within  quartz  and  porphyry,  the  former  predomi- 
nating and  exceedingly  hard,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  quantity  of  powder  used.  The 
average  progress  was  18  inches  in  depth  per  twenty -four  hours.  Twenty  men  employed ; 
four  shifts  of  live  men  six  hours  each.  In  such  rock  as  was  generally  found  above 
the  1,167  level  the  same  force  would  have  made  about  3  feet  each  twenty-four  hours. 
In  Potosi  drift  the  formation  being  hard  porphyry,  soft  porphyry,  clay,  and  quartz  of 
average  hardness,  the  drift  running  obliquely  across  the  formation,  the  average  pro- 
gress was,  through  the  former,  hard  porphyry,  4  feet  per  day,  twenty-four  hours.  Eight 
men  employed ;  four  shifts  of  iwo  men  six  hours  each.  In  seventh-station  drift,  600 


SUTRO  TUNNEL. 


33 


feet  in  length,  formation  heavy  clay  and  hard  porphyry  drift  crossing  the  strata  ob- 
liquely ;  t  he  average  progress  was  3  feet  in  twenty-four  hours.  Six  men  ;  three  shifts  of 
eight  hours. 

No.  6.  The  cost  of  raising  ore,  water,  &c.,  from  various  depths. 

Answer : 


i 

1! 

1 

*3  £ 

I 

s  . 

Ij 

&& 

Id 

*M    ^ 

Jlf 

8  § 

1 

ll| 

||| 

3" 

p   . 

g-zM 

1 

|fti8 

i 

Pcef. 

Tons. 

Cents. 

Cents. 

Cents. 

400 

1,000 

07.08 

05.84 

12.92 

800 

750 

12.09 

09.5 

22.4 

1,300 

408 

23.1 

18.9 

42. 

1,400 

367 

25.41 

19.87 

45.28 

,  500 

330 

27.95 

20.84 

48.79 

,600 

297 

30.74 

21.81 

52.  55 

,700 

267 

33.81 

22.78 

56.59 

,800 

240 

37.19 

23.75 

60.  94 

,900 

215 

40.90 

24.  72 

65.  62 

2,000 

194 

44.99 

25.69 

70.  (i8 

The  engines  work  independently,  that  is,  each  engine  hoists  and  lowers  separately. 
If  the  engines  were  geared  together,  so  that  when  one  cage  was  being  hoisted  the  other 
was  lowered,  the  cost  per  ton  would  be  considerably  reduced. 

In  the  above  table  of  cost  is  included  wood,  water,  $600  per  month,  oil,  engineers, 
firemen,  boiler-cleaner,  woodman,  and  average  cost  of  keeping  machinery  in  repair. 

The  cost  of  raising  the  water  in  this  mine  from  a  depth  of  825  feet,  also  running 
pump  while  sinking  to  1,300-feet  station  has  been  $60  per  day,  the  quantity  of  water 
raised  about  3,500  gallons  per  hour. 

The  capacity  of  the  pumps  is  6,500  gallons  per  hour.  I  estimate  the  cost  of  pumping 
from  a  depth  of  2,000  feet,  working  pump  to  full  capacity,  at  $83  60  per  day.  This 
estimate  includes  wood,  engineers,  fireman,  pitman,  &c.  From  this  estimate  of  cost 
should  be  deducted  the  value  of  the  water. 

No.  7.  The  cost  of  pumping  at  your  mine  for  twelve  months,  preferably  for  the  year 
ending  June  30,  1871. 

Answer : 

Cost  for  the  year $16,425  00 

Deduct  water  sold 6,000  00 

10,425  00 

No.  8.  Has  the  water  in  your  mine  increased  or  diminished  with  the  depth,  and  in 
what  proportion  ? 

Answer.  The  greatest  quantity  of  water  in  this  mine  was  found  above  the  sixth 
level  from  the  surface  to  a  depth  of  825  feet ;  from  this  point  downward  the  quantity 
of  water  is  very  small. 

At  the  eighth  station  1,300  feet  from  the  surface  the  lode  is  practically  dry ;  were  it 
not  for  the  seepage  from  above,  which  finds  its  way  down  the  shaft,  working  at  this 
depth  could  be  prosecuted  without  the  aid  of  pumps. 

I  beg  to  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  in  this  mine  no  considerable  bodies  of 
water  have  been  encountered  except  when  the  country  to  the  west  of  the  lode  has  been 
penetrated. 

No.  9.  The  cost  per  ton  of  ore  for  milling,  and  when  the  cost  of  the  transportation  to 
the  mill  is  included  the  cost  of  the  latter. 

Answer.  The  ore  from  this  mine  has  been  delivered  to  the  mills  at  the  dump.  The 
price  paid  for  milling,  which  included  transportation,  was  $12  per  ton. 

No.  10.  What  is  the  present  cost  of  the  artificial  ventilation  of  your  mine,  and  how 
does  it  increase  with  the  depth. 

Answer.  The  cost  of  ventilation  by  Root's  blower,  carrying  the  air  down  the  shaft 
through  wooden  tubing  and  distributing  it  through  the  drifts  by  galvanized  pipe,  is 
$9  35  per  day,  furnishing  air  to  all  the  drifts  from  625  feet  below  the  surface  to  1,300 
feet.  No  increase  of  cost  with  increase  depth,  except  the  cost  of  continuing  tubing 
down  the  shaft. 

No.  11.  How  long  a  time,  at  the  present  progress  of  working,  will  it  require  to 
exhaust  all  the  profitable  ore  in  the  mine  above  the  600-foot  level? 

S.  Ex.  15 3 


34  SUTRO   TUNNEL. 

Answer.  There  is  no  known  body  of  ore  existing  above  the  600-foot  level  that  could 
be  profitably  worked  at  the  present  cost  of  reduction,  &c. 

No.  12.  How  long  between  the  600  and  1,000  foot  level? 

Answer.  No  paying  ore  has  ever  been  found  in  this  mine  below  600  feet. 

No.  13.  At  what  depth  \vill  the  present  machinery  be  available  for  hoisting  the  ore, 
or  clearing  the  mine  from  water? 

Answer.  Two  thousand  feet. 

No.  14.  See  answers  to  Nos.  6  and  7. 

No.  15.  What  is  the  width  of  the  lode,  and  also  of  productive  vein-matter,  at  the 
various  levels  of  your  mine? 

Answer.  The  width  of  the  lode  is  undetermined.  The  productive  portion  of  the  lode 
had  an  average  width,  from  near  the  surface  to  a  depth  of  525  feet,  from  four  of  40 
feet;  below  this  depth  ore  has  not  been  found  in  paying  quantity. 

No.  16.  What  has  been  the  expense  of  prospecting  the  mine  for  the  year  past  ? 

Answer.  For  the  year  ending  June  30,  1871,  $193,670  92. 

No.  17.  How  does  the  pay-ore  compare  at  each  level,  from  the  surface  downward? 

Answer.  That  taken  from  near  the  surface  was  the  most  valuable. 

All  the  measurements  of  depth  given  in  these  answers  are  from  top  of  shaft,  except 
that  to  No.  15,  which  is  from  station  A,  King  map.  To  make  measurements  correspond 
with  those  used  in  the  Sutro  map,  200  feet  should  be  added,  that  being  the  difference 
in  level  between  shaft  and  station  A ;  thus,  our  eighth  station,  which  I  designated  as 
1,300  feet,  would  be  1,500  feet  on  Sutro  survey. 

C.  C.  BATTERMAN, 
Superintendent  Gould  fy  Curry  Silver-Mining  Company. 

VIRGINIA,  NEVADA,  September  2, 1871. 


APPENDIX  E. 

SUPERINTENDENT'S  OFFICE,  SAVAGE  MINING  COMPANY, 
Virginia  City,  Nevada,  September  16, 1871. 

DEAR  SIR  :  The  value  of  the  bullion  extracted  from  the  Savage  mine  during  the  year 
ending  June  30,  1871,  was  $818,216  50.  From  the  want  of  the  necessary  data  I  am 
unable,  at  the  present  time,  to  state  the  value  of  all  the  bullion  extracted  from  the 
mines  on  the  Comstock  lode  from  the  time  they  were  first  opened,  or  during  the  past 
year. 

Not  a  small  portion  of  last  year's  production  in  bullion  came  from  the  tailings  which 
had  accumulated  at  mills  in  former  years,  and  from  the  remnants  of  ore  bodies  left 
from  the  old  workings  in  the  upper  levels  of  the  mine. 

From  a  general  view  of  the  present  condition  and  prospects  of  the  mines  on  the 
Comstock  lode  taken  together,  I  do  not  anticipate  any  material  change  for  the  next 
year  or  two  from  the  last  year  in  the  amount  of  bullion  which  will  be  produced.  Any 
increase  must  depend  entirely  upon  developments  which  cannot  now  be  foreseen. 

The  practical  value  of  the  Sutro  Tunnel  as  an  exploring  work  can  only  be  a  matter 
of  conjecture.  In  the  ground  which  it  traverses  it  may  or  may  not  develop  important 
veins  of  ore.  In  this  respect  it  stands  on  even  footing  with  the  numerous  similar 
enterprises  on  a  smaller  scale  which  have  been  carried  on  in  California  and  in  this 
State.  In  a  geological  point  of  view  the  discoveries  on  the  route  of  the  tunnel  may 
give  much  interesting  and  valuable  information.  But  I  am  unable  to  see  what  prac- 
tical good  any  geological  development  made  outside  can  be  to  mining  within  the 
limits  of  the  Comstock  lode.  The  attempts  made  by  experts  in  former  years  to  apply 
the  rules  and  principles  of  geology  in  determining  the  extent,  boundaries,  and  value  of 
the  vein  were  found  entirely  futile.  With  practical  miners  the  pick  and  shovel  have 
come  to  be  recognized  as  the  only  reliable  experts  within  the  limits  of  the  Comstock 
lode.  In  regard  to  the  value  of  the  Sutro  Tunnel  as  an  aid  to  deep  mining  on  the  Com- 
stock lode,  my  own  individual  opinion  has  been  formed  from  a  few  simple  facts,  and 
not  from  any  desire  to  establish  any  particular  theory  which  has  to  be  supported  by 
an  army  of  figures  and  statistics.  The  chief  purposes  urged,  as  I  understand,  for  carry- 
ing on  this  work  are  drainage,  the  cheaper  extraction,  and  the  cheaper  reduction  of 
ore.  Until  experience  proved  the  contrary,  it  was  a  prevalent  supposition,  even  among 
our  leading  mining  men,  that,  by  tapping  the  lead  at  one  point,  the  whole  vein  would 
at  once  be  drained  down  to  the  level  of  that  point.  This  idea  is  exploded.  The  vein 
matter  of  the  Comstock  is  intersected  in  various  directions,  longitudinally,  crosswise, 
and  diagonally,  with  clay  seams  impenetrable  to  water,  and  within  the  sections  of  a 
single  mine  thus  bounded  by  clay  seams  or  walls  is  confined  more  or  less  water,  and 
a  mine  cannot  be  said  to  be  drained  until  every  one  of  these  seams  has  been  reached 
by  drift  and  has  been  penetrated. 


SUTRO    TUNNEL.  35 

Suppose  this  tunnel,  as  proposed,  should  be  completed  up  to  the  east  edge  of  the 
lode  at  the  Savage  mine,  connections  between  this  tunnel  at  that  point  and  the 
several  mines  for  the  purpose  of  drainage  would  render  necessary  the  running  of  tun- 
nels for  that  specific  purpose  at  an  immense  cost  to  the  mines.  The  Crowrn  Point  and 
Belcher,  two  of  the  most  productive  mines  in  Gold  Hill,  .could  only  be  reached  by  a 
tunnel  nearly  one  mile  long.  In  the  opposite  directions  to  the  north  it  would  require 
a  tunnel  about  a  half  mile  in  length  to  reach  the  Ophir  mine. 

Down  to  a  level  with  the  Sutro  Tunnel,  I  consider  that  our  present  mode  of  extracting 
ore  through  shafts  directly  over  the  mines,  and  by  machinery,  will  be  the  most  direct, 
expeditious,  the  cheapest,  and  that  by  some  addition  to  the  present  power  the  machinery 
will  be  amply  sufficient  to  drain  and  to  extract  ore  down  to  the  level  of  that  tunnel, 
and  even  beyond  that  depth,  and  that  all  this  will  be  accomplished  before  the  Sutro 
Tunnel  can,  in  any  reasonable  probability,  be  completed  up  to  the  Comstock  lode. 

If  it  be  contemplated  by  the  projectors  of  this  tunnel,  as  one  of  the  objects  of  this 
enterprise,  to  have  the  ore  taken  out  through  this  tunnel  and  deposited  near  the  river, 
to  be  reduced  by  water-power  in  mills  to  be  erected,  I  would  reply,  in  answer  to  that 
view  of  the  case,  that  a  large  proportion  of  ore  is  now  being  transported  to  mills  already 
in  operation  on  the  river,  over  a  convenient  and  substantial  surface-railway,  instead  of 
being  drawn  four  miles  under  ground  by  man  or  horse  power.  As  to  the  necessity  or 
advantage  of  such  a  tunnel  to  aid  in  the  working  of  the  mines  below  its  (the  tunnel's) 
own  level,  so  little  is  known  of  the  extent  of  the  lode  downward,  and  there  are  so 
many  uncertainties  connected  with  it  that  it  seems  like  making  a  costly  provision  for 
objects  which  may  not  eventually  require  its  construction,  even  if  the  present  means 
of  hoisting  and  pumping  were  not  sufficient  to  work  below  that  level.  The  above 
views,  formed  from  long  and  mature  consideration,  are  respectfully  submitted  by 
Your  obedient  servant, 

T.  B.  SHAMP, 
Superintendent  Savage  Mining  Company. 

Major  General  H.  G.  WRIGHT, 

Senior  Officer  of  Sutro  Tunnel  Commission. 


OFFICE  SUTRO  TUNNEL  COMMISSION, 

Virginia  City,  Nevada,  July  28,  1871. 

SIR:  By  the  act  of  Congress  approved  April  4,  1871,  this  commission  is  required  to 
report,  among  others,  upon  the  following  points,  viz  : 

1.  The  value  of  the  bullion  extracted  from  the  mines  on  the  Comstock  lode. 

2.  Their  present  and  probable  future  production. 

3.  The  geological  and  practical  value  of  said  tunnel  as  an  exploring  work. 

Much  of  the  information  required  by  the  above  can  be  obtained  only  from  the  com- 
panies engaged  in  mining  on  the  Comstock  lode,  and  as  regards  the  rest,  the  information 
which  the  companies  can  afford  will  be  of  the  highest  value  to  the  commission  in  the 
discharge  of  its  duties.  I  am,  therefore,  instructed  to  request  of  you  your  views,  in 
writing,  upon  the  points  above  quoted,  as  well  as  upon  any  others  which  you  may 
deem  to  have  a  bearing  upon  the  question  of  the  construction  of  the  Sutro  Tunnel. 

I  also  take  the  liberty,  under  the  instructions  of  the  commission,  to  append  a  series 
of  questions  having  a  bearing  upon  the  portions  of  our  duties  not  enumerated  above, 
your  answers  to  which  will  be  important  in  making  up  our  estimates  of  the  probable 
cost  of  the  proposed  tunnel,  and  its  value  as  an  aid  to  deep  mining  on  the  Comstock 
lode. 

Should  your  reply  to  the  foregoing  not  be  ready  before  the  commission  leaves  Vir- 
ginia City,  please  forward  it  addressed  to  me  at  the  Army  Building,  New  York  City. 
The  earliest  practicable  answer  will,  however,  oblige,  * 
Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

H.  G.  WRIGHT, 

Brevet  Major  General.  Senior  Officer  of  Commission. 
Colonel  T.  B.  SCHAMP, 

Superintendent  Savage  Mine. 

The  following  are  the  questions  to  which  answers  are  asked  : 

1.  Cost,  at  various  depths,  of  sinking  shaft,  estimated  by  the  cubic  foot  removed,  or 
by  the  running  foot,  for  a  shaft  of  given  dimensions. 

2.  The  present  cost  of  timbering  the  same,  with  the  increase,  if  any,  with  the 
depth. 

3.  The  cost  of  drifting  in  the  various  rocks  met  with  in  your  operations,  estimated 
either  by  the  cubic  foot  or  by  the  running,  foot,  specifying  the  dimensions  of  the  cross 
section. 

4.  The  cost  of  timbering  the  same. 

5.  The  daily  progress  made  in  the  shafts  and  drifts  through  the  various  rocks,  the 
largest  force  that  can  be  worked  to  advantage  being  employed. 


36  SUTRO    TUNNEL. 

6.  The  cost  of  raising  ore,  water,  &c.,  from  various  depths. 

7.  The  cost  of  pumping  at  your  mine  for  twelve  mouths,  preferably  for  the  year  end- 
ing June  30th,  1871. 

8.  Has  the  water  in  vour  mine  increased  or  diminished  with  the  depth,  and  in  what 
proportion  ? 

9.  The  cost  per  ton  of  ore  for  milling,  arid  where  the  cost  of  transportation  to  the 
mill  is  included,  the  cost  of  the  latter. 

10.  What  is  the  present  cost  of  the  artificial  ventilation  of  your  mine,  and  how  does 
it  increase  with  the  depth  ? 

11.  How  long  a  time,  at  the  present  progress  of  working,  will  it  require  to  exhaust 
all  the  profitable  ore  in  the  mine  above  the  (300-foot  level  f 

12.  How  long,  between  the  600  and  1,000  foot  levels  ? 

13.  At  what  depth  will  the  present  machinery  be  available  for  hoisting  the  ore  or 
clearing  the  mine  from  water? 

14.  What  additional  expense  will  be  incurred,  if  any,  per  1,000  feet  of  additional 
depth  for  the  purpose  above  named,  calculating  from  the  1,000  foot  level  ? 

15.  What  is  the  width  of  the  lode,  and  also  of  productive  vein-matter  at  the  various 
levels  of  your  mine  ? 

16.  What  has  been  the  expense  of  prospecting  the  mine  for  the  year  passed  ? 

17.  How  does  the  pay -ore  compare  at  each  level,  from  the  surface  downward  ? 
Answer  to  question  1.  Dimensions  of  shaft  are  28  feet  by  8  feet;  average  cost  of 

sinking,  42  per  running  foot. 

Answer  to  question  2.  Present  cost  of  timbering  shaft,  at  the  depth  of  1,300  feet,  14 
per  running  foot.  No  material  increase  in  this  cost  for  the  next  few  hundred  feet. 

Answer  to  question  3.  Cost  of  drifting  in  the  various  rocks  from  $6  to  $24  per  running 
foot ;  average  cost  on  the  1,300-foot  level,  $10  per  running  foot.  Dimensions  of  cross- 
sections  of  drifts,  7  feet  high,  6£  feet  wide  at  the  bottom,  and  4-£-  feet  wide  at  the  top. 

Answer  to  question  4.  Cost  of  timbering  drifts,  $1  58  per  running  foot. 

Answer  to  question  5.  Progress  in  sinking  shaft  averages  1  running  foot  per  day ; 
progress  in  running  drifts,  from  1  to  5  feet  running  per  day,  according  to  the  character 
of  the  rock. 

Answer  to  question  6.  Cost  of  raising  ore  from  the  1,300-foot  (or  lowest)  level,  $1  per 
ton. 

Answer  to  question  7.  Cost  of  pumping  of  the  year  ending  June  30,  1871,  $22,337. 
The  present  flow  of  water  is  19,116  gallons  in  twenty-four  hours. 

Answer  to  question  8.  The  flow  of  water  on  the  1,300-foot  (or  lowest)  level  is  some- 
what less  than  it  was  on  some  of  the  levels  above.  The  proportion  in  which  it  has 
diminished  cannot  now  be  accurately  ascertained . 

Answer  to  question  9.  The  average  cost  of  milling  ore  for  the  last  year  has  been 
$9  95  per  ton,  average.  This  includes  transportation,  which  costs  from  75  cents  to  $3 
per  ton,  according  to  the  distance. 

Answer  to  question  10.  The  present  cost  of  artificial  ventilation  of  the  mine  is  about 
$12  per  day. 

Answer  to  question  11.  Six  month's  time,  at  the  present  rate  of  working,  will  ex- 
haust all  the  profitable  ore  in  sight  above  the  600-foot  level. 

Answer  to  question  12.  Six  month's  time  will  also  exhaust  all  profitable  ore  in  sight 
between  the  600-foot  and  the  1,000-foot  level. 

Answer  to  question  13.  The  depth  of  the  present  lowest  level  is  1,300  feet.  The  pre- 
sent machinery  will  be  available  for  hoisting  ore  from  a  depth  400  feet  below  this 
level,  and  for  pumping  the  mine  1,500  feet  deeper. 

Answer  to  question  14.  The  chief  additional  expense  of  hoisting  ore,  and  pumping 
from  a  depth  1,000  feet  below  the  1,000-foot  level  will  be  the  extra  steam  power  re- 
quired, and  that  is  estimated  to  be  but  a  small  fractional  proportion  of  the  power  re- 
quired in  hoisting  and  pumping  from  the  1,000-foot  level. 

Answer  to  question  15.  The  width  of  the  productive  vein-matter  on  the  several 
levels  which  have  been  worked  has  varied  from  4  feet  to  40  feet. 

Answer  to  question  16.  The  expense  of  prospecting  the  mine  for  the  year  ending 
June  30,  1871,  was  $116,371. 

Answer  to  question  17.  The  value  of  the  ore  per  ton  has  diminished  from  the  upper 
levels  downward. 

T.  B.  SHAMP, 
Superintendent  SavageMining  Company. 

VIRGINIA  CITY,  NEVADA,  September  16,  1871. 


APPENDIX  F. 

OFFICE  HALE  &  NORCKOSS'S  SILVER-MINING  COMPANY, 

Virginia,  October  3,  1871. 

DEAR  SIR  :  In  reply  to  your  printed  circular,  received  last  month,  I  will  state  to 


SUTRO    TUNNEL.  37 

questions  Nos.  1  and  2:  The  size  of  our  main  shaft  is  6  feet  wide  and  18  feet  long,  di- 
vided into  three  compartments.  The  cost  of  sinking  this  shaft  has  been  $23  25  per 
foot,  and  of  timbering  the  same  $16  50  per  foot,  and,  from  the  limited  quantity  of 
material  possible  to  be  excavated  from  a  piece  of  ground  of  those  dimensions,  (neces- 
sarily employing  the  hoisting  power  only  a  small  part  of  the  time,  and  not  continu- 
ously,) the  increase  in  cost  of  sinking  the  shaft  has  not  been  perceptible,  particularly 
as  Water  does  not  impede  this  work  to  so  great  an  extent  as  when  advancing  down- 
ward near  the  surface. 

Question  No.  3.  The  average  dimensions  of  our  drifts  and  tunnels  are  5-J  feet  wide 
and  7-rV  feet  high.  The  average  cost  of  running  these  drifts  is  $8  per  foot. 

Question  No.  4.  The  cost  of  timbering  these  drifts  is  $2  per  running  foot. 

Question  No.  5.  From  3  to  12  feet  per  day  is  the  distance  run  in  these  drifts,  accord- 
ing to  hours  worked  and  character  of  the  material  penetrated. 

Question  No.  6.  The  cost  of  hoisting  ore  from  present  station  is  50  cents  per  ton,  and 
has  not  greatly  varied  therefrom  when  extracted  from  the  upper  levels. 

Question  No.  7.  For  the  year  ending  June  30,  1871,  the  cost  of  pumping  water  has 
been  s-J.::-JO. 

Question  No.  8.  The  water  to  be  pumped  is  less  than  when  working  near  the  sur- 
face ;  it  is  about  one-sixth  of  the  former  volume. 

Question  No.  9.  This  company  has  paid  from  $9  to  $12  per  ton  for  milling  its  ores. 
(The  mills  pay  their  own  transportation,  which  has  been  from  65  cents  to  $1  10  per 
ton.) 

Question  No.  10.  As  yet  no  increase  in  cost  of  ventilating  the  mine  is  noticed ;  the 
expense  has  averaged  us  $4  per  day. 

Question  No.  11.  About  five  years. 

Question  No.  12.  About  three  years. 

Question  No.  13.  To  a  depth  of  2,500  feet  this  company  has  nearly  completed  the 
placing  of  ponderous  machinery  to  aid  in  the  prospecting  of  the  mine  at  greater  depths. 
W«-  have  no  ropes  of  that  length  yet,  but  will  have  them  made  long  before  required. 
Our  reels  are  adapted  to  such  lengths,  being  flat-steel  wire-ropes. 

Question  No.  14.  To  a  depth  of  500  feet  below  our  present  lowest  level  (called  the 
1.300-foot  level)  no  particular  augmentation  of  expense  will  be  necessary.  For  a 
greater  depth  I  cannot  at  present  state. 

Question  No.  15.  The  width  of  our  pay-vein  was,  at  100  feet  in  depth,  90  feet ;  200 
feet  in  depth,  80  feet;  300  feet  in  depth,  50  feet;  1,200  feet  in  depth, 45  feet ;  1,300  feet 
in  depth,  80  feet. 

Question  No.  16.  Our  prospecting  expenses  for  the  year  have  been  $147,000. 

Question  No.  17.  The  pay-ore  lessens  in  value  as  we  descend.    It  then  increases  in 
value,  and  again  lessens  to  a  still  greater  extent. 
Very  respectfully,  yours, 

J.  G.  FAIR,  Superintendent 

Mr.  H.  G.  WRIGHT, 

Army  Building,  Neic  TorTc. 


APPENDIX  G. 

OFFICE  CHOLLAR  POTOSI  MINING  COMPANY, 

Virginia  City,  Nevada,  September  — ,  1871. 

RESPECTED  SIR  :  In  compliance  with  your  request  made  at  this  place  I  herewith 
submit  the  following  as  answers  to  the  various  questions  contained  in  your  circular 
bearing  date  at  Virginia  City,  Nevada,  July  28,  1871 : 

CONGRESSIONAL  QUESTIONS. 

Question  No.  1.  Value  of  bullion  extracted  from  mines  on  the  Comstock  lode. 

Answer.  Total  amount  of  bullion  extracted  from  this  mine  is  $11,772,105  47. 

Question  No.  2.  Their  present  and  probable  future  production. 

Answer.  For  the  twelve  months  ending  May  31,  A.  D.  1871,  the  average  monthly 
yield  of  bullion  was  $288,285  25.  For  the  months  of  June  and  July  following  the 
bullion  production  averaged  $166,312.  The  future  yield  of  bullion  necessarily  depends 
on  the  success  of  prospecting.  At  this  writing  indications  are  positively  and  deci- 
dedly against  the  hope  that  any  twelve  months  in  the  future  will  nearly  equal  the 
production  of  the  past  year. 

Question  No.  3.  The  geological  and  practical  value  of  said  tunnel  as  an  exploring 
work. 

Answer.  Geologically,  science  may  derive  information  of  value  to  students  in  that 
branch  of  learning,  although  the  probabilities  strongly  favor  the  opinion  that  the 
same  geological  knowledge  can  be  acquired  more  easily  and  at  vastly  less  ex- 
pense. Practically  considered,  after  many  years  experience  in  mining— five  of  which 
have  been  exclusively  devoted  to  the  Comstock  lode,  in  directing  and  super- 


38  SUTRO   TUNNEL. 

intending  mining  operations — being  thus  employed,  opportunities  were  abundant 
to  gain  a  knowledge  of  the  formations  and  to  study  the  nature  of  the  various 
deposits  that  make  up  this  lode.  Also,  to  satisfactorily  determine  water-sources  that 
have  supplied  the  subterranean  reservoirs  met  with  in  explorations  along  this  river. 

The  result  of  this  experience  dictates  the  follow  conclusions :  That  the  proposd  adit 
known  as  the  Sutro  Tunnel  is  not  now,  and  never  will  be,  a  necessity  to  the  lode, 
either  for  prospecting  purposes,  ventilation,  orfor  the  economical  handling  of  metal-bear- 
ing material,  waste  or  d6bris  or  as  a  means  of  entry  or  exit  for  men  to  the  various 
mines  located  on  the  Comstock.  The  reasons  why  said  adit  is  not  needed  for  pros- 
pecting purposes :  This  company  have  a  shaft  and  incline  sunk  immediately  on  the 
lode  to  the  vertical  depth,  from  the  top  of  the  shaft,  of  1,250  or  1418  feet  from  point 
[A]  as  designated  on  Clarence  King's  atlas  of  Mining  Industry.  The  shaft  is  located 
near  the  center  of  this  company's  claim ;  that  is,  so  far  as  a  north  and  south  line  is  con- 
sidered. For  a  better  understanding  of  the  location  of  the  shaft,  and  the  explorations 
carried  on  from  the  same,  reference  is  hereby  made  to  the  atlas  mentioned  above.  From 
this  shaft  explorations  have  been,  and  always  can  be,  carried  on  with  far  greater  econ- 
omy, more  safety,  and  in  a  more  satisfactory  manner  than  could  be  done  through  the 
proposed  adit,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  shaft,  being  on  and  passing  through  the  lode, 
we  have  our  entire  operations,  as  it  were,  in  a  u  nut-shell."  Stations  are  made  at  each 
hundred  feet  in  depth ;  from  these,  drifts  are  driven  running  north  and  south,  east  and 
west,  or  at  any  other  point  of  the  compass  desired.  From  these  drifts,  as  they  are 
pushed  on,  we  can  and  do  gather  daily  information  of  the  value  of  material  passed 
through ;  the  condition  and  prospect  of  the  lode  for  the  next  level.  Through  this  shaft 
we  pass  our  men  to  the  various  sections  of  the  mine  allotted  to  them.  Down  here  goes 
all  the  timber  used  in  all  portions  of  slopes,  drifts,  and  winges,  also  the  tools ;  in  short, 
everything  needed  for  the  perfect  working  of  the  mine.  By  aid  of  machinery  at  the 
surface  all  of  this  work  is  done.  Allow  me  to  ask  how  would  it  be  to  run  in  timber  four 
miles  through  a  tunnel,  and  hoist  the  same  up  seventeen  hundred  feet  vertically,  as  we 
would  be  compelled  to  do— this  company  having  done  no  work  for  two  years  last  past 
below  the  200-foot  level  of  their  shaft — and  from  there  distribute  them  through 
the  mine.  Presuming  we  were  down  on  the  1, 000-foot  level  extracting  ore,  and 
this  tunnel,  as  is  proposed,  the  means  of  entry  and  exit  for  ore,  men,  and  timber, 
we  would  then  be  compelled  to  hoist  our  timber  800  feet  by  hand— as  the  projector 
of  the  tunnel  assumes  that  no  machinery  is  required  to  operate  the  mines  after  the  tun- 
nel is  complete — and  the  poor  toiling  miner  must  climb  up  by  sheer  muscle-power  the 
same  distance.  Imagine,  if  you  can,  hundreds,  ay,  thousands  of  men  climbing  up  and 
down  these  vertical  ladders  distances  varying  from  five  to  seventeen  hundred  feet, 
and  then  compare  it  with  the  ease  and  safety  that  they  are  placed  at  the  various  sta- 
tions in  the  shaft  by  the  aid  of  machinery  we  now  have  in  use  at  our  mine ;  and  does 
it  not  comport  with  good  economy  to  spend  the  muscle-power  at  the  face  of  drifts,  or 
in  the  slopes,  rather  than  exhaust  the  energies  of  your  men  climbing  up  and  down  im- 
mense vertical  heights  on  ladders  ?  Hence  I  assert,  without  fear  of  successful  contra- 
diction, that  for  the  purpose  of  exploring  this  lode  the  proposed  tunnel  would  prove  a 
positive  failure. 

Concerning  the  country  east  of  the  Comstock,  and  through  which  this  proposed  adit 
is  supposed  to  pass,  I  claim  no  knowledge.  All  reasoning  on  what  exists  at  great 
depths  east  must  necessarily  be  theoretical.  My  conclusions  are  that,  at  the  depth  this 
proposed  tunnel  would  come,  no  precious  metal  exists  outside  of  the  main  vein.  Some 
prominent  croppings  eastward  have  been  operated  on  most  of  the  time  during  the  past 
eleven  years.  The  few  hundred  feet  in  depth  that  have  been  attained  on  them  re- 
sulted in  practically  exhausting  the  extremely  limited  amount  of  precious  metals,  and 
in  nearly  every  instance  has  been  the  financial  ruin  of  those  interested. 

To  illustrate  the  supposed  benefits  to  be  derived  from  this  proposed  tunnel  for  venti- 
lation, we  will  assume  that  the  same  is  completed  along  the  whole  line,  and  connected 
with  each  shaft-— a  bold  assumption,  I  grant — the  currents  of  air  supposed  to  be  pass- 
ing rapidly  through  the  tunnel  and  shafts,  with  all  this  imaginary  air  passing  through 
these  funnels,  not  a  particle  can  be  had  at  the  slope  we  are  working  700  feet  west,  as 
is  the  case  in  this  claim,  of  the  shaft.  To  get  air  in  a  slope  or  drift  away  from  the 
shaft  machinery  must  be  used.  All  practical  miners  are  aware  of  this  fact,  consequently 
the  applying  of  compressed-air  machinery  for  ventilating  these  mines,  and  using  the 
engine  in  deep  levels  to  hoist  with  is  being  considered,  and  will,  no  doubt,  if  the  pros- 
pects of  the  lode  justify,  be  soon  put  in  operation.  With  this  machinery,  and  a  connec- 
tion of  the  various  shafts,  a  more  perfect  system  of  ventilation  will  be  secured  than 
any  other  method  can  afford,  and  at  an  expense  that  would  be  considered  as  nothing 
when  compared  with  the  expense  attending  the  very  imperfect  manner  of  ventilation 


5  proposed  by  the  owners  of  the  "  adit  franchise.' 
Handlma  < 


landlmg  of  ore. — Please,  sir,  come  with  me  and  examine  the  matter  of  passing  the 
ore  that  this  company  is  now  mining,  or  ever  has  mined,  through  this  proposed  tunnel. 
We  start  at  the  mouth  of  this  company's  shaft,  and  go  down  178  feet ;  here  is  the  sta- 
tion. WTe  leave  the  shaft,  and  go  in  west  16°  south  for  700  feet ;  here  we  are  under 
where  the  large  body  of  ore  known  as  the  Belvedere  existed.  North  of  us  to  the 


SUTRO   TUNNEL.  39 

company's  north  line,  and  down  below  us  280  feet,  making  458  feet  in  depth  from 
mouth  to  shaft,  is  the  section  of  country  from  which  all  the  ore  has  been  taken  that 
produced  the  nearly  $12,000,000  in  bullion  mentioned  in  the  beginning  as  the  gross 
product  of  the  mine.  Below  this  458-foot  level,  we  have  gone  800  feet  without  finding 
ore.  and  as  we  attained  depth  the  more  discouraging  onr  prospects  became.  That  is 
wby  two  years  have  passed  without  our  making  an  effort  to  sink  further.  Had  even 
the  slightest  encouragement  been  developed,  we  should  have  continued  the  sinking, 
and  would  have  been  at  this  date  300  feet  below  the  level  of  the  proposed  tunnel. 

Pardon  this  digression.  Let  us  return  to  the  point  700  feet  west  of  the  shaft,  and 
consider  the  proposition  of  running  this  ore  from  here  to  the  shaft,  and  dumping  the 
same  down  a  chute  2,000  feet  in  length.  Why  so  long?  Because  the  chute  must  be  on 
an  angle  of  45°  to  conform  to  the  west  wall,  and  to  reach  the  tunnel  from  this  level  at 
the  shaft.  Can  a  chute  be  made  to  work  that  distance  and  on  that  angle  I  We  prac- 
tical miners  would  promptly  say,  no,  sir;  as  we  find  it  very  difficult  to  maintain 
chutes  300  or  400  feet  in  length  standing  vertical.  Do  we  ever  make  them  on  angle  ? 
Never  at  45°,  and  never  on  any  angle  if  we  can  avoid  it,  as  they  clog  and  wear  much  more 
quickly  than  vertical  ones.  Sir,  permit  me  to  ask,  would  you  not  consider  us  guilty  of 
the  most  consummate  folly  to  chute  this  ore  down  2,000  feet  (if  it  could  be  done)  to  this 
proposed  tunnel,  and  run  it  out  four  miles  for  the  privilege  of  hauling  up  heavy  hills 
to  mills,  when  we  can  run  the  car  loaded  with  ore  on  the  cage,  hoist  to  the  surface,  l"/8 
feet,  place  the  ore  in  dumps  made  purposely  to  facilitate  the  loading  of  railroad  cars  or 
teams,  and  from  this  point  the  hauling  is  all  the  way  down  hill  ?  What  does  it  cost  for 
hoisting  from  this  level  ?  During  the  month  of  July  we  hoisted  3,000  tons  from  here, 
drove  the  engine  to  run  the  blower  for  ventilating  the  drifts.  To  make  steam  neces- 
sary for  this  work  ten  cords  of  wood  were  consumed,  or  one-third  of  a  cord  each  twenty- 
four  hours.  As  you  will  notice,  one  car  goes  up,  while  the  car  in  the  next  compartment  of 
the  shaft  comes  down.  This  arrangement  makes  hoisting  easy,  also  very  economical, 
and  can  be  made  to  work  equally  well  at  2,000  feet  in  depth  as  it  does  here  at  200  feet. 
Fact  is,  the  matter  of  hoisting  from  any  depth  up  to  3,000  feet  can  be  easily  accom- 
plished. How  to  get  the  ore  out  from  these  deep  levels  is  not  the  important  question 
on  the  Comstock.  To  find  the  ore  to  hoist,  that  is  where  the  insurmountable  difficulty 
comes  in.  To  solve  that  problem  requires  more  brain,  muscle,  and  money  than  all  other 
operations  along  the  vein  put  together.  Show  us  the  ore,  even  at  the  depth  of  3,000  feet, 
and  I  will  give  you  a  pledge,  sir,  that  we  will  never  ask  how  shall  we  get  this  ore  out. 
Relative  to  this  proposed  adit  as  a  means  of  entry  and  exit  for  men,  the  remarks  already 
made  are  perhaps  quite  sufficient  on  that  point.  In  brief,  the  whole  tunnel  project 
is  simply  impracticable,  unnecessary,  and  totally  uncalled  for  except  as  a  drain. 
Here  a  few  words  will  be  applicable  concerning  the  water-source  and  subterra- 
nean reservoirs  that  have  been  met  with.  All  water  found  in  this  mine  has  been  in 
reservoirs  ;  these  were  formed  by  the  clays  uniting,  so  that  in  shape  they  represented 
huge  basins.  The  water-supplies*  came  from  the  surface.  Melting  of  snows  for  thou- 
sands of  years  formed  the  water  which  circulated  to  and  filled  these  reservoirs.  Pros- 
pecting drifts  pierced  the  clays  and  tapped  these  water  deposits,  and  drained  them,  at 
the  various  stations,  until  the  clays  reached  the  west  wall,  which  terminated  the 
reservoirs.  Below  the  1,000-foot  level  in  this  mine  water  was  not  met  with.  On  the 
1,250-foot  level  there  was  no  natural  moisture.  The  Bullion  claims,  first  adjourning  us 
on  the  south,  reached  in  depth  100  feet  below  our  1,250-foot  station.  At  that  point 
the  earth  was  so  intensely  dry  that  dust  caused  from  the  working  pervaded  the 
drift,  very  much  to  the  discomfort  of  the  miners  in  said  drift.  If,  in  review,  these  facts 
are  given  their  proper  weight,  the  conclusions  naturally  follow  that  the  construction 
of  an  immense  adit  to.drain  the  Chollar  Potosi  mine  would  be  superfluous. 

To  the  best  of  our  knowledge  we  have  made  answer  to  the  congressional  questions. 
We  must  next  proceed  to  answer  those  interrogatories  propounded  by  your  honorable 
body. 

COMMISSION  QUESTIONS. 

Question  No.  1.  Cost,  at  various  depths,  of  sinking  shafts  estimated  by  the  cubic  foot 
removed,  or  by  the  running  foot,  for  a  shaft  of  given  dimensions  ? 

To  give  answer  to  this  I  will  take  the  main  incline,  which  commences  at  a  point  891 
feet  down  from  mouth  of  shaft,  and  continues  down  on  an  angle  of  45°  to  the  east,  a 
distance  of  612  feet,  at  which  point  is  our  deepest  level.  Size  of  excavation  is  14  feet 
in  width,  9  feet  in  height.  This  excavation,  as  timbered,  forms  two  compartments. 
The  one  on  the  pump  side  is  6  feet  in  height,  in  clear  of  timbers,  by  6  feet  in  width,  in 
clear  of  timbers.  The  other,  the  hoisting  compartment,  is  6  feet  in  height  by  4  feet 
in  width. 

Excavation  cost  per  running  or  lineal  foot $20  00 

Timber,  200  feet,  at  2^  cents  per  lineal  foot : 5  0< 

Timber  framing  and  setting,  per  lineal  foot 5  00 

Wear  and  tear  of  machinery,  oils,  and  incidentals 5  00 

Total  cost  per  running  or  lineal  foot 35  00 


40  SUTRO   TUNNEL. 

These  figures  represent  the  average  cost  per  lineal  foot  for  running  said  incline  from 
the  beginning  to  the  completion,  or  the  entire  length  of  612  feet.  Had  we  taken  down 
other  two  compartments  to  correspond  with  the  main  or  vertical  shaft,  the  expense 
would  not  have  been  so  great  proportionally.  Material  passed  through  was  syenite. 

Question  No.  2.  The  present  cost  of  timbering  the  same  with  the  increase,  if  any, 
•with  the  depth. 

Answer  to  this  question  was  merged  in  the  answer  made  to  No.  1,  except  "the  in- 
creased cost  of  timbering  as  depth  is  attained."  Practically  speakitfg  there  is  no 
increase!  n  the  cost. 

Question  No.  3.  The  cost  of  drifting,  in  the  various  rocks  met  with  in  your  opera- 
tions, estimated  either  by  the  cubic  foot  or  by  the  running  foot,  specifying  the  dimen- 
sions of  the  cross-section." 

Answer.  In  answering  this  question  I  will  take  as  an  example  our  drift  at  the  178- 
foot  station,  the  same  that  you  passed  through  when  you  visited  the  mine.  The  drift 
is  700  feet  in  length  from  shaft  to  Belvidere  country.  *In  making  the  drift  all  the  ma- 
terial common  to  this  section  outside  of  the  lode  was  passed  through,  such  as  audesite, 
quartzite,  porphyry,  and  clay.  The  following  figures  show  the  cost  per  running  or 
lineal  foot : 

Per  foot 

Running  drift  by  contract,  contractors  furnishing  candles $3  75 

Timber  and  framing 1  85 

Sharpening  tools 1  00 

Hoist  and  deposit  earth 3  00 


Total  cost  per  foot 9  60 


Size  of  drift  outside  of  timbers  is  6  feet  6  inches  by  9  feet  5  inches  by  5  feet  6  inches? 
(6  feet  6  by  9  feet  5  by  5  feet  6.)  A  diagram  of  shape  and  size  of  timber  in  drift  was 
handed  you.  With  your  consent  I  make  reference  to  said  diagram  to  show  size  of  drift 
in  clear  of  timber. 

Question  No.  4.  The  cost  of  timbering  the  same. 

Answer.  As  noted  above,  the  timber  and  framing  cost  $1  85  per  lineal  foot.  The 
putting  of  them  in  place  was  included  in  the  contract  for  running. 

Question  No.  5.  The  daily  progress  made  in  the  shafts  and  drifts  through  the  vari- 
ous rocks,  the  largest  force  that  can  be  worked  to  advantage  being  employed. 

Answer.  In  drift  from  shaft  at  178-foot  station  the  average  progress  was  6  feet  6 
inches — 6£  feet  each  twenty-four  hours.  In  sinking  the  incline,  average  progress  was 
4  feet  8  inches  each  twenty-four  hours.  At  both  the  incline  and  drift  all  was  done 
that  could  be  to  hasten  progress. 

Question  No.  6.  The  cost  of  raising  ore,  water,  &c.,  from  various  depths. 

Answer.  At  the  1,250-foot  station  material  was  taken  up  the  incline,  placed  on  the 
cages  in  shaft,  and  taken  to  the  surface  for  an  actual  cost  of  38  cents  per  ton.  Had  we 
succeeded  in  finding  ore  there  in  sufficient  quantities  to  have  kept  the  machinery 
steadily  employed,  35  cents  per  ton  would  cover  the  cost  of  hoisting.  The  water  quan- 
tity was  so  limited  when  we  were  operating  in  low  levels  that  for  weeks  together  the 
pumps  would  run  one  hour  only  out  of  the  twenty-four.  No  record  was  kept  of  that 
expense. 

Question  No.  7.  The  cost  of  pumping  at  your  mine  for  twelve  months,  preferably 
for  the  year  ending  June  30, 1871. 

Answer.  For  two  years  last  past  this  mine  has  been  entirely  exempted  from  pumping. 

Question  No.  8.  Has  the  water  in  your  mine  increased  or  diminished  with  the  depth, 
and  in  what  proportion  ? 

Answer.  As  depth  was  attained  water  diminished;  at  the  lowest  level  there  was  no 
water. 

Question  No.  9.  The  cost  per  ton  of  ore  for  milling,  and,  where  the  cost  of  transpor- 
tation to  the  mills  is  included,  the  cost  of  the  latter. 

Answer.  For  the  year  ending  May  31,  1871,  this  company  paid  $12  per  ton  for  the 
milling  and  transportation  of  their  ore.  What  the  cost  of  transportation  was  I  know 
not. 

Question  No.  10.  What  is  the  present  cost  of  artificial  ventilation  of  your  mine,  and 
how  does  it  increase  with  the  depth? 

Answer.  The  points  ventilated  in  this  mine  artificially  at  this  time  are  three ;  expense 
attending  same  is  75  cents  per  day.  The  cost  of  ventilation  at  the  deepest  le\els  was 
$6  per  day. 

Question  No.  11.  How  long  a  time,  at  the  present  progress  of  working,  will  it  require 
to  exhaust  all  the  profitable  ore  in  the  mine  above  the  600-foot  level  ? 

Answer.  At  present  rate  of  working,  three  years'  time  will  exhaust  all  the  ore  in  the 
mine ;  that  is,  all  the  ore  that  is  known  to  exist. 

Question  No.  12.  How  long  between  the  600  and  1,000-foot  levels? 

Answer.  Up  to  this  date  no  ore  Avorthy  of  mention  has  been  found  below  the  600-foot 
level. 


SUTRO    TUNNEL.  41 

Question  No.  13.  At  what  depth  -will  present  machinery  be  available  for  hoisting 
the  ore  or  clearing  the  mine  from  water  ? 

Answer.  Two  thousand  and  two  hundred  feet  vertically ;  that  is,  the  machine  we 
had  in  use  when  the  work  at  lower  levels  was  being  prosecuted  would  have  been 
suth'oicnt  to  have  reached  the  distance  above  stated. 

To  question  No.  14  answer  will  bo  omitted,  for  the  reason  that,  all  work  at  our  lower 
levels  being  suspended,  to  attempt  to  make  answer  could  be  nothing  more  than  guessing. 

Question  No.  15.  What  is  the  width  of  the  lode,  and  also  of  productive  view  matter, 
at  the  various  levels  in  your  mines  ? 

Answer.  The  width  of  the  Coinstock  is  a  matter  that  is  to-day  entirely  undecided. 
The  productive  view  matter  in  this  mine  has  averaged  about  45  feet  in  width. 

Question  No.  16.  What  has  been  the  expense  of  prospecting  the  mine  for  the  year 
past? 

Answer.  For  the  year  ending  last  31st  of  May,  $143,800  were  expended  in  repairs, 
prospecting,  dead  work,  and  incidentals.  About  $100,000  of  that  amount  was  spent 
strictly  for  prospecting. 

Question  No.  17.  How  does  the  pay-ore  compare  at  each  level,  from  the  surface 
downward? 

Answer.  The  best  ore  produced  by  this  mine,  both  as  to  quantity  and  quality,  was 
taken  out  from  the  surface  downward  to  the  300-foot  level.  Below  that  point  the  ore 
diminished  in  quantity  and  quality  until  it  ran  out. 

Having  concluded  and  made  answers  to  the  best  of  my  understanding  of  your  ques- 
tions, I  beg  leave  to  say  that  should  some  of  the  answers  prove  to  you  vague,  I  will  be 
most  happy  to  make  further  explanation,  if  you  will  at  any  time,  by  letter  or  other- 
wise, signify  your  desire  for  such.  Permit  me  to  add  further,  that  by  referring  to 
Clarence  King's  Mining  Industry,  or  the  Annual  Report  of  this  company,  you  may 
gather  the  information  to  make  clear  what  may  prove  cloudy  to  you  in  some  answers 
I  have  made. 

I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully,  yours, 

ISAAC  L.  REQUA, 
Superintendent  of  Chollar  Potosi  Mine. 

Brevet  Major  General  H.  G.  WRIGHT, 

Senior  officer  of  Sutro  Tunnel  Commission. 

EXPLANATION. 

On  folio  20  the  cost  of  hoisting  from  the  1,250-foot  level  is  35  cents  per  ton.  This 
work  was  done  thirty  months  ago.  At  that  time  wood  was  $14  per  cord ;  now  the  price 
is  $10.  Other  expenses  were  larger  then  than  now. 

Beyond  a  doubt  further  reductions  in  cost  of  fuel  will  be  made;  also  other  expenses 
which  will  so  far  economize  operations  that  25  cents  would  cover  the  actual  expense 
of  hoisting  per  ton  from  the  1,250-foot  level. 

I  beg  your  indulgence-  to  express  to  your  honorable  committee  my  firm  conviction 
concerning  the  utility  of  the  proposed  tunnel.  If  said  tunnel,  with  the  proposed  lat- 
eral branches,  was  now  complete,  and  the  owners  of  the  tunnel  should  sign  a  compact 
with  the  mine-owner  agreeing  to  relinquish  their  right  to  collect  royalty,  also  that  the 
mine-owners  should  have  the  right  of  way  through  said  adit  to  run  ore-timber,  &c., 
and  that  tolls  for  use  of  said  tunnel  should  not  be  collected,  I  am  sure  true  economy 
would  then  be  to  hoist  the  ore  by  machinery  to  the  surface  as  we  are  now  doing. 

Not  wishing  to  exhaust  your  patience  by  dry  figures  to  prove  the  above  conclusions, 
I  will  simply  say  that  proof  abundant  can  be  given  to  substantiate  the  assertion. 
Respectfully,  yours, 

ISAAC  L.  REQUA. 


OFFICE  CHOLLAR  POTOSI  MINING-COMPANY, 

Virginia,  Nevada,  July  21, 1871. 

Gentlemen  of  the  Sutro  Tunnel  Commission : 

In  reply  to  your  questions  concerning  the  cost  of  running  the  tunnel  on  the  first 
station  from  new  shaft  of  Chollar  Potosi  Mining  Company  west  700  feet,  I  beg  leave 
to  submit  the  following  as  the  total  cost  per  foot : 

Per  linear 
foot. 

Running  drift  by  contract,  contractors  provide  candles $3  75 

Timber  and  framing 1  85 

Sharpening  tools 1  00 

Hoist  and  deposit  earth 3  00 


Total..  ,     960 


42 


SUTRO   TUNNEL. 


Size  of  drift  outside  of  timbers  is  6  feet  6  inches  by  9  feet  5  inches  by  5  feet  6  inches. 
The  diagram  connected  gives  the  size  in  clear  of  timber. 
Respectfully,  yours, 

ISAAC  L.  REQUA. 

Superintendent. 


3  feet  2  inches. 


4  feet  1  inch. 


SCALE  :  ^  of  an  inch  to  the  foot. 


SUTRO    TUNNEL.  43 

APPENDIX  H. 

GOLD  HILL,  NEVADA,  October  4, 1871. 

DEAR  SIR  :  The  following  are  my  answers  to  your  various  questions,  which  I  have 
endeavored  to  answer  as  correctly  as  possible : 

The  Imperial  and  Empire  shaft,  7|  by  20  feet  outside  of  timbers,  containing  150  cubic 
feet  to  each  running  foot,  was  sunk  between  the  1,200  and  1,300-foot  levels  for  36  cents 
per  foot,  all  in  very  hard  blasting  rock,  or  24  cents  per  cubic  foot,  including  labor  of 
timbering.  This  portion  of  the  shaft  was  sunk  in  the  vein  where  the  quartz  was  very 
hard,  arid  a  large  quantity  of  water  to  contend  with.  In.  good  ground  the  same  shaft 
can  be  sunk  for  15  cents  per  cubic  foot,  including  labor  of  timbering,  or  $18  90  per  run- 
ning foot. 

No.  2.  The  cost  to  timber  a  shaft  7|by  20  outside  of  timbers,  for  100  running  feet,  will 
require  15,000  feet  of  12  by  12  and  10  by  15,  and  11,200  feet  of  plank,  equal  to  2£  feet  of 
timber  for  each  cubic  foot  of  earth  removed.  Heavy  ground  will,  of  course,  require 
more  timber. 

No.  3.  The  cost  of  drifting  varies  under  so  many  different  circumstances  it  is  next  to 
impossible  to  give  a  correct  estimate.  The  size  of  our  drifts,  usually  6  by  9  outside  of 
timber,  with  good  cool  air,  can  be  run  for  $7  per  foot  in  hard  blasting  ground.  The 
same  ground  with  thermometer  110°  will  cost  $32  per  running  foot,  or  59  cents  per 
cubic  foot. 

No.  4.  Cost  of  timbering  the  above  drifts  with  sets  5  feet  from  centers  would  be  $3  24 
per  running  foot,  or  6  cents  per  cubic  foot. 

No.  5.  Daily  progress  in  good  air,  7  feet ;  thermometer  110°,  18  inches  to  2  feet. 

No.  6.  The  cost  of  raising  ore,  &c.,  from  1,300-foot  level  to  the  surface  is  27  cents  per 
ton  ;  that  is,  running  our  present  machinery  full  capacity.  Estimated  cost  from  2,000- 
foot  level,  50  cents  per  ton.  This  estimate  includes  every  expense  except  wear  and  tear 
of  machinery. 

No.  7.  The  cost  of  raising  the  water  for  the  past  year  is  difficult  to  get  at.  Not  having 
any  pumps  it  was  raised  to  the  service  with  a  tank  which  we  run  only  when  absolutely 
necessary. 

No.  8.  See  no  perceptible  change  in  water  from  250-foot  level  to  1,300-foot  level ;  if 
any,  it  has  decreased. 

No.  9.  Company  mill ;  cost  of  milling,  $7  90,  including  hauling,  which  was  45  cents 
per  ton. 

No.  10.  Cost  of  artificial  ventilation  :  one  Root's  blower,  $18  per  day,  carrying  air  to 
1,340-foot  level. 

No.  11.  All  the  available  ore  from  the  600-foot  level  to  the  surface  is  exhausted,  unless 
the  cost  of  milling  be  reduced. 

No.  12.  From  600-foot  level  to  our  present  lowest  or  1,300-foot  level,  the  vein  in  Impe- 
rial and  Empire  mines  has  been  comparatively  barren. 

No.  13.  Our  present  machinery  in  use  at  the  mine  will  be  available  for  hoisting  to  a 
depth  of  at  least  2,500  feet. 

No.  14.  The  width  of  the  lode  at  the  various  levels  varies;  on  700-foot  level  the  vein 
was  425  feet  between  walls  ;  on  900-foot  level,  308 ;  on  1,300-foot  level,  150  feet  from 
east  to  west  wall ;  productive  vein-matter  varies  in  width. 

No.  15.  The  cost  of  prospecting  for  the  year  past  was  about  $110,000. 

No.  16.  The  pay-ore  was  quite  uniform  from  the  surface  down  to  700-foot  level,  where 
the  vein  had  got  to  be  so  very  wide  and  ore  so  scattered  it  could  not  be  made  to  pay. 
The  vein  seems  to  be  getting  more  concentrated  as  we  go  deeper. 
Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

R.  N.  GRAVES, 
Superintendent  Imperial  and  Empire  Mines. 

Brevet  Major  General  H.  G.  WRIGHT, 

Sutro  Tunnel  Commissioner. 


APPENDIX  I. 

GOLD  HILL,  August  31, 1871. 

DEAR  SIR'  :  Your  favor  of  28th  ultimo  duly  received,  and  all  your  questions  noted  and 
answered  as  follows,  as  concisely  as  possible  with  regard  to  accuracy : 
The  value  of  bullion  extracted  from  the  Yellow  Jacket  mine  since  date 

of  incorporation  in  February,  1863,  as  per  books  of  company,  wan $12,772, 172 

Bullion  from  ore  sold  since  the  above  date,  and  product  of  mine  pre- 
vious to  the  same,  estimated  at 1,500,000 

Total  amount  of  buUion 14,272,172 


44  SUTRO  TUNNEL. 

The  present  yield  of  the  mine  is  about  $180,000  per  month,  or  about  $2,000,000  per 
year.  The  probable  future  yield  will  no  doubt  equal  the  past. 

The  geological  value  of  the  tunnel  will  consist  in  its  showing  a  section  of  the  country 
twenty-two"  hundred  (thousand?)  ('22,000)  feet  east  of  the  Comstock  lode,  a  longer 
section  than  is  probably  shown  by  any  similar  work  in  the  United  States,  and  conse- 
quently of  value  to  science.  The  practical  value  of  said  tunnel  will  be  its  use  as  an 
adit  for  the  lode;  as  a  means  of  ventilation  it  will  be  of  value  to  any  mine  connecting 
its  workings  with  the  tunnel,  but  I  think  of  no  more  value  than  the  connections  for 
air  passages  between  the  several  shafts,  as  at  present  made.  For  the  purposes  of  ex- 
i  tracting  ore  above  the  tunnel  level,  it  will  be  of  very  little  value.  We  find  that  chutes 
j  over  150  feet  in  length  are  very  expensive  to  keep  in  repair  and  open.  Chutes  of  even 
that  length  are  apt  to  become  choked,  when  there  is  great  danger  and  difficulty  in 
clearing  them,  for  which  reason  we  seldom  make  our  working  levels  more  than  100 
feet  apart,  (vertical,)  or  about  140  feet  on  slope  of  lode.  Another  objection  is  the  ad- 
ditional labor  of  climbing  and  upraising  of  tools  and  timbers. 

The  cost  of  sinking  shafts  varies  under  so  many  different  circumstances  that  I  can 
only  give  practical  results  that  I  can  obtain  from  present  and  former  work.  A  shaft 
7  by  18  feet  outside  of  timbers,  or  full  size,  can  be  sunk  for  $17  64  per  running  foot,  or 
14  cents  per  cubic  foot  of  earth  removed.  This  is  in  blasting  ground,  and  includes  labor 
of  timbering. 

Yellow  Jacket  shaft,  between  1,000  and  1,100-foot  levels,  8  by  24  feet,  full  size,  was 
sunk  for  $27  per  running  foot,  or  about  14  cents  per  cubic  foot,  all  blasting  ground. 
Temperature  of  air  93°,  labor  of  timbering  included. 

Incline  below  1,100- foot  level,  full  size,  9  by  14  feet,  an  angle  of  45°,  all  blasting  ground, 
sunk  for  $20  per  running  foot,  or  l&J  cents  per  cubic  foot.  Average  3}  feet  per  day  ; 
four  shifts  of  six  hours  each,  four  men  each. 

The  cost  of  timbering  such  ground  as  the  above,  that  is,  cost  of  timber  and 
framing  the  same,  will  be  about  3  feet  of  timber  (lumber  or  board  measure)  for  each 
cubic  foot  of  earth  removed,  or  say  10  cents  per  cubic  foot  of  shaft.  Heavy  clay  or 
swelling  ground  Avill  require  twice  the  same. 

The  cost  of  drifting,  like  cost  of  sinking  shafts,  depends  on  character  of  ground  and 
temperature  of  air.  Have  run  drifts  in  hard  blasting  ground,  (cool  air,  size  full,)  6  by 
9,  for  $7  per  running  foot,  or  13  cents  per  cubic  foot  of  earth  removed.  Same  ground, 
with  temperature  of  air  107°,  cost  $30  per  running  foot,  or  55J  cents  per  cubic  foot, 
cost  of  labor  of  timbering  included  in  the  above.  With  cool  air  made  3^  feet  per  day  ; 
with  air  at  107°,  20  feet  per  month. 

Cost  of  timber  for  drift  above  size  (6  by  9  feet)  will  be  $3  42  per  running  foot,  or  6£ 
cents  per  cubic  foot.  Have  run  drifts  the  above  dimensions,  good  working  ground,  and 
timber  the  same,  10  feet  per  twenty-four  hours. 

The  cost  of  raising  ore,  waste,  &c.,  the  past  ten  days,  from  1,130- foot  level  to  the 
surface,  (3,025  tons,)  was  37£  cents  per  ton  of  2,000  pounds.  Estimate  that  we  can 
raise  ore,  &c.,  from  2,000-foot  level  for  64  cents  per  ton.  The  above  includes  all  cost 
of  engineers,  brakeman,  firemen,  fuel,  water,  oils,  &c.,  but  not  wear  and  tear.  Can 
raise  or  lower  men  to  2,000-foot  level,  in  four  minutes,  for  6  cents  per  man. 

The  cost  of  pumping  the  past  year  at  Yellow  Jacket  mine  has  been  very  small. 
Have  not  run  pumps  for  sixty  days  at  a  time.  Water  of  whole  mine  has  not  exceeded 
1  inch  (miner's  measure,  6-inch  pressure)  the  whole  year. 

The  water  in  the  mine  has  decreased  from  20  inches,  at  250-foot  level,  to  less  than  1 
inch,  1,130-foot  level ;  (miner's  measure,  6-inch  pressure.) 

The  cost  of  milling  at  present  is  $12  per  ton.  Cost  of  transportation  to  river  mills  is 
about  $2  50  per  ton  ;  to  steam  mills  within  county  lines,  about  60  cents  per  ton.  Cost 
of  transport ation,_included  in  cost  of  milling  ore,  $12. 

Cost  of  running  two  of  Root's  patent  blowers,  No.  3  and  No.  5,  is  about  $12  per  day. 
Carry  air  to  four  different  points  ;  nearest  1,300  feet  from  blower  ;  most  distant  2,200 
feet.  I  am  unable  to  state  how  long  a  time  it  will  take  to  exhaust  all  profitable  ore 
above  600-foot  level,  or  between  600  and  1,000  foot  levels.  I  am  ignorant  of  the  quan- 
tity in  place. 

The  present  machinery  in  use  at  the  mine,  with  addition  of  necessary  pumps,  ropes, 
&c.,  will  be  available  for  hoisting  and  pumping  to  a  depth  of  2,500  feet  from  surface. 

The  width  of  the  lode  at  the  various  levels  has  never  been  definitely  determined. 
Have  made  a  cross-section  of  over  400  feet  on  1,000-foot  level  without  finding  either 
side  or  wall.  Productive  vein-matter  has  varfed  from  12  inches  to  24  feet  in  width. 

The  cost  of  prospecting  the  mine  the  past  year  has  been  about  30  per  cent,  of  the 
whole  expense  of  mine  for  labor  and  cost  of  materials,  or  say  $172,000. 

Pay-ore  has  been  very  regular  from  the  surface  to  1,100-foot  level. 

You  will  please  excuse  my  tardiness  in  replying  to  your  various  questions.    Absence 
and  want  of  time  are  my  only  excuse. 
Yours,  respectfully, 

THOMAS  G.  TAYLOR,  Superintendent. 

Brevet  Major  General  H.  G.  WRIGHT, 

Sutro  Tunnel  Commissioner. 


SUTRO    TUNNEL.  45 

APPENDIX  J. 

OFFICE  OF  STATE  SURVEYOR  GENERAL  AND  LAND  REGISTER, 

Carson  City,  Nevada,  November  8,  1871. 

SIR  :  In  reply  to  your  inquiries,  hereinafter  given,  and  numbered  from  1  to  7, 1  have 
to  make  the  following  report : 

"  1st.  The  fall  of  Carson  River  from  the  Mexican  Dam  to  the  best  location  for  a  large 
dam  above  and  nearest  to  Dayton.  (This  is  probably  at  the  point  where  the  Franklin 
Mill-dam  now  is.") 

The  fall  is  155  feet  from  Mexican  Dam  to  the  Franklin  Dam. 

"  2d.  The  fall  of  Carson  River  from  the  point  selected  for  a  large  dam  to  a  point  op- 
posite the  Sutro  Tunnel." 

The  point  selected  is  the  Franklin  Dam.  Fall  of  river  from  this  point  to  a  point 
opposite  Sutro  Tunnel  is  100  feet. 

"  3d.  The  height  of  high  water  in  the  river  when  highest  and  when  lowest ;  also  the 
height  in  each  month  of  the  year,  if  possible  to  be  ascertained,  and  the  rapidity  of  flow 
at  these  different  times." 

The  average  flow,  taking  one  year  with  another,  is  as  follows,  estimated  in  square-feet 
section,  with  a  velocity  of  four  miles  per  hour :  In  the  month  of  May,  600  square  feet ; 
in  June,  700  ;  in  July,  700  •  in  August,  600  ;  in  September,  500  ;  in  October,  500  ;  in 
November,  400  ;  in  December,  400  ;  in  January,  400 ;  in  February,  400 ;  in  March,  400 ; 
and  in  April,  500.  This  gives  an  average  monthly  section  of  508.33  square  feet,  with 
the  velocity  as  above  given.  The  perpendicular  rise  and  fall  of  the  river  per  month 
cannot  be  given,  but  the  extremes  of  highest  water  in  floods  and  lowest  water  in  drought 
are  from  8  to  10  feet  in  the  average  width  of  the  channel. 

I  would  state  that  the  amount  of  water  flowing  in  the  Carson  River  this  year  is  ex- 
tremely small— far  less  than  ever  known  since  the  settlement  of  the  State;  and  it  is 
not  probable  that  a  similar  reduction  will  happen  in  many  years.  I  have,  therefore, 
based  no  estimate  or  calculation  upon  this  year.  For  the  months  of  August,  Septem- 
ber, and  October,  and  up  to  the  present  time,  the  flow  has  been  only  25  cubic  feet  on  a 
grade  of  10  feet  to  the  mile. 

"4th.  The  cross-section  of  the  river,  at  the  best  point  for  a  large  dam,  to  be  suffi- 
ciently large  and  high  to  hold  all  the  water  to  the  level  of  the  Mexican  Dam." 

This  cross-section  is  selected  as  the  Franklin  Dam,  and  is  shown  on  accompanying 
diagram. 

"^5th.  Approximate  area  in  square  miles  of  the  reservoir  or  lake  thus  created." 

Exclusive  of  any  overflow  at  the  town  of  Empire,  a  tract  15  chains  wide,  and  eleven 
and  three-quarters  miles  long  from  Mexican  Dam  to  the  proposed  large  dam,  the  surface 
of  water  thus  created  would  be  1,410  acres,  or  two  and  one- fifth  square  miles. 

"  6th.  Estimated  dimensions  and  cost  of  dam  to  answer  the  above  purpose." 

This  dam  should  be  837  feet  long  and  155  feet  high,  (see  accompanying  diagram,) 
and  would  cost  not  less  than  $'200,000.  But  by  moving  the  site  one  mile  up  the  river 

./* Al TTI 1       1   '  T-V    _  J   1  -I   •  •  1  1^1  .-•  -1X-, 


its 

^  ,  „ the 

average  and  accumulated  flow  of  water  ;  also,  estimated  cost  of  construction  of  canal." 
The  length  of  canal  would  be  five  and  one-half  miles.    The  size  of  canal  would  be  a 
cross-section  of  GOO  square  feet.    The  cost  of  construction  of  canal,  taking  a  mean  aver- 
age between  excavating  and  flumiu^,  would  be  $250.000. 

With  the  exception  of  the  fall  of  river  aud  distances  herein  given,  the  estimates  could 
only  be  approximated ;  want  of  time  has  prevented  my  making  a  careful  and  accurate 
estimate. 

JOHN  DAY, 

Surveyor  General  State  of  Nevada. 
ADOLPH  SUTRO,  Esq., 

San  Francisco,  California. 


46 


SOTEO   TUNNEL. 


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48  SUTRO   TUNNEL. 

APPENDIX  L. 

The  following  estimate  is  based  upon  four  miles  or  21,120  running  feet  of  the  Sutro 
Tunnel  complete : 

The  large  timbers  are  12  inches  square,  and  are  set  5  feet  apart  from  center  to  center. 

The  lagging  are  3  inches  thick,  6  inches  wide,  and  5  feet  long,  containing  lumber  as 
follows,  to  wit : 

Feet. 

4,225  bents,  containing  840  feet  each 3,549,000 

4,225  bents  lagged,  containing  570  feet  each 2, 407,  680 

8,450  supports  for  track,  containing  36  feeteach 304, 200 

84,480  lineal  feet,  or  1 6  miles,  track  timber,  6  by  6 253, 440 

Total  feet 6,°14,320 


At  $40  per  M $260,572  80 

4,225  bents  properly  in  place,  at  $25  each 105, 625  00 

Total  cost 366,197  80 


Cost  per  linear  foot $17,33.88 

Respectfully, 

J.  C.  HAZLETT. 
The  Hon.  THE  SUTRO  TUNNEL  COMMISSIONERS. 


APPENDIX  M. 

SAN  FRANCISCO,  CALIFORNIA.  November  23,  1871. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  :  It  was  my  intention  to  avail  myself  of  the  opportunity  to  present 
some  additional  statements  in  regard  to  the  Sutro  Tunnel,  but  my  time  has  been  so 
very  much  occupied  since  my  return  to  California  that  it  has  been  almost  impossible 
for  me  to  find  the  necessary  leisure. 

I  flunk  now  that  I  shall  have  to  reply  to  the  statements  of  some  of  the  superintend- 
ents of  the  mines  on  the  Comstock  lode  after  your  report  is  published,  so  I  may  ascer- 
tain what  position  they  take ;  my  reply,  of  course,  can  then  form  no  part  of  your 
report. 

You  are,  no  doubt,  well  aware  of  the  continued  and  persistent  prevarications  of  the 
men  who  oppose  the  great  work  in  which  I  am  engaged ;  and  since  I  have  given  a  com- 
plete history  of  the  tunnel  enterprise  and  the  motives  for  that  opposition  in  a  speech 
delivered  by  me  at  Virginia  City,  Nevada,  some  time  ago,  I  inclose  a  copy  of  the  same, 
and  would  respectfully  ask  to  have  the  same  embodied  in  the  appendix  to  your 
report. 

That  a  work  of  the  magnitude  of  the  Sutro  Tunnel,  which  will  radically  change  the 
mode  of  working  the  mines,  should  find  much  local  opposition,  cannot  be  wondered  at. 
It  is  the  old  fight  of  stage-coaches  against  railroads,  and  such  fights  will  always  take 
place  as  long  as  improvements  are  contemplated. 

I  forwarded  to  you  some  days  ago  estimates  of  the  cost  of  large  dam  across  Canon 
River,  with  other  statistical  information  about  the  water-power  on  the  river,  which  I 
hope  has  duly  reached  you. 

I  am,  dear  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

ADOLPH  SUTRO. 

Major  General  H.  G.  WRIGHT, 

Senior  Officer  Sutro  Tunnel  Commissioners. 


SPEECH  OF  ADOLPH  SUTRO,  ON  THE  SUTRO  TUNNEL  AND  THE  BANK  OF 

CALIFORNIA. 

FELLOW-CITIZENS  :  For  some  years  past  I  have  been  closely  identified  with  an  enter- 
prise which  has  a  vital  bearing  upon  the  prosperity  of  this  section  of  country,  and  if  I 
appear  before  you  now  for  the  first  time  in  my  life  as  a  public  speaker,  it  is  with  a 
thorough  conviction  that  upon  its  success  depends  your  future  welfare. 

You  have  all  heard  of  the  Sutro  Tunnel,  but  I  believe  there  are  many  among  you 
who  do  not  entirely  understand  its  importance,  and  the  great  results  which  must  flow 
from  its  construction.  If  you  will  have  a  little  indulgence  with  me  then,  I  shall  try 


SUTRO   TUNNEL.  49 

to  explain  to  yon  what  the  tunnel  will  accomplish,  what  has  thus  far  prevented  its 
construction,  and  show  you  that  by  joint  action  you  can  easily  consummate  and  carry 
out  what  appears  to  be  a  gigantic  undertaking. 

It  will  become  necessary,  in  the  course  of  my  remarks,  in  order  that  you  may  prop- 
erly understand  this  tunnel  project,  to  expose  some  of  the  doings  of  an  institution 
called  the  California  Bank.  I  shall  tell  the  truth,  without  fear  or  reservation,  for  1 
have  come  here  to  "  light  it  out  on  this  line,"  and  I  intend  to  do  so,  "  though  the 
heavens  fall." 

About  ten  years  ago,  Peter  O'Reilly  discovered  the  existence  of  silver  on  what  is 
now  known  as  the  Cometock  lode,  the  richest  silver  vein  of  which  there  is  any  record 
in  ancient  or  modern  history.  Work  during  that  space  of  time  progressed  rapidly, 
and  where  it  was  an  easy  task  to  extract  the  minerals  from  these  mines  in  the  begin- 
ning, it  is  now  one  of  extreme  difficulty/  They  have  reached  an  average  depth  of 
probably  1,000  feet,  and  we  find  that  nearly  fifty  steam-engines  are  required  to  pump 
out  the  water  and  hoist  the  ore.  The  expenses  of  keeping  so  much  machinery  in 
motion  is  immense,  and  even  at  this  present  time  they  absorb  so  much  of  the  profits 
that  it  has  already  become  unprofitable  to  work  some  of  the  mines. 

It  is  not  only  the  original  cost  of  the  machinery  and  the  enormous  consumption  of 
fuel,  in  a  country  where  no  coal  exists,  but  the  constant  additions,  the  wear  and  tear 
of  engines,  boilers,  cables,  cages,  &c.,  &c.;  the  vexatious  delays  by  breaking  down ; 
the  lengthening  out  of  the  pumps,  pipes,  and  rods;  the  excavations  for  and  the  con- 
struction of  pump-bobs ;  the  engineers,  firemen,  and  other  attendants  required ;  in 
fact,  the  innumerable  and  constant  expenses  connected  with  the  operation  of  exten- 
sive and  heavy  machinery,  which  has  to  be  increased  for  every  foot  of  descent,  and 
which  makes  it  only  a  question  of  time  when  these  mines  will  have  to  be  abandoned, 
no  matter  how  rich  the  ore. 

In  addition  to  all  this,  we  find  that  the  heat  at  the  present  depth  has  so  much  in- 
creased that,  notwithstanding  the  improved  ventilating  apparatus,  the  men  can  do  but 
one  half  the  work  they  could  in  a  cool,  healthy  atmosphere,  and  the  loss  in  consequence 
is  more  than  a  million  of  dollars  per  annum. 

Is  it  any  wonder,  then,  that  these,  the  richest  mines  in  the  whole  world,  will  no 
longer  pay  under  the  present  unwise  system  of  working?  You  are  told  that  in  order 
to  make  them  profitable  again  your  wages  must  be  reduced,  and  next  in  succession 
you  will  be  told  that  white  labor  does  not  pay  any  more  at  all,  but  that  Chinese  must 
take  its  place.  If  the  mines  do  not  pay  now,  what  will  be  their  condition  in  two  or 
three  years  from  now  ?  If  it  requires  from  forty  to  fifty  steam-engines  to  work  them 
at  a  depth  of  1,000  feet,  how  many  will  be  required  at  a  depth  of  1,500  or  2,000  feet? 
If  the  thermometer  now  stands  at  95  or  100  degrees  Fahrenheit,  and  the  miners  become 
consumptive  for  the  want  of  oxygen  in  the  air,  and  can  do  but  one  half  theif  usual 
amount  of  work,  what  will  become  of  them  at  that  greater  depth  ?  Will  it  be  possible 
to  work  them  at  all  ? 

I  might  cite  numerous  instances  of  mines  in  Mexico,  and  all  parts  of  the  world, 
which  had  to  be  abandoned  on  account  of  the  rapidly  increasing  expenses  as  depth 
was  reached,  but  I  cannot  go  into  these  details  on  the  present  occasion  ;  all  I  can  say 
to  you  is,  that  experience  in  all  places  and  at  all  times  has  shown  that  mines  at  some 
time  do  reach  a  depth  where  the  constantly  increasing  cost  of  mining  exceeds  the  yield,  and 
hence  we  find  that  during  several  thousand  years  of  mining  operations,  even  by  means 
of  tunnels  and  other  auxiliaries,  the  greatest  depth  that  has  yet  been  reached  on  any 
mine  in  the  world  is  but  2,700  feet. 

The  laws  of  nature  and  of  mechanics  are  alike  everywhere,  and  it  is  my  fii  "  'f 

that  some  of  the  mines  on  the  Comstock  lode  have  already  reached  a  depth  w 
no  longer  pays  to  work  them,  and  that  they  all  will  reach  that  depth  before  a 
tunnel  can  possibly  be  completed.    What  then  will  become  of  the  once  flourish, 
counties  of  Story,  Ormsby,  Lyon,  Washoe,  and  Douglas,  which  almost  entirely  depend 
on  the  produce  of  these  mines?    Is  it  not  proper  that  every  good  and  well-thinking 
citizen  should  earnestly  reflect  upon  the  fate  that  would  overreach  this  commonwealth 
should  that  great  and  only  source  of  our  prosperity  cease  to  exist  ? 

There  would  no  longer  be  employment  for  the  miner,  the  laborer,  the  mill-hand,  the 
carpenter,  the  blacksmith,  the  mason,  the  teamster.  No  longer  would  there  be  any- 
one to  support  and  patronize  your  newspapers,  groceries,  bar-rooms,  hotels,  livery, 
stables,  express  companies,  assay  offices,  dry  goods,  clothing,  millinery,  drug,  hardware,, 
cigar,  fruit,  and  book  stores. 

Your  dwelling-houses  would  be  deserted;  your  stores  without  tenants;  your  real, 
estate  valueless;  your  mills  would  be  idle;  no  more  lumber  would  be  required;  your 
farmers  and  gardeners  would  no  longer  have  a  market ;  your  State  government  would 
commence  to  totter;  the  assessor  would  find  his  assessment-roll  grow  gradually  less;, 
the  treasurer  would  see  his  cash  account  diminish  in  the  same  proportion ;  your  State 
credit  would  be  sadly  shaken ;  the  people  in  the  mining  districts  of  the  easteVn  porti 
of  Nevada  would  have  to  bear  the  whole  burden  of  taxation  to  support  the  g 

S.  Ex.  15 4 


50  SUTRO   TUNNEL. 

incut  and  to  pay  the  interest  on  the  State  debt,  and  bankruptcy,  ruin,  and  desolation 
would  be  brought  upon  a  once  flourishing  country. 

This  is  a  sad  picture;  it  is  its  darkest  side ;  but  is  it  not  well,  while  we  are  still  in  a 
condition  to  act,  while  we  have  sufficient  strength  left  to  go  to  some  exertion,  while 
we  have  the  means  for  self-preservation,  to  look  the  enemy  boldly  in  the  face  and  de- 
vise such  means  as  will  avert  the  calamity  ? 

The  only  remedy  which  presents  itself,  sure  and  certain  in  its  operations,  is  the  con- 
struction of  the  Sutro  Tunnel.  The  day  work  is  commenced  011  that  tunnel,  with  a 
reasonable  prospect  of  completing  it,  that  day  you  give  a  new  lease  of  life  to  this 
section  of  country.  From  that  day  on  you  instill  new  confidence  into  the  future ;  from 
that  day  on  your  real  estate  and  other  property  will  once  more  assume  a  value,  and 
people  will  no  longer  say  to  you,  as  nine  out  of  ten  do  now,  that  they  are  going  to 
leave  the  country  in  a  few  months. 

Great  tunnels  have  been  constructed  for  centuries  in  all  countries  where  mining  is 
carried  on  intelligently,  and  they  have  accomplished  precisely  what  we  desire  to  ac- 
complish here.  I  might  give  you  instances  of  tunnels  constructed,  three  or  four  times 
the  length  of  the  one  proposed  here,  while  they  gave  but  one-sixth  the  depth ;  I  might 
relate  to  you  the  magnificent  results  obtained  from  their  completion;  I  might  tell  you 
of  the  enormous  fortunes  which  were  obtained  thereby,  and  give  you  many  other 
interesting  particulars  were  it  not  for  the  want  of  time  to-night. 

The  Sutro  Tnnnel,  starting  at  a  point  near  Carson  River,  will  reach  the  Comstock 
lode  in  a  distance  of  20,178  feet,  and  cut  the  same  at  a  perpendicular  depth  of  1,922 
feet,  or  a  depth  along  the  dip  of  the  lode  of  2,900  feet  below  the  floor  of  the  Gould  & 
•Curry  Company's  former  office.  In  order  to  expedite  the  work,  four  shafts  will  be  sunk 
'On  the  tunnel  route,  from  the  bottom  of  which,  at  the  proper  depth  of  the  tunnel  level, 
drifts  will  be  extended  in  each  direction.  After  reaching  the  Comstock  lode,  the  tun- 
nel will  be  continued  northerly  along  the  lode  to  and  beyond  the  Sierra  Nevada  mine, 
and  southerly  along  the  lode  to  and  beyond  American  Flat. 

A  very  elaborate  report  was  made  some  time  ago  by  R.  G.  Carlyle,  esq.,  an  engineer 
« of  a  high  order  of  ability,  on  the  details  of  construction  and  cost  of  the  tunnel ;  his 
report  covers  about  200  foolscap  pages,  is  full  of  illustrations,  and  in  its  details  alto- 
gether a  creditable  and  reliable  work  ;  his  estimate  gives  the  cost  of  the  tunnel  at  about 
$100  in  gold  per  foot,  which,  probably,  is  somewhat  below  the  mark,  taking  into  con- 
sideration the  unknown  difficulties  usually  encountered  in  such  extensive  works ;  he 
estimates  the  time  necessary  to  complete  it  at  two  and  a  half  years. 

The  principal  advantages  this  tunnel  will  create,  as  far  as  mining  operations  on  the 
Comstock  lode  are  concerned,  may  be  enumerated  as  follows  : 

First.  All  pumping-machinery  may  be  dispensed  with  as  soon  as  the  tunnel  is  com- 
:pleted.  for  the  shafts  now  existing  on  the  Comstock  lode  may  at  once  be  connected 
with  the  tunnel  by  boring,  which  is  at  the  present  time  accomplished  rapidly,  and  at 
small  expense,  thus  draining  off  the  water  from  the  shafts  and  permitting  their  con- 
nection with  the  tunnel  without  delay. 

Second.  The  moment  this  connection  is  accomplished  the  most  perfect  ventilation  is 
insured— drawing  off  the  fumes  of  powder  like  a  chimney  would  2,000  feet  in  height, 
cooling  the  atmosphere,  giving  health  and  vigor  to  the  miners,  and  preserving  the 
timbers. 

Third.  The  mines  may  thereafter  be  opened  by  numerous  stations  or  galleries  to  the 
whole  depth  of  2,900  feet,  thus  showing  the  different  bodies  of  ore  contained  in  the 
mines,  exposing  many  millions  of  treasure  to  the  eye,  and  increasing  their  value  in 
proportion. 

Fourth.  It  will  give  a  great  impetus  to  the  exploration  of  those  mines  which  have 
thus  far  been  unproductive,  particularly  those  north  of  the  Gould  &.  Curry  mine,  and 
those  on  American  Flat,  which,  to  a  large  extent,  have  been  lying  idle  on  account  of 
the  great  burden  of  exploring  an  unproductive  mine  through  perpendicular  shafts. 

Fifth.  For  the  reasons  already  stated,  the  extraction  of  ore  will  be  so  much  facili- 
tated and  stimulated  that  the  present  production  of  twelve  or  sixteen  millions  of 
bullion  may  be  increased  to,  or  even  be  made  to  exceed,  fifty  millions  of  dollars  per 
annum. 

Sixth.. Not  only  the  pumping-engines  may  be  dispensed  with,  but  also  those  for 
hoisting ;  for  after  the  shafts  are  connected,  instead  of  hoisting  the  ore  to  the  surface, 
and  transporting  it  by  means  of  wagons  or  railroad  to  the  mills  on  Carson  River,  at 
an  expense  of  at  least  three  dollars  per  ton,  it  will  fall  down  to  the  tunnel  level  by  its 
own  gravity,  at  no  expense  at  all,  while  a  railroad  in  the  tunnel,  but  four  miles  in 
length,  can'deliver  the  ore  at  the  mills  on  Carson  River  at  an  expense  of  twenty  cents 
;pt?r  ton. 

Seventh.  By  this  great  saving  in  extraction  and  transportation,  and  the  abolishment 
of  all  steam-hoisting  and  pumping  engines,  which  now  eat  up  all  the  profits,  it  will  be 
made  possible  to  take  out  the  immense  bodies  of  low-grade  ores,  assaying  from  $2  to 
$20  per  ton,  and  which  are  known  to  exist  on  the  Comstock  lode,  and  which  may  be 


SUTRO    TUNNEL.  51 

concentrated  by  means  of  the  water  which  the  tunnel  itself  will  furnish.  Five  hundred 
millions  of  dollars,  at  a  low  estimate,  contained  within  this  mountain,  without  the 
tunnel,  will  forever  remain  slumbering  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  for  the  expenses  of 
extraction,  under  the  present  system,  are  greater  than  the  value  they  contain. 

Eighth.  After  the  completion  of  the  tunnel  the  mines  may,  without  the  use  of  steam- 
engines,  be  worked  to  great  depth  below  the  level  of  the  tunnel,  by  conducting  through 
pipes  the  water  which  may  be  collected  on  the  surface  from  melting  snow  and  rains, 
together  with  that  contained  in  the  mines,  to  hydraulic  engines,  or  turbines,  placed  at 
the  bottom  of  the  shafts  at  the  tunnel-level,  thus  using  a  portion  of  the  very  water 
which  costs  so  much  to  pump  out  at  present,  as  a  most  economical  and  useful  motive- 
power  to  propel  pumps,  which  raise  the  water  from  great  depths  below  and  discharge 
it  through  the  tunnel. 

Professor  Wei ssbach, 'the  best  living  authority,  gives  the  power  furnished  by  fifty 
gallons  of  water  per  second  at  1,800  horse-power,  at  a  depth  of  2,000  feet — more  power 
than  all  the  engines  have  now  in  operation  upon  the  Comstock  lode.  It  may  safely  be 
stated,  therefore,  that  by  means  of  the  Sutro  Tunnel  the  Comstock  lode  may  be  profit- 
ably worked  to  a  depth  of  at  least  3,500  feet — a  greater  depth  than  has  yet  been  reached 
in  any  mine  in  the  world. 

Ninth.  Where  only  2,000  men  are  now  employed,  at  wages  which  may  be  cut  down 
at  any  time,  after  the  completion  of  the  tunnel  more  than  10,000  would  find  profit- 
able employment  on  the  Comstock  lode  alone.  The  cost  of  mining  would  be  so 
much  reduced  that  those  mines  which  now  barely  pay  expenses  would  be  enabled  to 
pay  regular  dividends,  and  allow  liberal  wages  to  the  men  employed. 

Tenth.  The  construction  of  the  tunnel,  giving  a  future  to  this  country,  would  enhance 
the  value  of  all  property,  restore  confidence,  and  place  the  affairs  of  the  people  on  a 
sound  and  solid  basis. 

While  the  tunnel  would  create  a  revolution  in  operations  on  the  Comstock  lode  and 
secure  the  future  of  these  mines  for  fifty  or  a  hundred  years  to  come,  it  will  carry  with 
it  still  more  important  results. 

I  now  approach  a  subject  which  may  properly  be  looked  upon  as  the  most  important 
feature  of  this  tunnel  enterprise.  I  refer  to  the  discovery  and  development  of  mines 
along  the  tunnel  route,  granted  by  act  of  Congress  to  the  extent  of  4,000  feet  in  length 
on  every  lode  discovered. 

The  proposed  tunnel  will  penetrate  to  the  very  center  of  this  great  silver-bearing 
mountain  containing  the  Comstock  lode,  and  traverses  a  country  chiefly  consisting  of 
greenstone  porphyry,  a  formation  pronounced  by  Humboldt  and  others  to  be  eminently 
productive  of  silver  mines.  ' 

It  is  a  fact  well  known  to  every  miner  that  many  lodes  exist  which  do  not  reach  up 
to  the  surface,  and  which  are  usually  discovered  accidentally,  while  running  drifts  or 
tunnels  for  some  other  lode ;  in  miner's  parlance,  they  are  called  "  blind  lodes,"  an 
expression  derived  from  the  fact  that  they  are  not  visible  at  the  surface.  Upon  these 
blind  lodes  the  miner  builds  his  hopes ;  they  give  him  nerve,  and  perseverance  to  follow 
his  toilsome  labors ;  their  mysterious  existence,  the  wealth  which  they  are  presumed  to 
contain,  and  the  uncertainty  of  their  precise  location,  have  a  powerful  bearing  on  the 
imagination  of  man,  and  are"  the  levers  which  induce  the  undertaking  of  tasks  by  even 
single  individuals  from  which  they  would  otherwise  shrink. 

In  a  mineral-bearing  region  the  hopes  of  discovering  and  opening  valuable  mines  by 
running  horizontal  adits  into  a  mountain  are  generally  well  founded  ;  but  nowhere  on 
the  face  of  the  earth  do  we  find  a  mountain  range  containing  a  vein  as  valuable  as  the 
Comstock  lode,  and  a  formation  equally  favorable  for  the  existence  of  a  series  of  mines. 
It  is  not  only  reasonable  to  suppose,  but  quite  evident,  that  the  immense  convulsion 
which  rent  the  earth  in  twain,  and  created  the  fissure  which  is  known  as  the  Com- 
stock lode,  at  the  same  time  must  have  cracked  and  opened  the  earth's  crust  in  many 
other  places. 

These  are  only  theories,  but  they  are  theories  believed  and  adopted  by  every  scientific 
man,  and  by  every  common  miner,  and  confirmed  by  experience.  It  may^&erefore, 
safely  be  predicted  that  the  proposed  tunnel,  which  will  penetrate  to  the  very  bowels 
of  Mount  Davidson,  will  discover  and  open  more  treasure  and  wealth  to  the  east  and 
west  of  the  Comstock  lode  than  were  ever  before  discovered  by  any  work  of  this  kind. 
Independently  of  the  large  revenue  the  Tunnel  Company  will  derive  from  draining 
the  Comstock  lode;  from  the  transportation  of  men,  ore,  rock,  and  timber,  independ- 
ently of  the  great  value  of  the  company's  land,  and  independently  of  any  other  con- 
sideration, the  discovery  and  development  of  the  mines  contained  in  this  argentiferous 
belt  would  justify  the  construction  of  this  tunnel,  simply  as  an  exploring  work,  and 
for  that  purpose  alone  it  should  be  looked  upon  as  one  of  the  best  planned,  legitimate, 
and  promising  mining  enterprises  ever  undertaken  in  any  mining  district. 

And  now,  fellow-citizens,  allow  me  to  give  you  a  short  history  of  my  struggles  in  con-: 
ncction  with  this  tunnel  project,  and  let  me  explain  to  you  what  causes  have  prevented 
its  success  thus  far. 

On  the  4th  of  February,  1865,  the  legislature  of  Nevada  granted  a  franchise,  giving 


52  SUTRO    TUNNEL. 

xne  the  exclusive  right  of  way  for  fifty  years,  for  the  construction  of  a  tunnel,  com- 
mencing in  the  foot-hills  near  Carson  River,  to  and  beyond  the  Com.stock  lode.  The 
charter  did  not  specify  any  rates  for  drainage  or  other  services,  but  left  that  open  to 
private  agreement  by  the  mining  companies. 

I  now  invited  all  parties  who  wished  to  dp  so  to  join  in  the  enterprise,  and  an  asso- 
ciation was  formed  under  the  name  and  style  of  the  Sutro  Tunnel  Company,  of  which 
William  M.  Stewart,  our  present  Senator,  was  duly  elected  president.  A  proposition  was 
submitted  to  the  mining  companies  "that  the  Sutro  Tunnel  Company  would  agree  to 
raise  the  funds  for  the  construction  of  the  tunnel  abroad,  in  quarters  where  cheap 
capital  abounds,  provided  the  mining  companies  would  agree  beforehand  to  pay  certain 
rates  of  charges  for  drainage  and  otherwise  after  the  tunnel  should  be  completed  and 
actually  benefit  them." 

When  the  necessity  and  importance  of  the  tunnel,  and  the  immense  advantages 
which  would  be  derived  therefrom  by  the  stockholders  of  the  mining  companies,  had 
been  thoroughly  explained,  which,  however,  required  a  number  of  months,  contracts, 
drawn  by  some  of  the  best  lawyers  of  San  Francisco,  were  adopted  and  signed  by  the 
following-named  companies  on  the  Comstock  lode : 

Ophir,  Central,  California,  White  &•  Murphy,  Best  &  Belcher,  Gould  &  Curry,  Savage, 
Hale  &  Norcross,  Chollar-Potosi,  Alpha,  Bacon,  Gold  Hill  Quartz  Mill  and  Mining 
Company,  Confidence,  Imperial,  Empire,  Yellow  Jacket,  Crown  Point,  Belcher,  Over- 
man, and  by  several  private  individuals  owning  claims. 

Under  these  contracts,  the  companies  agreed,  and  made  the  fulfillment  of  the  terms 
a  mortgage  upon  their  respective  mines,  that  they  would  pay  to  the  Sutro  Tunnel 
Company  forever,  for  every  ton  of  pay  ore  extracted  from  any  part  of  the  mines, 
whether  from  the  surface  or  through  the  tunnel,  two  dollars,  from  the  time  the  tunnel 
or  its  branches  should  perpendicularly  reach  under  them,  or  should  actually  drain  the 
mines.  There  were  other  charges  provided  for  for  the  transportation  of  rock,  timber, 
men,  &c.,  &c.,  which  need  not  be  enumerated  here  ;  it  must  suffice  to  state  that,  under 
these  contracts,  at  the  rate  of  production  at  that  time,  the  mining  companies  ha<l 
agreed  to  pay  to  the  Sutro  Tunnel  Company  at  the  rate  of  about  $7,000  per  day,  while 
these  daily  payments,  after  the  tunnel  should  increase  the  production,  were  expected 
to  reach  $20,000,  and  still  make  a  saving  of  twice  that  amount  to  the  mining  compa- 
nies, by  means  of  the  immense  advantages  the  tunnel  would  furnish.  After  these 
contracts  were  duly  signed,  sealed,  and  delivered,  in  triplicate,  one  copy  being  retained 
by  the  mining  companies,  one  copy  deposited  in  the  vaults  of  the  Bank  of  California 
at  San  Francisco,  and  one  copy  being  delivered  to  the  Sutra  Tunnel  Company,  I  started, 
as  the  duly  authorized  agent  of  all  concerned,  for  Washington,  where  I  arrived  in 
June,  1866,  expecting  to  obtain  from  Congress  such  additional  privileges  and  rights  as 
Congress  alone  could  grant,  (the  title  to  all  public  lands  and  mines  in  this  section  still 
being  in  the  Government,)  and  as  were  considered  necessary  in  order  to  obtain  the 
required  funds  for  the  construction  of  the  tunnel. 

After  some  efforts,  a  law  .passed  the  United  States  Congress,  which  was  approved  by 
the  President  of  the  United  States  on  the  25th  day  of  July,  1866,  giving  to  me,  my  heirs, 
and  assigns,  (in  trust  for  all  concerned,)  the  following  important  rights  : 

First.  The  right  of  way  forever,  from  the  foot-hills  on  Carson  River,  to  and  beyond 
the  Comstock  lode,  and  on  any  lode  which  should  be  cut  or  discovered  by  the  tunnel. 

Second.  The  title  to  1,280  acres  of  land  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel. 

Third.  The  title  to  all  the  mines  which  should  be  cut  by  the  tunnel,  and  which  were 
not  already  owned  by  others  at  that  time. 

Fourth.  It  compelled  the  mining  companies,  those  who  had  signed  the  contracts,  as 
well  as  those  who  had  not,  to  contribute  forever  the  rates  of  charges  named  in  the 
aforesaid  contracts,  and  it  made  their  titKsubject  to  that  condition. 

Congress,  in  this  last  section,  assumes  the  function  of  regulation  or  administration 
of  the  mines  in  an  important  argentiferous  locality,  by  recognizing  the  necessity  and 
importance  of  a  deep  tunnel  and  the  equitable  adjustment  of  payment  therefor.  The 
rates  to  be  paid  to  the  tunnel  company  might  as  well  have  been  named  in  the  act,  but 
Congress  preferred  to  simply  refer  to  the  rates  named  in  the  contracts,  as  agreed  upon 
by  the  mining  companies,  and  in  consideration  of  the  immense  efforts  which  had 
already  been  made,  and  which  were  supposed  to  be  required  to  carry  out  so  gigantic  a 
work,  imposed  no  clause  of  forfeiture,  but  declared  all  the  rights  granted  as  vested 
forever  in  the  grantee. 

Thus  fortified  with  a  most  valuable  mining  grant,  the  first  one  ever  made  by  this 
Government  to  an  individual,  and  provided  with  other  privileges  worth  several  millions 
of  dollars  per  annum,  I  proceeded  to  New  York,  expecting  to  raise  the  requisite  funds 
without  any  difficulty. 

The  whole  merits  of  the  enterprise  were  fully  set  forth  in  a  pamphlet  published  by 
ine  and  submitted  to  the  first  and  wealthiest  men  of  that  great  metropolis,  among 
whom  were  Commodore  Vanderbilt,  William  B.  Astor,  and  many  others,  but,  in  every 
instance,  one  obstacle  presented  itself,  and  that  was,  that  if  the  statements  made  were 
correct,  there  could  be  no  difficulty  in  so  magnificent  an  undertaking  to  raise  some  of 


SUTRO   TUNNEL.  53 

tho  funds,  even  if  it  be  but  a  small  portion  of  the  sum  required,  at  home,  and  I  soon 
became  convinced  that  this  was  the  only  true  course  to  be  pursued.  I  requested  these 
griitlenien  to  express  their  views  in  a  communication  to  me,  which  might  be  submitted 
to  the  people  of  California  and  Nevada,  and,  as  a  consequence,  they  addressed  to  me 
the  following  letter: 

"  NEW  YORK,  October  5, 1866. 

"  DEAR  SIR  :  We  have  carefully  examined  your  project  for  a  draining  and  mining  tunnel 
to  the  Comstock  lode  in  the  State  of  Nevada,  and  consider  the  same  an  enterprise 
which,  in  our  opinion,  when  carried  out,  will  prove  of  incalculable  benefit  to  the 
inimis 'on  Hint  lode,  and  at  the  same  time  maybe  a  source  of  large  revenue  to  the 
parties  undertaking  it. 

"We  have,  taken  some  pains  to  ascertain  what  chances  exist  in  this  city  to  ob- 
tain the  necessary  capital,  and  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  you  will  find  it  a 
matter  of  serious  difficulty  to  convince  the  people  of  New  York  at  large  of  its  value  ; 
the  principal  and,  in  our  opinion,  fatal  objection  to  its  success  here  at  present  being 
the  tact  that  no  portion  of  the  capital  has  been  subscribed  on  your  coast. 

"If  the  mining  companies  on  the  Comstock  lode,  and  the  people  of  Nevada  and  Cal- 

i  ifornia,  who  are  familiar  with  the  value  of  your  mines,  would  evince  their  confidence 

in  this  enterprise,  by  subscribing  a  portion  of  the  requisite  capital,  say  $400,000  or 

^oUO.OOO,  and  work  on  the  tunnel  is  actually  commenced,  we  think  you  will  find  com- 

para'tively  an  easy  task  to  obtain  the  balance  of  the  funds  here. 

"We  would  consequently  advise  you  not  to  lose  any  valuable  time  in  futile  attempts 
i  here  or  in  Europe,  where,  no  doubt,  the  same  objections  will  be  raised,  but  to  return  at 
once  to  San  Francisco  and  use  your  efforts  there  to  get  the  work  started. 

"  Let  some  of  the  leading  men  on  your  coast,  who  are  known  here  for  their  commer- 

!  cial  standing  and  their  integrity,  form  a  preliminary  board  of  directors,  and  you  may 

then,  while  the  tunnel  is  daily  progressing,  return  to  New  York,  we  think,  with  confi- 

dence  of  success,  and  we  shall  use  our  best  efforts  to  assist  you  in  accomplishing  your 

object. 

"  Your  perseverance  and  the  practical  and  able  manner  in  which  you  have  presented 
this  laudable  undertaking  to  the  public  deserve  our  commendations,  and  it  shall  be  a 
source  of  gratification  to  us  to  see  your  labors  crowned  with  success. 
1  We  are,  dear  sir,  respectfully  yours, 

"  Samuel  Willets.  "  M.  Herzog. 

''  Daniel  T.  Willets.  "  Moses  Taylor. 

<J.  H.  De  Bevoise.  ''Peter  Cooper. 

'John  Silsby.  "August  Belmout. 

'W.  S.  Martin.  "  J.  &  Wm.  Seligman  &  Co. 

'  Eugene  S.  Ballin.  "  Eugene  Kelly. 

"John  T.  Martin.  " R.  C.  Fergusson. 

"  B.  Silliman.  "  Wm.  T.  Coleman. 

"  Emil  Heinemann.  "  C.  K.  Garrison. 

"Daniel  H.  Temple.  "Duncan,  Sherman  &  Co. 

"J.  H.  Coghill  &  Co.         "Francis  Skiddy. 
"J.  Perry,  Jr.  "Johnson  &  Lazarus. 

"Polhamius  &  Jackson.    "  Wm.  B.  Ogden. 
"  Mott  &  Justh.  "  J.  C.  Fremont. 

"  Theodore  F.  Lewis.         "  R.  L.  Cutting. 
"John  T.  Daly.  "David  Hoadley. 

"  D.  AppletorT&  Co.          "  C.  P.  Huutiugton. 
"  Wm.  Aufermann.  "  Geo.  A.  Freeman. 

"Z.  Dederick.  "  Sarn'l  L.  M.  Barlow. 

"J.  &  H.  Greenbaum.       "M.  Morgan's  Sons. 
"A.  SUTRO,  Esq." 

It  is  evident  that  the  persons  who  signed  that  letter,  representing  probably  $100,000,000, 
looked  upon  the  enterprise  as  too  magnificent  altogether,  which  created  the  suspicion 
that  something  was  behind  the  scenes,  and  they  naturally  wanted  a  substantial  in- 
dorsement out  here. 

So,  in  August,  1866,  I  concluded  to  return  to  San  Francisco,  in  order  to  follow  out 
the  suggestions  made  in  the  aforesaid  letter,  and  submitted  the  matter  to  the  mining 
companies  and  to  many  of  the  principal  merchants  of  San  Francisco. 

While  this  question  was  under  consideration,  the  legislature  of  Nevada,  which  was 
then  in  session,  passed  a  memorial  and  resolutions,  asking  Congress  to  loan  its  credit 
to  this  important  work,  in  case  sufficient  capital  could  not  be  secured  from  private 
sources,  and  in  a  lengthy  report  set  forth  its  reasons  why  the  nation  should  feel  a  deep 
interest  in  its  execution. 

The  question  as  to  subscriptions  to  the  Tunnel  Company  by  the  mining  companies 
had  in  the  mean  time  been  fully  discussed  in  San  Francisco  ;  and  after  some  delay  a 
number  of  companies  agreed  to  and  did  subscribe  through  their  trustees  sums  aggre- 


54  SUTRO   TUNNEL. 

gating  together,  with  subscriptions  from  private  persons,  about  $600,000,  and  there 
was  every  prospect  of  seeing  them  increased  in  a  few  weeks  to  $1.000,000  or  more  in 
San  Francisco  alone. 

But  now  commenced  the  tug  of  war ;  at  the  very  moment  when  I  was  on  the  full 
road  to  success,  when  everybody  commenced  to  look  upon  the  whole  affair  as  quite 
sure  of  being  consummated,  and  when  I  myself  was  led  to  think  that  my  struggles 
were  about  over,  they  only  fairly  commenced. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  the  California  Bank  ring  stepped  in,  and  in  high  conclave 
and  in  secret  session  concluded  that  it  was  high  time  to  break  me  up,  for  my  efforts 
were  about  to  be  crowned  with  success,  substitute  themselves  into  my  place,  reap  the 
fruits  of  my  labors,  and,  by  their  influence  over  the  politicians  of  this  coast,  obtain  the 
aid  of  Congress  which  the  legislature  of  Nevada  had  applied  for. 

This  conclave  was  held  in  San  Francisco  on  the  6th  of  June,  1867,  the  night  before 
the  annual  election  of  trustees  for  the  Crown  Point  mine ;  and  when  that  election 
took  place,  in  which  the  former  president  of  the  company,  A.  H.  Barker,  and  their 
superintendent,  Batternian,  were  turned  out,  and  the  bank  ring  took  possession,  a 
subscription  to  the  tunnel  of  $75,000,  which  had  previously  been  agreed  upon  by  most 
of  the  parties  interested,  was  voted  down. 

I  saw  at  a  glance  what  was  up.  The  bank,  which  up  to  that  time  had  warmly  sup- 
ported me,  had  now  turned  against  me,  and  I  knew  quite  well  that  none  of  the  sub- 
scriptions already  made  by  the  mining  companies  would  be  ratified  at  their  stockholders' 
meetings.  Nearly  all  the  persons  who  had  previously  stood  by  me  deserted  me  ;  they 
shunned  me  on  the  streets  and  avoided  me  as  if  I  had  an  infectious  disease ;  every 
miserable  cur  and  hireling  of  that  bank  turned  the  cold  shoulder  on  me— actually 
afraid  their  masters  might  be  displeased  at  seeing  them  talk  to  me — and  for  the  first 
time  I  commenced  to  feel  and  appreciate  the  immense,  overwhelming,  and  ramified 
power  that  concern  wields.  Men  knew,  as  if  by  magic,  that  the  bank  was  now  against 
me ;  it  seemed  as  if  they  all  had  been  informed  of  it  at  once,  and  through  some  invisi- 
ble power  had  received  their  instructions. 

It  became  evident  to  me  that  the  ring  entertained  the  opinion  that  their  combined 
efforts  must  soon  crush  me  out  and  use  me  up  financially,  physically,  and  mentally,  in 
such  an  unequal  contest.  But  they  had  got  hold  of  the  wrong  man ;  I  was  not  so 
easily  to  be  disposed  of.  When  I  found  that  these  traitors,  after  having  signed  con- 
tracts, after  having  urged  and  helped  me  on  to  expend  mine  and  niy  friends'  money, 
after  having  induced  me  to  labor  almost  day  and  night  for  several  years,  which  I  did 
with  zeal  and  enthusiasm— I  say  when  I  found  that  they  were  determined  to  rob  me  of 
my  labors,  I  made  up  my  mind  that  they  should  not  succeed  in  their  efforts.  I  was  de- 
termined that  this  base,  unscrupulous,  ami  mercenary  combination  should  not  carry 
out  its  purposes,  and  made  a  sacred  vow  that  I  would  carry  out  this  work  if  I  had  to 
devote  the  whole  balance  of  my  life  to  it,  and  defend  my  rights  as  long  as  the  breath 
of  life  was  in  me. 

I  soon  found  that  I  had  no  longer  any  chances  on  this  coast ;  I  knew  that  my  op- 
ponents could  easily  keep  those  connected  with  them,  directly  and  indirectly,  from 
having  anything  to  do  with  the  affair,  and  also  knew  full  well  that  by  throwing  cold 
water  on  it,  or  by  declaring  it  visionary  or  impracticable,  they  could  prevent  those  not 
fully  understanding  its  merits  from  entering  into  it,  and  those  who  did  understand 
it  by  bullying  and  threatening  them.  And  how  eagerly  did  the  empty-headed,  the 
brainless,  the  ignorant,  and  the  envious  join  in  the  chorus!  this  same  class  who  have 
opposed  every  great  work  from  time  immemorial !  this  same  class  who  opposed  rail- 
roads, and  steamboats,  and  telegraphs,  and  sewing-machines!  this  same  class  who 
opposed  and  fought  the  Erie  Canal!  this  same  class  Avho  a  few  years  ago  would  ask  on 
every  occasion  .whether  you  expected  to  live  long  enough  to  see  the  Pacific  Railroad 
completed ! 

The  difficulties  and  obstacles  seemed  to  increase  and  accumulate,  and  almost  ap- 
peared insurmountable.  How  was  I  to  convince  people  of  the  contrary,  when  the 
most  successful  men  in  the  country  told  them  not  to  touch  the  affair  ?  And  how  easy 
was  it  for  them  to  play  upon  the  prejudices  of  people  when  I  asked  them  to  invest 
their  money ;  how  easy  was  it  for  them  to  throw  out  a  hint  that  nobody  had  any 
confidence  in  me  ? 

They  found  no  difficulty  in  getting  the  gas  and  water  companies  of  Virginia  City, 
and  all  the  men  under  their  influence,  to  tell  people  the  town  would  be  ruined ;  that  it 
would  move  down  to  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel ;  that  real  estate  would  become  value- 
less, with  many  other  groundless  objections.  But  did  they  tell  you  that  without  the 
tunnel  the  mines  would  be  abandoned  and  ruin  and  desolation  be  brought  not  only 
on  Virginia  City,  but  upon  the  whole  country  ? 

Fellow-citizens :  Have  you  ever  been  in  a  position  where  your  friends  shunned  you  ? 
If  you  have,  you  know  how  wortityiug  it  is  on  meeting  an  old  acquaintance  to  have 
him  pass  by  pretending  not  to  see  you,  instead  of  shaking  you  by  the  hand  and  wel- 
coming you"  Have  you  noticed  them  cross  over  on  the  other  side  of  the  street  when, 
they  saw  you  at  a  distance  ?  Have  you  seen  their  nervous  hurry,  trying  to  get  off, 


SUTRO   TUNNEL.  55 

when  you  happened  to  engage  them  in  conversation  ?  You  may  possibly  have  made 
similar  experiences  if  you  were  ever  broke  and  your  good  friends  were  afraid  you 
might  ask  them  for  a  loan. 

In  my  case  some  narrow-minded  people  may  have  avoided  me,  thinking  I  might 
iir^e  them  to  become  interested  in  the  tunnel  project,  but  these  were  comparatively 
few  :  the  mass  of  these  men  knew  the  bank  was  against  me,  and  that  was  sufficient 
lor  these  servile  and  timid  creatures  to  insult  and  avoid  me.  But  I  looked  upon  them 
with  contempt;  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  feeling  in  my  own  heart  that  I  was  working 
for  a  good  and  noble  cause;  I  knew  that  the  execution  of  the  work  I  proposed  would 
lie  a  blessing  to  the  men  compelled  to  toil  in  these  mines,  and  of  great  and  lasting 
beiieiit  to  a  whole  people.  So  I  continued  niy  efforts,  believing  that  truth  is  mighty 
and  will  prevail,  and  that  in  the  end  my  enemies  must  come  to  grief,  and  victory 
should  be  mine! 

I  concluded  to  give  up  the  field,  for  the  time  being,  to  my  opponents,  return  to  New 
York  and  go  over  to  Europe  if  necessary,  and  see  what  could  be  accomplished  there. 
In  July,  1867,  I  arrived  at  the  former  place,  but  soon  found  that  after  my  apparent 
failure  to  raise  any  funds  in  California,  it  was  useless  to  waste  my  time  there.  Evi- 
dences that  the  war  the  Bank  of  California  had  commenced  to  wage  against  me  on  the 
Pacific  coast  should  also  extend  to  New  York,  came  under  iny  observation.  On  the 
Ifith  of  July,  the  day  after  the  Savage  Company  had  held  their  annual  meeting,  a  tele- 
graphic message  was  received  and  a  placard  stuck  up  in  the  office  of  the  agents  of  the 
Bank  of  California  in  New  York,  Messrs.  Lees  &  Waller,  which  stated,  in  large  letters, 
''That  the  stockholders  of  the  Savage  Company,  at  their  annual  meeting,  had  refused 
to  ratify  the  subscription  made  by  their  trustees  of  $150,000  to  the  stock  of  the  Sutro 
Tunnel' Company,  and  that  the  same  was  utterly  null  and  void." 

This  telegram  was  intended  to  caution  the  people  of  New  York  against  me,  in  case 
I  should  falsely  represent  that  the  Savage  Company  had  subscribed  and  ratified  their 
subscription  of  $150,000.  It  was  a  sort  of  warning,  as  if  sent  ahead  of  an  absconding 
bank  clerk,  or /orger,  or  criminal,  so  that  it  would  utterly  ruin  my  prospects,  and  com- 
ing, as  it  did.  from  the  leading  financial  concern  of  the  Pacifio  coast,  it  certainly  had 
its  effect— it  put  a  damper  on  my  prospects,  and  I  determined  to  make  no  further 
attempt  in  New  York  at  that  time. 

It  almost  appeared  to  me  after  this,  that  the  only  place  where  I  could  vindicate  my- 
self, and  where  the  importance  and  magnitude  of  the  proposed  work  would  be  properly 
appreciated,  and  where,  at  the  same  time,  the  bank  would  have  the  least  power  to  mis- 
represent and  fight  me,  would  be  in  Congress.  But  Congress  was  not  to  meet  until 
December,  and  this  being  the  latter  part  of  July,  I  determined  upon  spending  the  in- 
terval in  Europe  for  the  purpose  of  examining  the  mines,  visiting  their  big  tunnels, 
consulting  some  of  their  great  engineers,  in  order  to  lay  my  experiences  before  Con- 
gress, at  the  same  time  paying  close  attention  to  the  facilities  which  would  exist  in 
Europe  for  securing  the  required  funds.  I  was  supplied  with  letters  of  introduction 
from  many  of  the  bankers  of  San  Francisco,  which  had  been  furnished  me  on  my  first 
journey  east,  among  which  was  one  from  the  Bank  of  California,  signed  by  William 
C.  Ralston,  their  cashier  and  chief  manager,  to  the  Oriental  Bank  Corporation  of 
London,  recommending  me  personally  and  the  tunnel  enterprise  to  their  English  friends 
as  an  excellent  investment.  This  letter,  however,  I  did  not  of  course  make  use  of, 
after  what  had  transpired,  and  it  remains  in  my  possession  now. 

I  traveled  through  Ireland,  England,  France,  Belgium,  Holland,  Prussia,  Austria, 
Poland,  Hungary,  Bavaria,  Switzerland,  and  Italy,  visited  many  of  their  mines,  was 
received  with  great  courtesy,  and  came  in  contact  with  many  of  the  leading  financial, 
political,  and  scientific  men  of  Europe.  I  descended  into  their  deepest  mines— the 
deepest  in  the  world — and  after  all  my  investigations  became  more  and  more  convinced 
of  two  things :  1st,  That  mineral  lodes,  true  fissure-veins,  as  shown  by  all  experience, 
descend  downward  indefinitely ;  and,  2d,  That  in  order  to  work  mines  rationally  and 
profitably,  wherever  the  topography  of  the  country  allows  it,  great  district  or  main 
tunnels,  which  serve  as  highways  under  the  mountains,  must  be  constructed. 

I  entered  into  correspondence  and  had  personal  interviews  with  such  men  as  Von 
Cotta,  the  geologist ;  Weissbach,  the  engineer ;  Baron  Von  Beust,  of  Saxony ;  Cheva- 
lier, the  French  senator  and  political  economist ;  Sir  Roderick  Murchisou,  president  of 
the  London  Geographical  Society;  John  Stuart  Mill,  member  of  Parliament ;  Von 
Dechens,  the  friend  of  Humboldt ;  Baron  Von  Hingenau,  chief  of  the  mining  depart- 
ment of  Austria  ;  Burkhardt,  Koch,  and  many  others.  I  submitted  my  plans  to  these 
men,  and  they  unanimously  agreed  upon  the  importance,  feasibility,  and  magnificence 
of  the  undertaking  and  addressed  to  me  many  complimentary  letters. 

I  found  it  impossible,  however,  to  raise  any  funds  in  Europe  for  several  reasons. 
In  the  first  place,  people  there  as  a  general  thing  have  no  confidence  in  our  mining 
laws,  as  far  as  security  of  property  is  concerned ;  secondly,  they  raised  the  same  ob- 
jection which  was  raised  in  New  York,  that  our  own  people  on  the  spot  must  first 
show  their  confidence  by  their  subscriptions  and  by  commencing  work ;  and,  thirdly, 
at  that  particular  time,  if  there  had  been  no  other  obstacle  in  the  way,  the  threatening 


56 


SUTRO    TUNNEL. 


attitude  between  France  and  Prussia  would  have  prevented  the  consummation  of  any 
extensive  financial  operation  abroad. 

I  found  but  one  concern,  the  house  of  Erlanger  &  Co.,  the  groat  bankers  of  Paris 
who  were  willing  to  entertain  the  project  at  all;  but  after  sending  for  one  of  their 
.London  partners,  they  also  concluded  it  to  be  impossible  to  carry  out  the  affair  at  that 
T)inic* 

So  I  returned  again  to  the  United  States,  and  left  Liverpool  on  the  1st  of  De-ember 
1867,  arriving  at  Washington  just  after  Congress  had  met,     I  now  commenced  to  go  to 
work  m  good  earnest;  made  the  favorable  acquaintance  of  nearly  all  the  members  of 
both  Houses  of  Congress,  and  the  leading  men  of  the  nation,  and  had  aline  prospect 
.  or  success. 

It  soon  became  known  to  the  bank  out  here,  through  information  derived  from  their 
spies  in  Washington,  who  kept  close  watch  of  my  doings,  that  the  chances  of  obtaining 
a  loan  from  the  Government  were  good,  which  made  them  feel  quite  uneasy  and  they 
immediately  sent  a  number  of  telegrams  to  different  persons  in  Washington,  one  of 
which  reads  as  follows  ; 

"VIRGINIA,  Nevada,  January  15,  1868. 

(Received  at  Willard's  Hotel,  Washington,  D.  C.,  January  16,  1888.) 
"To  Hon.  WM.  M.  STEWART  and  JAS.  W.  NYE  : 

"We  are  opposed  to  the  Sutro  Tunnel  project,  and  desire  it  defeated  if  possible 

"  WM.  SHARON, 
"CHARLES  BONNER, 
"Superintendent  Savage  Company. 
"  B.  F.  SHERWOOD, 

"President  Central  Company. 
"JOHN  B.  WINTERS, 
"President  Yellow  Jacket  Comnanu. 

"JOHN  P.  JONES, 
"Superintendent  Kentuck  Company. 

"J.  W.  MACKEY, 
"Superintendent  Bullion  Company. 

"  THOS.  G.  TAYLOR, 
"President  Alpha,  and  Superintendent  Crown  Point. 

"and  Best  and  Belclier  Companies. 
"F.  A.TRITLE, 

"President  Belcher  Company. 
"  ISAAC  L.  REQUA, 
"Superintendent  Chollar  Potosi  Company." 

This  telegram  was  meant  to  read  as  follows :  "  We  are  opposed  to  Sutro  getting  an 
appropriation  for  the  Sutro  Tunnel;  defeat  him  if  possible;  that  will  use  him  up,  and 
we,  Win.  Sharon  &  Co.,  will  then  step  in  and  get  it."  As  a  matter  of  justice,  I  will 
here  state  that  the  superintendents  who  signed  this  document  could  not  well  have 
refused  it,  and  I  believe  that  some  of  them  to-day  are  warm  friends  of  the  tunnel  en- 


««.»  HJ.VJ    ,  v,ity  ajv—vu  u.c*j    u  wv/  .LUUJ.O  jLuirosa-^es  ariiveu.  ill  VVUXlllU°TOn    Sl°*lieOl  Oy 

a  number  of  mining  presidents  of  San  Francisco,  nearly  all  well-known  tools  and 
flunkeys  of  the  bank,  one  of  which  was  addressed  to  John  Conness,  whilom  Senator 
from  California,  who,  in  his  eagerness  to  serve  his  masters,  did  not  hesitate  to  openly 
oppose  me. 

They  took  so  deep  an  interest  in  my  affairs  that  they  expended  over  $100  in  two 
days  lor  these  telegraphic  messages,  while  the  information  they  contained  could  have 
been  conveyed  in  a  letter,  more  fully,  at  an  expense  of  three  cents. 

These  telegrams  I  paid  but  little  attention  to.  The  bank  may  be  a  big  concern  here  • 
at  Washington  it  amounts  to  but  precious  little.  Whether  our  Senators  were  much 
influenced  thereby  is  hard  to  tell.  I  asked  no  favors  from  them,  an  d  started  out  to  make 
my  own  nght. 

About  this  time  I  published  a  book  of  about  250  pages,  a  copy  of  which  I  hold  in  my 
hand,  containing  much  information  about  these  mines  and  others  ;  about  the  interest 
Government  should  feel  in  the  production  of  precious  metals,  and  distributed  1000 
copies  among. the  members  of  Congress,  the  leading  men  of  the  country,  and  the  prin- 
cipal newspapers.  By  getting  the  book  up  in  elegant  style,  Senators  and  congressmen 
kept  it  on  their  centre-tables,  instead  of  condemning  it  to  their  paper  baskets  as  is 
done  with  many  of  the  ordinary  documents  sent  to  them,  and  if  they  did  not  read  it 
at  once  themselves,  their  friends  did,  who,  while  waiting  to  get  Federal  appointments, 
had  not  much  to  do,  and  ultimately  called  their  attention  to  it. 

I  can  best  give  you  an  idea  of  the  general  argument  used  iii  the  work  by  reading  to 
you  its  introductory,  which  is  as  follows : 

"  The  development  of  the  mineral  resources  of  this  country  forms  a  subject  of  such 


SUTRO    TUNNEL.  57 

grave  importance,  one  involving  considerations  of  a  politico-economical  nature  of  such 
Significant  consequences,  that  it  well  behooves  the  American  statesman,  the  patriot 
who  has  the  future  of  this  givat  republic  at  heart,  to  devote  some  time  to  the  earnest 
examination  of  those  questions  which  have  a  vital  bearing  upon  the  future  welfare  of 
this  country. 

44  In  the  vast  regions  stretching  from  the  Mississippi  River  to  the  broad  Pacific 
Ocean,  from  the  confines  of  Mexico  to  the  icy  regions  of  the  North,  there  lie  buried  in 
the  bowels  of  the  earth  incalculable  treasures  of  the  precious  metals,  which  but  await 
the  industrious  application  of  the  hardy  miner  and  the  fostering  care  of  a  provident 
government  to  pour  out  a  stream  of  gold  and  silver,  which  will  so  much  increase  the 
national  wealth,  augment  the  resources  of  the  nation,  and  spread  welfare  and  pros- 
perity throughout  the  extent  of  this  vast  land,  that  the  burdens  of  taxation  will 
gradually  disappear,  and  make  the  national  debt  sink  into  insignificance.  If  we  con- 
template that  mighty  interest,  which  can  be  made  to  create  so  many  blessings,  and 
find  that  it  is  neglected  and  declining  from  year  to  year,  we  must  arrive  at  the  firm 
conclusion  that  there  is  something  radically  wrong  in  our  present  system  of  mining, 
and  that  an  immediate,  practical  and  effectual  remedy  should  be  applied  to  rescue 
from  a  steady  decline  and  eventual  abandonment  a  source  of  wealth  which  must  be 
considered  the  most  fruitful  and  important  one  this  nation  possesses. 

"  If  the  facts  presented  in  the  following  pages  are  carefully  examined,  three  promi- 
nent conclusions  will  be  arrived  at : 

"1st.  That  the  main  wealth  of  the  mineral  regions  is  contained  in  quartz  lodes,  the 
principal  treasures  of  which  are  found  at  great  depths  beneath  the  surface. 

"  2d.  That  the  present  mode  of  mining  downwards  from  the  surface  is  detrimental 
to  the  prosperity  of  the  mining  interests. 

"  3d.  That  a  system  of  deep  tunneling  should  be  inaugurated,  which  will  make  mining 
profitable  by  giving  a  natural  outlet  to  the  flow  of  water,  by  ventilating  the  mines,  by 
cooling  the  atmosphere,  and  by  facilitating  the  extraction  of  ore. 

"Mining  requires  capital,  which  the  western  regions  do  not  possess;  the  Eastern 
States  have  an  abundance,  but  not  for  investment  in  mining  enterprises,  which  are 
looked  upon  with  suspicion  and  are  almost  considered  disreputable. 

"  Some  years  ago  many  persons  were  found  quite  willing  to  embark  in  mining  ven- 
tures, and  considerable  sums  were  invested ;  but  the  experiences  made  have  been, 
disastrous  and  ruinous  to  those  concerned,  in  almost  every  instance.  This  result  has 
been  charged  to  various  causes,  but  the  true  one  must  be  sought  in  the  unwise,  ex- 
travagant, and  wasteful  manner  in  which  the  work  on  the  mines  has  been  performed. 

"  The  construction  of  deep  tunnels,  which  by  all  authorities  are  admitted  to  be 
absolutely  necessary  to  make  mining  operations  successful,  requires  time,  and  Jhe  out- 
lay of  large  amounts  of  capital,  and  consequently  implicit  confidence  in  the  permanency 
of  the  mines. 

"It  is  the  lack  of  confidence  in  the  permanency  of  the  mines  (their  downward 
extent  to  great  depth  not  having  practically  been  demonstrated  in  the  United  States) 
•which  prevents  the  execution  of  such  works. 

"  The  Comstock  lode,  the  most  productive  of  all  mineral  lodes  in  the  world,  pro- 
ducing as  much  silver  as  the  whole  republic  of  Mexico,  presents  the  most  extraordinary 
example,  illustrating  the  ruinous  and  wasteful  manner  of  our  present  system  of 
mining.  We  have  a  lode  here  which  has  produced  within  the  last  six  years  over 
$75,000,000,  and  the  whole  of  that  enormous  sum  has  been  swallowed  up  by  the  ex- 
penses of  producing  it.  The  mines  upon  this  lode  have  now  reached  such  a  depth 
that,  after  a  few  years,  they  must  inevitably  be  abandoned,  provided  a  deep  tunnel  be 
not  constructed. 

"Great  mineral  lodes,  true  fissure-veins,  according  to  experiences  made  in  older 
countries,  extend  downward  indefinitely ;  we  have  the  testimony  of  some  of  the  first 
scientific  men  living,  that  the  Comstock  lode  bears  the  strongest  evidence  of  being  a 
true  iissure-veiu. 

"  Here,  then,  we  have  a  remarkable  state  of  affairs ;  a  lode  yielding  $16,000,000  per 
annum,  almost  the  whole  amount  being  absorbed  by  the  expenses  of  producing  it, 
while  the  construction  of  a  deep  tunnel,  for  which  extraordinary  facilities  exist,  would 
leave  a  large  portion  of  that  amount  as  a  profit ;  the  downward  continuance  of  the 
lode  is  theoretically,  at  the  same  time  conclusively,  proven,  and  still  we  find  that 
capitalists  cannot  be  found  to  undertake  the  construction  of  a  deep  tunnel,  because 
the  ores  at  great  depth  are  not  actually  visible. 

"Were  that  tunnel  completed  to-day,  a  glorious  reality,  pouring  out  a  silver  stream 
of  $40,000,000  or  $50,000,000  per  annum,  these  same  capitalists,  who  first  want  to  eye 
the  riches  way  down  in  the  earth  before  they  consent  to  invest,  would  be  eager  to 
enter  into  similar  undertakings  in  all  parts  of  the  mining  regions,  and  tunneling  would 
become  the  order  of  the  day.  The  nation  would  be  enriched  beyond  all  expectation, 
and  the  benefits  to  the  Government  and  the  people  would  be  incalculable. 
"  That  it  is  both  the  duty  and  the  interest  of  the  Government  to  aid  in  the  construction 


58  SUTRO   TUNNEL. 

of  one  such  tunnel  to  serve  as  an  index-work,  and  thereby  establish  the  continuance 
of  mineral  lodes  in  depth,  cannot  admit  of  any  doubt. 

"  The  most  favorable  qpportunity  for  such  a  demonstration  presents  itself  in  the 
construction  of  the  proposed  tunnel  to  the  Comstock  lode;  the  Government  may  con- 
sistently extend  its  credit  to  that  work,  for  almost  no  risk  is  involved,  the  security 
offered  being  a  hundred-fold.  A  simple  investigation  of  the  subject  Will  prove  this 
conclusively. 

"  Some  thirty  years  ago  a  similar  question  arose  in  Saxony,  when  Baron  von  Herder, 
then  chief  of  the  mining  department,  as  an  introductory  to  a  book  on  the  subject, 
addressed  his  countrymen  in  the  following  words  : 

" '  To  the  friends  of  their  country  do  I  dedicate  the  plan  of  a  mining  work,  the  execu- 
tion of  which  is  of  the  highest  importance  to  the  mining  interests  of  Saxony. 

" '  It  is  the  plan  to  drive  a  deep  tunnel  from  the  level  of  the  Elbe,  near  Meissen,  to 
the  neighborhood  of  Freiberg, 'in  order  to  drain  the  water  from  the  mines  of  that 
district  to  a  much  greater  depth  than  heretofore,  and  by  means  thereof  to  secure  their 
existence  for  centuries  to  come ;  a  plan  which  as  to  magnitude,  time  and  cost,  is 
large  and  gigantic,  but  which  appears  in  its  effects  and  results  so  benevolent  and  full 
of  blessings,  that  the  question  as  to  cost  should  not  form  an  obstacle  to  its  execution. 

"  'It  is  true  that  the  resources  of  the  mining  treasury  of  the  Freiberg  district  are 
too  limited  to  bear  these  expenses ;  but  the  execution  of  a  work  which  in  times  to 
come  will  be  classed  in  the  list  of  those  great  national  monuments  which  have  for  their 
object  the  lasting  welfare  of  a  country,  and  which  will  secure  the  same  for  the  latest 
generations  and  times,  cannot  be  left  to  the  mercy  of  a  single  mining  district,  but 
should  be  looked  upon  as  a  work  creating  happiness  and  glory,  and  worthy  of  the  par- 
ticipation and  promotion  of  the  entire  nation. 

"  'With  unlimited  confidence  do  I  therefore  present  to  the  friends  of  their  country 
the  following  explanation  and  statement  of  this  project. 

"'May  they  extend  to  it  a  wise  and  sympathizing  examination  and  magnanimous 
consideration,  and  may  they  be  assured  of  the  fervent  thanks  which  posterity  will 
grant  them.' 

"The  mines  of  Saxony  produced,  and  now  produce,  but  a  mite  of  what  our  mines 
do ;  the  national  debt  of  that  country  is  but  small,  and  the  burdens  of  taxation  are 
not  of  an  onerous  character. 

"  How  much  stronger,  then,  should  the  argument  be  in  the  case  at  issue !  A  country 
containing  more  mines  and  richer  mines  than  all  the  balance  of  the  world  combined  ; 
a  country  having  a  national  debt  amounting  to  over  $2,500,000,000,  and  a  people  cry- 
ing out  and  groaning  under  unequaled  burdens  of  taxation ! 

"  Wisdom  and  foresight  point  out  but  one  course ;  let  the  mineral  resources  of  the 
country  go  to  ruin,  and  the  national  debt,  the  burdens  of  taxation,  and  general  suffer- 
ing will  be  increased  from  year  to  year. 

"Let  our  immense  mineral  resources  be  developed,  an  increase  in  the  value  of  all 
property,  a  relief  of  the  burdens  of  taxation,  unparalleled  advancement  of  commerce, 
industry  and  traffic,  a  bright  future,  speedy  resumption  of  specie  payments,  and  gen- 
eral welfare  and  prosperity  will  be  the  results. 

"  Those  who  rule  the  destinies  of  this  country  have  the  solution  of  this  question  in 
their  hands  ;  wisdom,  foresight,  liberality,  and  true  patriotism  will  grasp  the  issue,  and 
promptly  secure  those  results  which  will  immensely  benefit  our  present  generation, 
and  extend  its  blessings  to  posterity." 

The  Committee  on  Mines  and  Mining,  fully  appreciating  the  impetus  which  would 
be  given  to  the  development  of  our  great  mineral  resources  by  the  construction  of  this 
tunnel,  after  a  most  thorough  investigation,  perfected  a  bill  recommending  a  loan  of 
$5,000.000,  in  twenty-years  seven-per-cent.  bonds,  to  be  delivered  at  the  rate  of  $15,000 
for  every  100  feet  of  tunnel  completed.  To  show  how  thoroughly  this  committee 
understood  the  importance  of  the  proposed  work,  I  will  here  give  an  extract  from  their 
official  report,  published  by  order  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  in  which  they  say : 

'•  Your  committee  considers  the  execution  of  one  great  mining  work,  such  as  the  pro- 
posed tunnel  to  the  Comstock  lode,  as  conducive  to  the  most  beneficial  results ;  it 
would  practically  demonstrate  the  continuance  of  mineral  lodes  in  depth,  thereby 
establishing  confidence  in  the  execution  of  similar  Avorks  in  all  the  mining  districts. 

"  Writers  on  mining  agree  on  the  importance  of  general  drain-tunnels,  and  the  best 
proof  of  their  utility  is  shown  by  tho  fact  that  in  those  mining  districts  where  a  gen  oral 
and  extensive  system  of  drainage  by  tunnels  has  been  adopted,  the  mines  have  been 
kept  in  a  flourishing  condition  during  hundreds  of  years,  while  in  those  places  where 
no  tunnels  have  been  made,  mining  operations  have  proved  unprofitable,  and  the  mines 
have  been  abandoned. 

"  We  find  in  all  mining  codes  provisions  for  the  construction  of  tunnels  ;  they  were, 
in  olden  times,  called  i  the  keys  of  the  mountains,'  and  under  the  laws  of  Spain,  Bel- 
gium, Prussia,  Austria,  Hungary,  Saxony,  Hanover,  and  other  countries,  compulsory 
payments  toward  the  support  of  drain-tunnels  were  exacted  from  the  mine  owners,  in 
order  to  keep  up  the  mining  districts. 


SUTRO   TUXNEL.  59 

"Gamboa,  the  great  expounder  of  Spanish  mining  law,  in.  speaking  of  the  neglect  of 
the  justices  to  enforce  the  construction  of  tunnels,  says: 

"  '  By  indulging  in  this  neglect  of  their  duty  they  do  injustice  to  the  public,  to  indi- 
viduals, and  to  the  rights  of  the  Sovereign,  who  has  made  it  a  law  that  the  working  of 


the  mines  shall*  bo  assisted  by  means  of  tunnels,  as  being  works  of  great  importance 

and  necessary 


ssarv  forgiving  a  permanent  character  to  this  valuable  description  of  property.' 

"  General  ^rain-tunnels  are  important  in  many  regards;  they  not  only  provide  the 
cheapest  and  safest  means  of  drainage,  ventilation,  extraction  and  discovery  of  ore,  but 
they  accomplish  the  great  and  very  important  result  of  consolidating  the  different 
interest  in  a  mining  district,  by  establishing  one  general  base  of  operations. 

••  As  mines  are  worked  now,  the  proprietors  or  companies,  on  a  mineral  lode — no 
matter  how  limited  the  extent  of  the  claims — each,  independently  of  their  neighbors, 
erect  a  steam-engine,  pump  the  water  from  their  mines,  hoist  the  ore,  and  transport  it 
to  the  reduction  works;  they  boast  of  independent  organizations,  presidents,  boards  of 
trustees,  superintendents,  secretaries,  &c.,  kept  up  at  an  enormous  expense,  which 
makes  mining  unprofitable  and  a  losing  business. 

"  In  large  cities  we  iind  it  necessary  to  establish  a  joint  system  of  drainage,  gas  and 
water  works.  Main  sewers  are  constructed,  into  which  small  branches  enter  from 
every  building.  Supposing  each  house-owner  were  to  provide  his  own  drainage,  inde- 
pendent of  his  neighbors,  establish  his  own  gas  manufactory,  and  dig  a  canal  of  his 
own  from  a  distant  spring,  in  order  to  get  a  supply  of  water,  the  world  would  pronounce 
such  proceeding  very  unwise  and  foolish. 

';  And  still  we  find  a  similar  state  of  affairs  in  our  great  mineral  districts;  a  contig- 
uous row  of  mines  on  the  same  lode,  each  worked  independently  and  entirely  regard- 
less of  its  neighbors,  while  one  general  tunnel,  or  adit,  or  drain,  would  allow  the  water 
to  run  off  by  its  natural  flow  to  the  lowest  level,  from  all  the  mines,  through  one  com- 
mon outlet*  thereby  abolishing  at  once  all  pumping-machinery,  giving  one  common 
railroad  for  the  transportation  of  all  the  ore,  and  creating  innumerable  advantages. 
Only  one  general  mining  administration  would  be  required,  operations  could  be  carried 
on  jointly  and  systematically,  the  extraction  of  ore  largely  increased,  the  health  of  the 
miners  secured  by  good  ventilation,  and  large  sums  of  money  would  be  saved,  thereby 
making  it  possible  to  extract  immense  bodies  of  low-grade  ores. 

"In  short,  instead  of  an  unwise,  short-sighted,  ruinous,  and  stupid  manner  of  pro- 
ceeding, we  would  inaugurate  a  rational  system  of  mining,  a  system  which  would  make 
it  profitable,  attract  the  capital  which  is  absolutely  necessary  for  the  development  of 
this  branch  of  industry,  increase  the  production  of  the  precious  metals  beyond  all 
expectations,  populate  the  vast  extent  of  our  mineral  regions,  procure  traffic  for  our 
trans-continental  railways,  stimulate  the  commerce  and  industry  of  our  whole  nation, 
firmly  establish  our  credit  by  proving  the  extent  of  our  mineral  wealth,  and,  above  all, 
relieve  the  burdens  of  taxation  by  increasing  the  value  of  all  property. 

''Such  are  some  of  the  advantages  which,  in  our  opinion,  would  be  derived  from  the 
adoption  of  a  general  system  of  tunneling  in  our  great  mining  districts;  and  it  must 
appear  remarkable  that  such  tunnels,  their  advantages  being  so  self-evident,  have  not 
already  been  constructed  in  numerous  places." 

The  measure  grew  more  and  more  popular,  in  spite  of  the  secret  efforts  of  the  Cali- 
fornia Bank,  and  would,  no  doubt,  have  passed  with  a  three-quarter  vote  of  the  House, 
had  it  been  possible  to  reach  the  Committee  on  Mines  and  Mining  in  the  regular  order 
of  business. 

Unfortunately,  when  we  were  almost  within  reach  of  the  bill,  the  impeachment  trial 
of  Andrew  Johnson  commenced,  and  before  its  weary  length  was  terminated,  it  was  so 
late  in  the  session  that  our  committee  never  was  reached  at  all,  and  consequently  the 
tunnel  bill  had  to  go  over. 

Congress  adjourned  late  in  July  last  year,  and  I  returned  to  California  somewhat 
disgusted  with  my  ill  luck,  but  never  for  a  moment  losing  my  confidence  in  ultimate 
success.  Before  I  left  Washington  many  letters  were  addressed  to  me  by  members  of 
Congress,  expressing  their  regret  at  my 'bill  not  having  been  reached,  and  giving  it  as 
their  opinion  that  at  the  next  session  it  would  certainly  pass.  Among  these  was 
one  from  Thaddeus  Stevens,  one  of  the  very  best  friends  the  measure  had,  who  stated 
that  at  the  next  session  he  would  warmly  support  it ;  but  the  old  man  did  not  live  to 
see  another  session  ;  he  died  within  a  fortnight. 

After  spending  a  few  weeks  at  New  York  I  returned  again  to  California,  from 
whence,  after  remaining  a  couple  of  mouths,  I  once  more  proceeded  to  Washington  to 
renew  my  efforts. 

In  the  mean  time  General  Grant  had  been  elected  President  of  the  United  States,  and 
the  misunderstanding  which  existed  between  him  and  Andrew  Johnson  prevented  any 
special  legislation,  which,  as  was  stated,  might  embarrass  the  former's  administration. 
BO  Congress  concluded  to  enter  into  no  legislation  whatever,  with  the  exception  of  the 
passage  of  some  appropriation  bills  necessary  for  the  support  of  the  Government,  and 
thus  the  Fortieth  Congress  expired  without  acting  on  my  bill. 

The  new  Congress  convened  on  the  4th  of  March  last,  under  good  auspices,  and 


60  SUTRO   TUNNEL. 

General  Grant,  in  bis  inaugural,  referring  to  the  payment  of  the  national  debt,  alludes 
to  the  importance  of  developing  our  vast  mineral  resources,  and  speaks  of  the  treasure- 
chest  which  Providence  has  provided  us,  buried  in  our  western  mountains,  lor  which 
we  must  forge  the  key  now  to  unlock.  After  a  short  session  of  a  few  weeks  Congress 
adjourned  until  next  December,  when,  for  the  first  time,  I  expected  to  get  a  fair 
chance  to  bring  my  bill  up  and  have  it  thoroughly  discussed. 

I  have  but  little  doubt  but  that,  notwithstanding  the  great  efforts  the  California 
Bank  will  make  to  control  the  action  of  both  our  Senators,  they  will  firmly  stand  by 
ihe  people,  and  use  all  their  influence  for  the  accomplishment  of  this  great  work. 

In  the  mean  time  I  have  come  out  here  among  you,  my  fellow-citizens,  in  order  to  ex- 
plain to  you  all  about  this  tunnel  business,  and  while  some  of  the  moneyed  men  of  San 
Francisco  look  upon  the  whole  thing  as  a  failure,  not  knowing  anything  of  its  history, 
nor  of  the  great  fight  of  the  California  Bank  ring  against  it,  and  which  erroneous  opin- 
ions also  many  of  you  entertained,  I  have  more  confidence  in  its  success  now  than  ever. 

Fellow-citizens,  I  have  come  among  you  to  propose  to  the  working  people  of  Nevada 
to  join  in  together  in  order  to  start  work  on  the  tunnel  itself,  and  thereby  give  me  that 
solid  indorsement,  at  home,  from  those  who  live  on  the  very  spot,  from  the  men  who 
work  in  these  very  mines,  and  who  are  supposed  to  know  most  about  it,  which  I  have 
lately  sought  in  vain  from  the  mining  companies  and  from  the  people  which  should  be 
most  deeply  interested.  Your  solid  indorsement  will  be  valued  highly  at  Washington ; 
it  will  annihilate  the  efforts  of  that  scheming  combination,  the  California  Bank. 

Fellow-citizens,  it  must  now  be  evident  to  you  that  the  arch  enemy  of  this  great 
work  is  that  hydra-headed  monster  you  have  reared  in  your  midst,  and  allowed  to  grow 
into  gigantic  proportions  ;  that  enemy  of  that  welfare  of  the  whole  Pacific  coast ;  that 
incubus  npon  your  prosperity ;  that  crafty  concern  which  resorts  to  every  means  to 
carry  out  its  ends.  And  why  do  they  oppose  the  tunnel  ?  Why  do  they  all  in  their 
power  of  cunning  and  scheming  and  planning  to  defeat  it  ?  Why  are  all  their  satel- 
lites and  hirelings  told  they  must  defeat  and  oppose  the  tunnel  project  with  all  their 
might  and  power,  by  fair  and  by  foul  means?  Why  do  they  threaten  to  discharge 
their  employes  if  they  take  a  hand  in  it  ?  And  why  are  they  compelled  to  do  all  this 
in  the  darkness  of  night  ?  Why  is  it  they  dare  not  make  their  motives  known  ? 

Fellow-citizens,  let  me  enlighten  you.  Allow  me  to  pierce  that  darkness  and  let  in  a 
ray  of  day-light ;  let  me  explain  to  you  why  these  men  so  bitterly  oppose  a  work  which 
in"theni,  the  ostensible  owners  of  the  Conistock  lode,  should  find  the  strongest  advo- 
cates ;  let  them  show  to  you  why  they  have  turned  to  be  the  guardians  of  the  Treasury 
at  Washington  ;  let  them  tell  you  why  they  tremble  with  fear  lest  work  on  the  tunnel 
be  started  ;  let  me  explain  to  you  why  they  make  you  work  in  a  foul  atmosphere, 
which  sends  half  of  you  to  your  graves  in  the  prime  of  manhood ;  let  me  show  you  why 
they  have  allowed  forty-two  of  your  miners  to  be  foully  murdered  at  the  fire  of  the 
Gold  Hill  mines  for  the  want  of  an  exit  through  the  tunnel ;  and  let  me  show  them  to 
you  in  their  true  colors,  and  then  hold  them  up  to  the  shame,  contempt,  and  ignominy 
they  so  richly  deserve. 

In  order  to  do  so  I  must  enter  into  the  details  of  some  of  the  operations  of  this  clique 
which  rules  and  controls  these  mines,  and  apparently  are  the  absolute  owners  of  a 
controlling  interest  in  this  vast  and  important  property. 

Many  of  you  will  be  utterly  astonished  to  learn  that  neither  the  bank  nor  the  mill 
ring,  as  a  general  thing,  own  more  than  a  few  shares  in  each  mine — just  about  enough 
to  be  elected  trustees  of  the  companies,  while  you,  the  miners  and  residents  of  Vir- 
ginia City,  do  always  own  a  large  amount  of  stock,  and  sometimes  a  controlling  in- 
terest, in'mauy  of  the  mines.  I  do  not  wish  to  say  that  the  bank  ring  has  not  at  dif- 
ferent times  owned  large  amounts  of  stock  for  a  number  of  months,  but  that  was  only 
in  such  mines  as  the  Savage  and  Keutuck,  for  instance,  during  the  years  1867  and 
1868,  as  wrere  then  in  a  magnificent  condition,  and  paying  large  and  regular  dividends. 
But  you  will  say,  How  is  it  possible  that  they  can  control  the  elections,  put  in  men  of 
their  own  ring  as  trustees,  and  manage  and  manipulate  these  mines  as  they  please,  to 
further  their  own  ends,  if  they  do  not  own  any  stock  ? 

That  is  precisely  where  the  secret  lies,  and  where  the  public  gets  gulled  and  swin- 
dled and  humbugged,  and  allows  this  clique,  by  sharp  practice,  to  carry  out  its  nefari- 
ous schemes. 

You  all  know  that  there  is  an  institution  in  San  Francisco  called  the  Bank  of  Cali- 
fornia; they  have  a  branch  house  in  Virginia  City,  over  which  William  Sharon  pre- 
sides. The'priuciple  upon  which  this  concern  is  carried  on  is  to  get  deposits  from  as 
many  people,  and  in  as  large  amounts,  and  from  as  many  quarters  as  possible  ;  that  is 
where  their  power  lies  !  Their  capital  stock  is  $5,000,000,  with  which  they  do  a  busi- 
ness of  many  millions  more.  They  loan  out  a  great  deal  of  money ;  whether  they 
loan  out  any  of  their  depositors'  money  we  don't  know;  but  "they  loan  out  a 
great  deal ;  they  loan  a  great  deal  to  their  individual  members,  who  are  engaged  in 
extensive  speculations ;  some  of  them  pay,  but  a  great  many  do  not ;  that  money  is 
scattered  all  over  creation,  and  whether  it  is  probable  that  they  could  pay  all  they 
owe,  should  they  be  called  upon,  I  doubt  very  iimeh.  Money  in  a  good  iron  safe,  or 


SUTRO    TUNNEL.  61 

deposited  in  some  of  the  solid  banks  of  San  Francisco,  might  be  a  great  deal  securer. 
I  shall,  however,  revert  to  this  more  in  detail  on  some  future  occasion. 

Among  other  things,  they  loan  money  on  mining  stocks.  The  Virginia  agent  keeps 
the  San  Francisco  bank  well  posted  on  the  value  of  each  particular  mine,  and  on  the 
special  manipulation  going  on  in  it ;  daily  1»-lcgrams  and  letters  are  sent  on  the  reports 
of  special  experts  kept  for  that  purpose.  This  information,  which  is  withheld  with  the 
utmost  secrecy  from  the  public,  enables  the  San  Francisco  concern  to  advance  money 
on  stocks,  and  to  brokers,  without  much  risk,  while  no  other  bank  or  moneyed  institu- 
tion dare  touch  it.  Now  let  us  see  how  this  operates ;  all  men  who  deal  in  these  stocks 
are  more  or  less  of  a  gambling  disposition ;  they  put  in  a  little  money  and  want  to 
make  a  great  deal ;  they  almost  always  go  beyond  their  means ;  they  buy  a  certain 
number  of  shares,  carry  them  to  their  broker,  or  to  the  Bank  of  California,  borrow  as 
much  money  as  tliey  can  get  loaned  on  them,  in  order  to  enable  them  to  buy  more,  and 
are  compelled  to  transfer  their  shares— not  to  the  bank,  for  that  would  make  it  respon- 
sible for  any  debts  which  might  be  contracted  by  the  mining  companies,  but  to  one  of 
their  irresponsible  clerks,  A.  E.  Hill,  for  instance,  whose  name  figures  quite  extensively 
in  the  delinquent  lists,  and  whose  name  only  stands  for  that  of  so  many  miners  or  other 
individuals.  Thus  that  bank  clerk  has  a  large  amount  of  stock  standing  in  his  name, 
without  owning  a  share,  and  no  outsider  knows  whose  stock  it  is.  This  is  one  way  the 
bank  obtains  control  of  a  large  amount  of  stock  both  at  San  Francisco  and  at  Virginia; 
but  by  far  the  greatest  part  comes  under  their  control  in  a  still  easier  way.  Most  of 
you  miners  and  others  who  speculate  in  stocks  go  to  a  broker,  deposit  your  money  and 
get  him  to  telegraph  to  his  partner  in  San  Francisco  for  a  given  number  of  shares  in  a 
certain  mine ;  the  purchaser  here  never  sees  that  stock  ;  it  is  issued  in  the  name  of  the 
broker,  for  to  issue  it  in  the  name  of  the  purchaser  causes  delay,  inconvenience,  and 
expense.  Many  of  these  brokers  receive  accommodations  from  the  bank,  and  are  con- 
sequently under  obligations  to  them  ;  many  others  are  simply  convenient  stool-pigeons 
in  the  hands  of  the  bank  ring.  Now  what  is  the  result  of  all  this  ?  When  the  annual 
election  comes  oft'  in  a  mining  company  the  managers  of  the  bank  hold  a  sufficient  amount 
of  stock  in  their  hands  as  collaterals,  together  with  the  proxies  thsy  obtain  from 
brokers,  who  represent  the  miners  and  others,  so  that  they  can  almost  invariably  step 
in  to  an  election  and  cast  this  vote  for  a  set  of  trustees  which  have  j>reviouwsly  been 
made  up  in  the  back  office  of  the  California  Bank.  And  who  are  these  trustees  ?  About 
a  dozen  of  them  compose  the  trustees  in  nearly  all  the  mining  companies,  and  a  majority 
in  each  company  are  either  under  the  thumb  of  or  mere  tools  of  the  bank,  and  if  you 
were  to  examine  the  books  you  would  find  that  most  of  them  do  not  own  more  than 
three  or  four  shares  apiece.  And  these  few  miserable  shares  even  do  they  not  in  many 
instances  own  at  all,  but  they  are  simply  loaned  them,  and  transferred  to  their  names 
so  they  may  act  as  trustees.  Those  are  the  men  whom  you  allow  to  manage  your 
property.  In  order  to  throw  sand  into  people's  eyes,  one  or  two  trustees  are  usually 
elected  who  bear  a  high  reputation  for  integrity ;  and  so  adroitly  are  the  atFairs  of  most 
of  these  companies  managed  between  the  majority  of  the  trustees,  the  president  of  the 
company  and  the  superintendent,  that  the  minority  of  the  board  often  do  not  suspect 
even  that  anything  is  wrong,  and  thus  lend  their  names  to  the  most  nefarious  schemes 
for  entrapping  the  public. 

In  some  instances  the  bank  ring  cannot  obtain  sufficient  stock  in  the  manner  indi- 
cated, and  then  they  are  compelled,  although  reluctantly,  to  purchase  a  sufficient 
amount  temporarily  to  make  up  a  majority  until  after  the  election.  To  show  how 
much  value  is  placed  in  getting  the  management  of  a  mine,  considering  that  the  trus- 
tees receive  no  salary,  you  need  only  look  back  to  the  election  of  the  Hale  &  Norcross 
a  little  over  a  year  ago,  when  the  bank  ring  paid  as  high  as  $16,000  per  foot,  while  the 
true  value  of  the  stock  was  less  than  $2,000. 

In  this  manner  the  ring,  without  owning  a  share  of  stock,  or  but  very  little,  obtain 
the  management  of  these  mines  and  become  your  masters,  while  you  are,  to  a  large 
extent,  the  owners  of  the  property.  They  become  the  absolute  tyrants  who  rule  over 
you,  and  threaten  to  ^discharge  you  if  you  do  not  dance  according  to  the  tune  they 
fiddle.  They  arrogate  to  themselves  the  power  and  dictate  to  you,  the  proprietors  of 
these  mines,  what  shall  be  done ;  they  regulate  the  amount  of  your  wages ;  employ 
and  discharge  you  as  they  see  fit,  and  even  threaten  to  turn  you  all  out  and  employ 
Chinese  in  your  stead.  Of  course,  they  lose  no  opportunity  and  embrace  every  occa- 
sion to  impress  you  with  the  pretended  fact  that  they  own  a  very  large  amount  of 
stock  in  all  these  mines.  Go  and  examine  the  books,  convince  yourselves,  and  then 
wonder  how  such  unblushing  falsehood,  based  on  brass  and  impudence,  could  have  ex- 
isted so  long  and  not  be  exposed. 

Now  let  us  see  how  their  control  of  the  mines  further  operates  :  there  is  a  concern 
called  the  Union  Mill  and  Mining  Company,  supposed  to  be  composed  of  just  about 
the  same  men  as  control  the  California  Bank'and  the  mining  companies.  At  the  head 
of  that  concern,  at  Virginia  City,  is  the  agent  of  the  California  Bank.  Somehow  or 
other  this  mill  association  has  gobbled  up  all  the  valuable  mills  in  the  neighborhood, 
and,  as  is  stated,  by  paying  but  a  very  small  portion  of  the  cost  of  them.  Most  of 


62  SUTRO  TUNNEL. 

these  mills  were  erected  by  private  individuals,  depending  on  a  supply  of  ore  from  the 
companies  on  the  Coinstock  lode.  As  indicated  above,  the  bank  ring  obtained  control 
of  nearly  all  the  mines;  it  was,  therefore,  an  easy  matter  for  them  to  furnish  such 
mills  only  with  rock  as  they  saw  fit.  In  this  manner  some  mills,  especially  those 
whose  financial  affairs  were  not  very  sound,  could  get  no  supply  of  ore.  In  trying  to 
keep  running  on  small  supplies  from  outside  mines,  and  here  and  then)  on  temporary 
supplies  from  the  Comstock  lode,  which  was  furnished  them  in  order  to  varnish  over 
the  manipulation  then  progressing,  their  mills  would  stand  idle  a  portion  of  the  time, 
which  involved  them  into  debt.  They  had  to  borrow  money  from  the  California  Bank, 
the  only  moneyed  institution  at  Virginia  City,  which  had  a  policy  of  being  remarkably 
accommodating  in  such  instances.  The  poor  victim  taking  that  money  signed  his 
death  warrant.  As  soon  as  he  became  thus  indebted  he  could  somehow  or  the  other 
obtain  no  more  ore  for  his  mill  at  all ;  he  could  not  pay  the  interest  on  his  indebted- 
ness ;  and  after  a  few  months  the  mortgage  on  his  property  costing,  say  $100,000, 
would  be  foreclosed  for  about  $20,000,  utterly  ruining  him. 

In  this  wise  the  mill  ring  or  bank  became  possessed  of  nearly  all  the  valuable  mills 
in  the  neighborhood,  costing  millions  of  dollars,  at  a  comparatively  trifling  cost  to 
them. 

Now,  mark  the  result.  The  same  ring  is  managing  the  bank,  the  mills,  and  the 
mines,  but  own  but  precious  little  interest  in  the  latter.  Of  course  they  are  sure  to 
make  all  the  money  out  of  the  mills,  even  at  the  expense  of  the  mines.  'Mills  with  a 
capacity  of  1,000  tons  per  day  must  be  kept  supplied  at  all  hazands.  The  price  of 
crushing  is  fixed  at  $13  per  ton,  by  the  mutual  agreement  of  the  same  crowd  ;  this 
leaves  a  profit  of  $7  per  ton,  or  $7,000  per  day.  If  a  mine  does  not  furnish  rich  ore, 
poor  is  sent  to  the  mills,  for  they  must  be  kept  going.  If  that  runs  the  mine  in 
debt,  how  easy  is  it  to  put  on  an  assessment,  and  make  you,  the  stockholders,  pay 
the  loss,  or,  in  other  words,  turn  over  the  amount  thus  collected  into  the  pockets  of 
the  mill  association.  If  a  mine  has  some  rich  ore,  but  only  a  limited  quantity,  how 
easy  is  it  to  intermix  a  sufficient  quantity  of  bed-rock  in  order  to  increase  the  number 
of  tons  to  be  worked.  It  is  asserted,  and  can  be  substantiated  by  many  credible  wit- 
nesses, that  thousands  of  tons  of  ore  have  gone  to  the  mills  which 'paid  as  low  as  $5  per 
ton,  while  it  costs  $20  per  ton  to  mill  and  mine  it,  thus  taking  $15,000  out  of  your 
pockets  for  every  1,000  tons  worked  ;  that  is  to  say,  in  twenty-four  hours. 

But  this  is  not  all.  There  is  still  another  way  by  which  you  are  victimized.  Sup- 
posing the  superintendent  and  foreman  of  a  'mine  are  pliable  tools  in  the  hands  of  these 
cormorants,  how  easy  is  it  when  a  rich  body  of  ore  is  discovered  to  keep  it  secret,  and 
instead  of  taking  it  out  start  the  miners  going  in  a  wrong  direction,  taking  out  infe- 
rior ore  or  bed-rock,  sending  it  to  the  mills,  involving  the  mine  in  debt,  necessitating 
assessments,  and  thus  depreciating  the  stock.  And  how  simple  is  it  for  the  ring  to 
gobble  it  all  up  again  quietly  while  it  is  down,  and  after  a  large  amount  of  it  is  se- 
cured to  set  all  the  men  to  work  that  can  find  room  and  take  oat  the  good  ore,  make 
a  great  noise  over  it,  declare  large  dividends,  send  up  the  stock,  and  then  quietly  step 
out  and  pocket  a  million  or  so. 

How  many  of  you  have  been  bitten  in  this  manner  ?  What  show  have  you  when  the 
cards  are  stocked  on  you  ?  Have  you  ever  seen  a  cat  play  with  a  mouse  ?  It  lets  it 
run  a  little  piece  and  then  catches  it  again,  and  repeats  the  experiment  a  number  of 
times,  to  its  great  delight  and  amusement ;  but  did  you  ever  know  it  to  fail  that  the 
cat  ate  up  the  mouse  in  the  long  run  ? 

A  few  of  you  make  a  good  strike  once  in  a  while  by  sheer  accident ;  that  keeps  up 
the  excitement,  and  so  you  keep  all  gambling  in  stocks,  pay  your  assessments,  and  in 
the  end  you  will  all  be  eaten  up  like  the  poor  mouse.  There  is  no  guess-work  about  it ; 
it  is  a  sure  thing. 

There  is  still  another  item  connected  with  these  mines  which  is  worth  while  looking 
after.  The  parties  managing  them  of  course  have  control  of  the  funds  of  these  con- 
cerns, and  the  handling  of  a  million  of  dollars  or  more,  year  in  and  year  out,  is  an  item 
not  to  be  despised.  If  the  ring  is  hard  up,  as  the  case  is  now,  why  it  is  an  easy  matter  to 
slap  on  an  assessment  of  a  quarter  of  a  million  or  so,  and  thus  make  the  people  come  to 
the  rescue  of  their  empty  cash-box. 

These  great  financiers  who  have  undertaken  to  regulate  the  money  affairs  of  this 
coast,  with  all  their  scheming,  and  notwithstanding  the  immense  sums  they  have 
filched  out  of  the  people,  have  arrived  at  a  point  where  bankruptcy  stares  them  in  the 
face.  The  California  Bank,  with  a  capital  of  $5,000,000  and  a  surplus  of  $2,000,000.  can- 
not loan  out  a  dollar  to  any  one  at  the  present  time.  What  have  they  done  with  all 
this  money  ?  Where  is  it  ?  If  they  are  solvent  why  can't  they  accommodate  the  pub- 
lic now  when  it  is  most  needed  ?  They  have  kept  out  greenbacks  in  order  to  prevent 
eastern  capital  from  coming  here,  and  now  reap  the  fruits  of  their  folly.  While  they 
have  ruined  themselves,  they  have  brought  untold  hardships  unto  this  people  in  the 
present  crisis.  Their  last  bearing  operation  has  recoiled  upon  themselves;  stocks  and 
all  property  have  gone  down  beyond  their  control,  for  they  did  not  have  the  sagacity 
to  forsee  that  the  bubble  which  had  been  growing  for  the  last  six  years,  in  anticipation 


SUTEO   TUNNEL.  63 

of  the  Pacific  Railroad  being  finished,  would  burst  in  the  act  of  driving  the  last  spike. 
They  fondly  hoped  that  eastern  people  would  Hock  out  here  with  full  money-bags  and 
invest  at  the  inflated  prices.  They  did  come,  and  saw  at  a  glance  the  game  which 
was  put  up  for  them,  and  declared  they  would  come  back  in  another  year  and  invest 
iit  twenty  mils  on  the  dollar,  when  they  were  all  broke  out  here.  So  much  for  their 
financial  capacity. 

But  the  ring,  not  yet  satisfied  with  all  these  manipulations,  and  with  an  unsatiated 
desire  to  draw  the  very  last  drop  of  life-blood  from  the  people,  has  lately  entered  into 
another  selieme  of  pilfer.  I  refer  to  the  Virginia  and  Truckeo  Railroad.  Not  satisfied 
with  contvoling  the  mines  ;  not  satisfied  with  owning  the  mills  ;  not  satisfied  with  all 
the  plunder  obtained  before,  they  came  to  the  conclusion  that  a  railroad  to  the  Carson 
River,  where  their  mills  are  mostly  located,  would  be  a  good  thing.  They  not  only 
thought  that  by  owning  such 'a  road  they  could  drive  all  the  teamsters  out  of  the  coun- 
try, and  thus  squeeze  two  or  three  dollars  additional  out  of  every  ton  of  ore  trans- 
ported over  their  road,  but  they  also  expected  to  monopolize  all  the  wood  and  timber 
trade,  and  charge  whatever  price  they  please  to  the  mining  companies.  But  while  they 
were  accomplishing  all  this,  and  opening  up  a  new  source  for  plunder,  their  great  mo- 
tive for  getting  up  this  railroad  scheme  was  that  they  expected  thereby  to  kill  the 
tunnel  project,  at  least  for  some  time  to  come.  Of  course  they  could  not  pretend  that 
a  railroad  to  Carson  River  would  drain  or  ventilate  the  mines,  or  abolish  the  steam- 
engines,  or  explore  the  whole  country,  but  they  did  falsely  pretend  that  all  the  low- 
grade  ores  could  be  extracted,  and  with  the  increased  facilities  for  transportation,  re- 
duced to  advantage.  If  they  did  not  expect  to  make  people  altogether  believe  that  the 
railroad  would  be  a  substitute  for  the  tunnel,  they  did  at  least  expect  that  this  threat- 
ening tunnel  question  would  be  postponed  thereby  for  another  year  or  two,  with  so 
much  additional  chance  of  seeing  mo  used  up  by  that  time. 

But  to  build  a  railroad  costs  money  ;  and  being  accustomed  to  obtain  whatever  their 
heart  desires  from  the  people,  they  concluded  to  own  a  railroad  and  have  the  dear  peo- 
ple pay  for  it. 

Being  the  trustees  of  the  mining  companies,  it  was  an  easy  matter  to  subscribe  to 
themselves  such  amounts  as  the  stockholders  would  possibly  stand — some  of  the  mines 
levying  assessments  in  order  to  raise  the  money.  Thus,  about  $500,000  were  coutrib- 
uted,  for  which  the  trustees,  before  long,  will  bo  held  responsible,  as  an  act  on  their 
part  entirely  unwarranted  and  illegal.  But  this  amount  was  not  sufficient  to  build  the 
road,  so  it  was  concluded  to  get  the  legislature  to  come  to  the  rescue.  Bills  were 
passed — God  only  knows  how — and  Storey,  Ormsby,  and  Lyon  Counties  were  com- 
pelled to  give  and  make  a  present  to  the  ring  of  bonds  amounting  to  $575,000.  The 
people  were  misled,  in  the  first  instance,  by  the  false  title  of  the  Virginia  and  Truckee 
Railroad,  and  in  their  anxiety  to  obtain  a  connection  with  the  Central  Pacific,  which 
lies  north  of  Virginia  City,  they  overlooked  that  the  bill  passed  by  the  legislature 
was  for  a  road  to  Carson  River,  in  the  opposite  direction.  Was  there  ever  such  a. 
swindle  perpetrated  before  on  any  people  ?  Every  man  and  woman  in  these  three 
counties  compelled  to  contribute  their  hard  earnings  to  meet  the  interest  and  prin- 
cipal, amounting  to  over  a  million  of  dollars,  and  which  will  ultimately  swallow  up 
all  your  private  property,  for  bonds  issued  to  a  railroad  which  will  not  be  one  particle 
of  benefit  to  the  people,  but  only  to  a  clique  of  men,  the  self-constituted  rulers  of  the 
people.  But  whom  the  gods  wish  to  destroy,  they  first  make  mad.  That  railroad 
business  was  too  much  for  the  people ;  it  has  opened  their  eyes,  and  the  remedy  will 
be  found  ;  they  will  assert  their  rights  and  throw  off  the  yoke  of  their  oppressors. 

Steps  should  immediately  be  taken  to  prevent  the  issuance  of  these  bonds ;  the  law 
is  clearly  unconstitutional,  and  no  court  in  this  State  will  dare  to  sustain  it.  If  the 
legislature  had  the  right  to  compel  you  to  give  away  $300,000,  why,  they  would  have 
the  same  right  to  compel  you  to  give  $3,000,000  ;  they  would  have  the  same  right  to 
take  all  you  possess.  The  thing  is  too  absurd  to  require  any  argument.  Stop  the  pay- 
ment of  these  bonds,  and  you  compel  the  ring  to  finish  the  railroad  from  their  own 
means,  if  they  have  any;  then  start  the  tunnel  going  and  you  will  break  them  up 
altogether,  for  they  will  not  bo  able  to  sell  out  their  railroad  stock,  as  they  expected 
to  do  by  next  spring,  by  running  immense  quantities  of  low-grade  ores  down  to  the 
mills,  and  thus  make  a  big  showing  as  to  the  profits  of  the  road ;  in  making  that 
showing  they  expected  you  to  foot  the  bills,  by  paying  assessments  to  make  up  the  loss 
sustained  in  working  the  rock,  which  must  run  the  mines  in  debt. 

Fellow-citizens,  do  you  commence  to  understand  why  this  ring  oppose  the  con- 
struction of  the  tunnel?  They  have  thus  far  had  things  their  o*vn  way  and  have 
with  a  high  hand  grasped  and  taken  everything  worth  having  in  the  State  of  Nevada  ; 
they,  like  the  devil-fish,  have  reached  out  their  long,  si i in. y  anas  and  taken  hold  of 
everything  within  reach,  and  nothing  can  escape  its  deadly  grip.  Do  you  think  for  a 
moment  that  they  would  allow  so  valuable  a  property  as  that  of  Hie  Sutro  Ttumel 
Company  to  escape  their  notice  f  Do  you  suppose  that  this  clique,  whose  ideas  of  mine 
and  thine  are  very  confused,  would  not  go  to  every  exertion  to  obtain  so  great  a  prize 
by  intrigue,  machinations,  and  scheming?  Do  you  suppose  they  would  allow  a  supe- 


64  SUTRO  TUNNEL. 

rior  power  to  spring  up  in  their  very  stronghold,  and  not  make  every  effort  to  destroy 
it?  And  do  you  believe  that  they  would  allow  it  to  grow  at  all,  but  that  they  would 
nip  it  in  the  very  bud  ? 

The  tunnel,  they  know  full  well,  is  the  key  to  this  mountain  and  these  mines,  and 
•will  and  must  control  and  own  this  whole  district ;  if  that  tunnel  is  constructed  by 
third  parties,  their  monopoly  will  be  utterly  broken  up  and  ended.  They  could  then 
no  longer  bull  and  bear  stock,  manipulate  the  mines  and  mills,  and  their  railroad 
would  be  of  but  little  use. 

Now,  what  course  have  they  pursued  to  defeat  the  construction  of  the  tunnel  ?  Have 
they  opposed  it  openly  ?  By  no  means.  They  considered  that  the  projector,  with  lim- 
ited means,  not  being  able  to  cope  long  against  so  gigantic  a  monopoly,  would  soon 
succumb,  and,  worried  and  defeated,  would  be  compelled  to  turn  over  his  valuable 
franchises  and  property  into  their  hands,  together  with  the  chances  for  an  appropria- 
tion from  Congress,  which  they  expected  to  obtain  through  their  political  friends  with- 
out much  trouble. 

They  have,  however,  this  time  been  mistaken ;  they  expected  me  to  give  up  in 
disgust  in  less  than  six  months  after  their  relentless  warfare  commenced,  and  I  have 
successfully  stood  up  against  that  overwhelming  power  for  several  years,  and  have  not 
been  quite  crushed  out  yet. 

Will  the  people  of  Nevada  see  me  crushed  out  now  ?  Will  they  allow  thatmonstrous 
combination  to  trample  me  under  their  feet  ?  Will  a  chivalrous  people  allow  one  in- 
dividual to  be  set  upon  by  a  whole  pack  of  hounds  ?  Will  you  see  fair  play  when  one 
man  has  the  pluck  to  stand  up  against  a  crowd  ?  Will  you  come  to  the  rescue  \vhen 
I  appeal  to  you,  in  my  endeavors  to  carry  out  a  great  and  good  work?  I  believe  I  need 
not  make  the  appeal,  for  I  know  you  will. 

Laboring  men  of  Nevada,  shake  off  the  yoke  of  slavery  and  assert  your  manhood. 
The  same  power  which  has  thus  far  defeated  the  tunnel  project  is  crushing  you  down 
into  the  dust;  they  threaten  to  take  your  bread  and  butter  from  you  if  you  subscribe 
to  the  tunnel  stock  ;  but  you  must  act  jointly,  and  there  lies  your  power.  If  you  will 
all  corne  in  together,  they  dare  not  discharge  you ;  let  three  thousand  laboring  men  pay 
in  an  average  of  $10  per  month,  which  gives  you  $30,000  per  month,  or  $360,000  per 
annum,  and  insures  the  construction  of  the  tunnel,  carrying  with  it  the  control  of 
the  mines.  That  amounts  to  33  cents  per  day.  Who  is  there  among  you  so  poor  as  to 
miss  it  ?  How  many  of  you  expend  that  much  every  day  in  stimulants,  cigars,  and 
other  luxuries  ?  Put  that  money  into  the  tunnel ;  it  is  laying  up  something  for  a  rainy 
day.  The  money  will  be  expended  directly  again  in  labor  among  yourselves  under  your  own 
direction,  and  from  dependents  you  wilfbecome  masters.  It  will  be  the  most  glorious 
triumph  of  labor  over  capital.  It  would  be  realizing  the  wildest  dreams  of  the  French 
socialists,  Proudhon,  Le  Blanc,  and  others,  who  have  in  vain  tried  in  Europe  to  bring 
about  just  such  results.  The  masses  there  do  not  possess  the  intelligence  you  do,  nor  was 
t^here  ever  such  a  chance  offered  to  the  people.  Show  your  superiority  here  and  act 
promptly.  Set  an  example  to  the  world,  demonstrating  what  can  be  done  by  joint 
action.  Do  not  listen  to  your  enemies.  They  have  vile,  miserable  runners  among 
you  who  will  try  to  poison  your  miuds  ;  they  will  try  every  means  in  their  power  to 
prevent  you  from  entering  into  so  magnificent  a  project,  which  will  make  you  masters 
of  the  situation  and  leave  your  opponents  out  in  the  cold.  They  will  argue  with  you 
and  declare  it  not  feasible;  they  will  pronounce  the  whole  scheme  chimerical;  they 
will  tell  you  that  you  are  wasting  your  money  and  that  it  will  be  misapplied;  they 
will  say  to  you  that  the  whole  thing  is  a  swindle. 

Workiugmen  of  Nevada,  men  who  talk  to  you  *in  that  way  are  hired  by  the  Bank 
of  California.  They  are  traitors  in  your  ranks.  They  are  your  base  enemies,  who 
have  sold  their  honor  and  want  to  sell  yours  for  so  many  dollars  and  cents.  There 
may  be  some  among  you  who  do  not  fully  understand  the  results  which  will  flow  from 
the  work ;  let  the  most  intelligent  ones  make  it  their  duty  to  enlighten  them. 

Laboring  men  of  Nevada,  crush  out  that  hydra-headed  monster,  that  serpent  in 
your  midst — the  Bank  of  California.  By  forming  this  great  co-operative  association 
labor  and  capital  will  be  linked  together.  Your  power  will  be  unlimited.  No  more 
hireling  politicians  will  be  thrust  upon  you  in  order  to  misrepresent  your  interests; 
you  will  be  a  great  political  power,  and  will  rule  the  destinies  of  this  State ;  everybody 
will  bow  down  to  you ;  you  will  be  the  masters  of  the  land ;  the  newspapers  will 
advocate  your  cause ;  and  from  a  state  of  utter  dependency,  from  a  state  in  which  you 
are  fearful  from  day  to  day  to  lose  the  means  of  your  very  subsistence,  you  will  pass 
over,  for  the  first  time,  into  a  true  state  of  independence. 

Fellow-citizens,  were  there  a  foreign  enemy  at  your  doors,  who  had  come  to  crush 
out  your  liberties,  break  up  your  government,  and.  with  a  high  hand  rule  over  you, 
who  is  there  among  you  who  would  not  sacrice  his  life,  his  fortune,  and  pledge  himself 
upon  his  sacred  honor  TO  crush  out  and  defeat  so  vile  an  enemy  f  Who  is  there  coward 
enough  to  stand  back  and  not  defend  his  home  and  hearth?  None,  I  dare  say. 

And  still  that  enemy  is  in  your  midst.  You  allow  and  have  allowed  him  to  exist 
among  you  until  he  has  gradually  stolen  your  liberties,  robbed  you  of  your  fortunes, 


SUTRO    TUNNEL.  65 

and  prevented  the  administration  of  justice.  Trifling  were  the  encroachments  com- 
mitted  by  England  upon  her  American  colonies  when  they  rose  up  in  their  might, 
threw  off  the  yoke,  and  formed  these  United  States,  compared  to  the  indignities  which 
arc  daily  heaped  upon  you.  What  has  become  of  justice  ?  What  protection  have  you 
any  longer  in  the  possession  of  your  property?  The  enemy  who  has  spun  his  web 
•round  you  until  you  are  almost  helpless,  has  bribed  your  judges,  packed  your  juries, 
hired  false  witnesses,  bought  legislatures,  elected  representatives  to  defend  their 
iniquity,  imposed  taxes  upon  you  for  their  private  benefit,  outraged  common  decency, 
and  now  dare  you  to  expose  or  oppose  them.  Has  it  come  to  pass  that  a  free  com- 
munity of  this  great  American  nation  has  degenerated  into  a  set  of  miserable  cowards? 
1  believe  not;  the  enemy  has  stolen  in  among  you  stealthily  and  gradually;  he  has 
enslaved  you  without,  your  knowledge ;  he  has  crept  in  while  you  are  asleep. 

Rouse  up,  then,  fellow-citizens.  You  have  no  Andrew  Jackson  among  you  to  crush 
out  the  bank  which  has  taken  your  liberties)  but  you  have  the  power  within  your- 
selves. I  do  not  mean  to  incite  you  to  any  violence  ;  I  do  not  mean  to  have  you  assert 
your  rights  by  riot,  force,  and  threats.  That  would  be  unwise,  unnecessary,  and  would 
only  recoil  u'pon  yourselves.  But  I  do  mean  to  say  that  you  can  destroy  your  enemy 
by  simple  concert  of  action.  Let  all  of  you  join  in  together  to  build  the  Sutro  Tunnel ; 
that  is  the  way  to  reach  them.  They  do  already  tremble  lest  you  will  act ;  they  know- 
yon  will  form  a  great  moneyed  power,  and  that  you  will  own  the  mines;  they  know  it 
will  cement  you  together. 

They  also  know  full  well  that  the  first  pick  struck  into  the  Sutro  Tunnel  will  be  the 
first  pick  into  their  graves  ;  and  they  also  know  that  the  same  stroke  of  that  first  pick 
will  be  the  signal  for  a  new  era,  which  will  dawn  upon  the  working  people  of  Nevada. 

Fellow-citizens,  you  are  poor  and  cannot  squander  any  money ;  the  vampires  have 
nearly  sucked  you  dry ;  but  the  tunnel  stock  is  a  good  investment ;  the  shares  are  un- 
assessable  forever,  so  as  to  protect  the  poor  men  ;  one  share  is  as  secure  as  a  thousand. 
The  tunnel  company  owns  a  princely  domain ;  thousands  of  lots  will  be  sold  in  the  new 
town  ;  we  own  the  most  valuable  mining  £rant  in  the  whole  world ;  all  the  mining 
companies  are  compelled  to  pay  tribute,  amounting  to  millions  of  dollars  per  annum. 
In  buying  a  share  in  the  concern  you  absolutely  own  it ;  nobody  can  ever  assess  you 
one  cent ;  you  own  your  share  in  all  the  property  the  company  now  has  or  will  ever 
possess ;  you  will  own  your  share  in  any  appropriations  the  Government  will  ever 
make.  Some  of  you  will  say  you  are  not  going  to  stay  long  in  the  country.  That  makes 
no  difference;  it  is  a  good  investment,  no  matter  what  part  of  the  world  you  are  in; 
you  pay  $5  and  get  an  interest,  or  a  share  of  $10  in  the  company.  When  the  tunnel  is 
once  finished,  and  probably  long  before,  the  company's  income  will  be  immense ;  it  will 
probably  declare  dividends  sufficient  to  pay  for  your  investment  every  year.  A  few 
thousand  dollars  invested  in  the  tunnel  stock  now  may  give  you  an  income  to  support 
you  the  balance  of  your  life ;  it  is  not,  like  most  mining  enterprises,  of  a  temporary 
character ;  it  is  a  work  which  comprises  a  whole  district ;  all  mines  have  to  pay  their 
pro  rata;  if  one  mine  runs  out  of  ore,  another  one  will  make  a  new  strike ;  and  so  yqu 
may  expect  a  steady  income  from  your  investment  during  your  lifetime,  and  probably 
that  of  your  children. 

The  stock  is  not  transferable  for  the  present ;  that  is  necessary  to  keep  the  bank  of 
California  from  controlling  it ;  that  is  necessary  for  your  own  security;  I  would  not 
advise  you  to  invest  in  it  were  it  otherwise,  for  it  would  be  beyond  my  power  to  see 
you  protected.  If  the  requisite  capital  is  once  obtained,  and  the  company  incorporates, 
then  the  stock  will  be  made  transferable ;  it  will  then  be  beyond  the  power  of  any 
moneyed  institution  on  this  coast  to  injure  us. 

The  stock  or  receipt  you  get  is  signed  by  me  as  agent  for  the  Sutro  Tunnel  Company, 
under  special  powers  derived  from  all  the  trustees  of  the  asociation  ;  besides  the  title 
to  our  laud,  and  mining  grants,  and  other  privileges,  was  made  by  Congress  to  me  in- 
dividually, in  trust  for  all  concerned,  for  the  purpose  of  facilitating  the  transfer  of  all 
or  any  part  of  our  property.  Any  document,  therefore^  signed  by  me  will  convey  to 
you  a  full  and  clear  and  unincunibered  title  to  the  interest  you  obtain,  which  can 
never  be  assessed. 

I  am  satisfied  that  three  thousand,  nay,  five  thousand  men  can  be  found  in  western 
Nevada  to  save  up  ten  dollars  per  month  for  investment  in  the  tunnel ;  then  you  have 
the  eastern  part  of  this  State  and  the  State  of  California.  You  have  the  whole  Pacific 
coast,  and,  if  necessary,  the  Atlantic  States,  to  come  to  your  assistance. 

But  one  waits  for  another  to  see  whether  a  sufficient  number  will  come  in.  That  will 
not  do ;  you  will  never  accomplish  anything  in  that  manner. 

It  is  true,  nobody  proposes  to  enter  into  bonds.  If  old  Comstock  had  waited  for 
somebody  to  sign  bonds  before  he  put  his  pick  into  the  ground,  he  would  be  waiting 
yet.  If  you  refuse  to  educate  and  clothe  the  boy  until  you  see  whether  he  is  going  to 
grow  up,  he  will  not  be  fit  for  much  when  he  is  a  man.  If  you  do  not  prospect  a  mine 
until  you  have  made  a  fortune  out  of  it ;  if  you  will  not  go  into  the  water  until  you 
learn  to  swim  ;  if  you  will  not  take  the  first  step  until  you  are  within  sight  of  the  end 
of  your  journey,  this  life  would  be  a  very  short  horse  and  soon  curried.  Fancy  the 

S.  Ex.  15 5 


G6  SUTItO   TUNNEL. 

tunnel  clone,  a  glorious  fact,  and  see  how  small  all  such  objections  -will  look.  If  there 
is  a  motive  to  begin  the  inniiel,  how  much  greater  is  it  to  finish  it.  The  whole,  secret 
lies  in  starting  it  going.  Get  the  sharp  end  of  your  wedge  fairly  inserted,  then  drive 
away,  and  every  blow  will  tell. 

Come  forward,  then,  and  subscribe  your  names;  pay  in  yonr  money  promptly.  If 
yon  can  spare  but  $5  this  month,  go  up  to  the  office  and  put  it  in.  Some  of  you  will 
put  in  $100.  We  have  sufficient  money  in  the  treasury  now  to  commence  work  within 
a  few  days.  Come  at  once,  then,  and  you  will  prove  your  friendship  for  the  cause. 

If  my  individual  efforts  have  been  sufficient  to  induce  many  of  you  to  come  in,  how 
much  greater  will  be  our  influence  and  strength  when  several  hundreds,  or  even  thou- 
sands, are  interested.  How  much  greater  will  be  our  influence  at  Washington,  and 
how  much  greater  the  chance  of  obtaining  the  subsidy  asked  for. 

Do  you  have  any  fear  the  work  will  ever  stop  again  after  it  once  starts?  I  have 
roro  'myself.  When  that  tunnel  is  daily  progressing,  with  chances  of  striking  rich 
veins  at  any  hour,  everybody  will  want  to  invest ;  everybody  will  then  bf3  the  friend  of 
the  enterprise.  When  people  see  it  is  going  to  go,  they  will  all  say  they  knew  it  would. 
You  will  no  longer  be  able  to  find  any  one  who  ever  opposed  it ;  the  newspapers  will 
all  come  out  for  it ;  the  excitement  will  run  high,  and  in  a  very  short  time  people  will 
be  eager  to  invest  at  double  or  triple  the  price. 

So  much,  then,  for  the  dollars  and  cents  view  of  the  question ;  but  let  me  revert  once 
more  to  the  other,  which  is  by  far  the  most  important. 

Supposing,  then,  your  contributions  were  outright  gifts  to  the  cause,  -would  you  be 
the  loser  ?  I  think  not. 

Miners  and  laboring  men,  \vhat  is  the  price  of  your  health,  your  liberty,  your 
independence  ?  Are  they  not  worth  more  than  all  the  iilthy  lucre  you  could  possess  I 
Who  is  there  among  you  so  avaricious  as  to  refuse  to  give  and  donate  outright  a  few 
paltry  dollars  per  month  to  a  cause  which  will  elevate  your  race,  secure  your  health, 
your  liberty,  and  yonr  independence  ?  A  cause  which  will  insure  to  you  liberal  wages  ; 
a  cause  which  will  effectually  settle  that  vexed  Chinese  question  ;  a  cause  which  will 
make  you  the  power  of  this  land,  make  powerless  your  oppressors,  and  break  up  your 
arch  enemy,  the  California  Dank.  I  say,  who  is  there  so  blind  as  not  to  see  the  magni- 
tude of  the  question  ? 

Let  a  noble  rivalry  spring  up  among  you  who  shall  come  in  first ;  drop  all  prejudice  ; 
let  all  trifling  objections  fall  to  the  ground;  let  one  excel  the  other  in  magnanimity; 
lot  all  make  one  joint,  grand,  unanimous  effort,  and  victory  will  be  ours. 


**n 


SUTEO  TUNNEL, 

HEARING  BY 

THE 

COMMITTEE  ON  MINES  AND  MINING, 

OK   THE 

HOUSE  OF  KEPRESENTATIVES. 


MONDAY,  FEBRUARY  12,  1872. 


Mr.  SUTRO.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  would  like  to  ask  General 
Foster,  who  is  one  of  the  commissioners  appointed  by  the 
President  under  the  act  of  Congress,  approved  April  4, 
1871,  to  examine  and  report  upon  the  Sutro  tunnel,  a  few 
questions  with  relation  to  certain  facts  in  that  connection. 
I  find  here,  General,  on  page  8  of  the  report,  you  state  as 
follows: 

"  Under  the  present  system  of  operating  the  mines" — 

Mr.  NEGLEY.  Please  state  what  was  the  composition  of 
the  commission. 

Gen.  FOSTER.  There  is  General  H.  G.  Wright,  Lieu- 
tenant Colonel  of  Engineers,  Brevet  Major  General  United 
States  Army;  General  J.  G.  Foster,  Lieutenant  Colonel  of 
Engineers,  and  Brevet  Major  General  United  States  Army; 
and  Wesley  Newcomb,  Civil  and  Mining  Engineer. 

Mr.  SUTRO.     I  was  reading  from  page  8,  as  follows: 

"Under  the  present  system  of  operating  the  mines,  the  ore  and  the  refuse 
rock  are  raised  to  the  surface,  through  the  shafts,  by  steam  power ;  the  ore 
being  transported  to  the  mills  by  wagons,  or  by  the  railroad  before  alluded  to, 
and  the  refuse  rock  deposited  at  the  dumps  contiguous  to  the  shafts.  The 
items  of  expense,  as  given  by  the  superintendents,  vary  somewhat,  as  might 
have  been  expected,  in  view  of  the  different  circumstances  in  each.  The 
average  of  certain  of  the  more  important  of  them  may,  however,  be  stated 
with  sufficient  accuracy,  as  follows : 


"Cost  per  ton  of  hoisting  from  depths  varying  from  1,200  to  1,750  feet, 
being  the  average  reported  for  seven  of  the  principal  mines  of  the  lode, 
$0.51.17. 

"Cost  of  pumping  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1871,  as- arrived  at  by  the 
commission,  by  taking  the  cost  of  the  mines  as  far  as  reported,  and  estimating 
for  the  rest  $124,674." 

Now,  I  want  to  ask  you,  General  Foster,  how  you  arrived 
at  these  figures :  whether  you  simply  took  the  statements 
of  the  superintendents  of  the  companies,  or  whether  you 
had  an  opportunity  of  examining  the  books  of  the  compa- 
nies as  to  the  correctness  of  those  statements? 

A.  It  was  decided  by  the  commission  to  address  to  each 
of  the  superintendents  of  the  mines  an  official  communica- 
tion, so  that  their  replies  to  certain  questions,  which  were 
presented  in  that  official  communication,  should  be  official, 
and  signed  officially  by  the  superintendents,  thereby  fur- 
nishing us  material  upon  which  we  could  base  our  report, 
and  which  we  could  annex  to  our  report.  We  did  not 
seek  access  to  the  books,  because  we  wanted  specific  infor- 
mation on  certain  points,  which  they  could  furnish  better, 
if  we  addressed  them  in  this  way.  Their  answers  were 
received,  and  they  are  incorporated  in  the  appendix  to  the 
report.  We  based  our  estimates  upon  those  statements. 
We  had  no  more  reason 'to  doubt  the  accuracy  of  those 
statements  than  we  had  to  doubt  the  accuracy  of  their  an- 
nual reports.  My  answer  to  your  question,  therefore,  is, 
that  we  based  our  estimates  upon  the  statements,  they  made 
in  reply  to  our  inquiries — upon  their  official  statements. 

Q.  Have  you  made  any  comparison  between  the  state- 
ments which  were  made  by  the  superintendents  and  the 
statements  furnished  by  their  annual  reports?  Have  you 
been  able  to  make  a  comparison,  or  has  it  been  possible 
for  you  to  make  one,  as  far  as  the  accuracy  of  these  state- 
ments is  concerned? 

A.  Well,  we  made  certain  comparisons;  but  with  us  it 
was  not  a  question  of  invalidating  their  reports.  We  did 
not  make  comparisons  with  a  view  to  test  the  complete  ac- 
curacy of  what  they  wrote  us.  As  the  basis  of  estimates, 
we  had  no  reason  to  question  the  veracity  of  their  state- 
ments, and  we  took  their  statements. 


3 

Q.  Exactly.     Now  let  us  turn  to  page  9. 

Mr.  KENDALL.  By  the  way,  Mr.  Sutro,  yon  refer  to  the 
annual  reports  of  the  superintendents  of  the  mines,  do  you 
not? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Yes,  sir;  to  their  published  reports. 

Mr.  FOSTER.  We  compared  all  the  statements  we  re- 
ceived with  their  annual  reports  for  the  year  ending  July, 
1871. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Last  year? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  Yes,  sir;  we  had  those  reports.  We  had 
also  some  of  the  previous  year.  We  had  also  the  general 
table  that  is  published,  I  believe,  every  three  months,  giv- 
ing the  amount  of  assessments,  the  amount  of  dividends, 
etc.  We  compared  their  statements  with  all  those.  We 
had  not,  however,  a  complete  set  of  their  official  reports. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Are  those  annual  reports  of  the  mining 
companies  given  in  such  a  manner  that  you  could  arrive 
at  any  estimate  of  the  cost  of  hoisting,  for  instance?  Are 
they  given  in  detail? 

A.  I  don't  think  they  are,  in  the  form  in  which  they  are 
given  to  the  public.  It  is  not  designed  to  go  into  these 
points  in  their  annual  reports. 

Q.  They  don't  give  a  complete  copy  of  their  books,  in 
fact.  Now,  if  we  turn  over  to  page  9,  you  will  find  an  es- 
timate you  made  of  the  cost  of  working,  as  it  is  done  at 
the  present  time.  You  state  that — 

"If  we  assume  what  appears  from  the  reports  and  from  other  sources  as  an 
average  yield  of  the  mines,  viz:  365,600  tons  annually — the  cost  for. certain 
items  of  expense  by  the  present  method  of  working  will  be  as  follows: 

"Hoisting  365,600  tons  of  pay  ore,  at  51.17  cents $187,077  52 

"  Transportation  of  same  to  mills,  at  $1.50 .548,400  00 

"Pumping  for  last  year,  (commission's  estimate) 124,674  00 

"Hoisting  and  lowering  3,000  miners,  at  8  cents  each  way,  or 

16  cents  each 175.0QO  00" 

That  makes  a  total  cost  of  $1,035,151.52. 

ISTow,  I  want  to  ask  you  whether  this  estimate  of  $187,- 
077.52  for  hoisting  is  taken  as  an  average  of  the  statements 
by  the  superintendents? 

A.  It  is,  for  hoisting  that  distance — from  1,250  to  1,700 
feet. 


Q.  You  have  taken  their  figures  and  made  an  average 
of  them? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  the  statements  are  all  printed  in  the  appen- 
dix to  this  report. 

Q.  Pumping  for  last  year  you  estimate  at  $124,674.  Did 
you  arrive  at  that  estimate  in  the  same  manner? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  in  the  same  manner. 

§.-.!  belie vey-ou  state  so  on  page  8, 

"By  reference  to  the  statements  of  the  superintendents,  appended  to  this 
report,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  cost  of  pumping  for  all  the  mines  did  not, 
probably,  exceed  $150,000  for  the  past  year,  and  that  in  some  of  them  there 
was  no  water  at  all.  This  sum  exceeds  that  arrived  at  by  the  commission, 
viz,  $124,674,  which  was  obtained  by  taking  the  costs  as  given  for  the  mines 
so  far  as  reported,  and  estimating  for  the  others." 

That  is  the  language? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  When  you  speak  of  "estimating  for  the  others,"  do 
you  mean  you  based  your  estimates  upon  the  information 
furnished  by  those  seven  superintendents? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  partly  on  that.  In  making  the  estimates, 
however,  we  relied  somewhat  upon  our  observation — the 
information  we  derived  in  our  visits  to  the  mines. 

Q.  Now,  if  we  turn  over  to  some  of  these  statements 
about  cost,  as  furnished  by  the  superintendents,  we  find  on 
page  29,  at  the  bottom, 

"  Total  cost  per  day  for  hoisting  two  hundred  and  sixteen  tons  of  ore  1,750 
feet,  $63  95,  or  29.6  cents  per  ton?" 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  That  is  the  statement  made  by  Captain  H.  H.  Day, 
the  superintendent  of  the  Ophir  Silver  Mining  Com- 
pany? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  He  speaks  of  hoisting  two  hundred  and  sixteen  tons 
of  ore;  were  they  hoisting  any  ore  from  the  Ophir  mine 
when  you  were  over  there? 

A.  No,  sir;  they  were  hoisting  refuse  rock. 

Q.  Yes,  those  are  simply  nominal  figures.  They  are  not 
based  upon  any  fact  at  all.  That  29.6  cents  per  ton  is  an 
estimate  made  out 


A.  Well,  it  costs  the  same  to  hoist  rock  as  it  does  ore, 
and  the  circumstances  are  substantially  the  same. 

Q.  Well,  now,  Mr.  Day,  on  page  28,  gives  us  an  estimate 
how  much  it  costs  the  Ophir  mine.  He  shows  here  that 
the  labor  of  miners,  of  carmen,  of  blacksmiths  and  help- 
ers, of  engineers  and  firemen,  of  wood  hauling  and  powder, 
fuse  and  caps,  steel,  candles,  wood,  every  thing  put  together, 
in  fact,  the  total  of  mining,  cost  $64.04/3  a  foot;  that  is, 
in  sinking  the  shaft  of  the  Ophir  mine  from  the  720-foot 
level,  (there  is  a  misprint  here;  it  reads  270  feet;  it  ought 
to  be  720,)  it  has  cost  $64.04f57  a  foot.  Then  he  goes  on  to 
state,  furthermore,  that  it  costs  $10.27  to  timber  the  same, 
.which  gives  a  total  of  $74.31T5Q-  for  every  foot  of  descent  of 
the  shaft.  The  next  statement  is  in  regard  to  the  cost  of 
making  the  drifts  in  the  mine.  The  superintendent  of  the 
Ophir  mine  proceeds  to  show  here  how  much  it  costs  to 
make  the  drifts  in  the  mine;  namely  $25.11  per  foot.  The 
Ophir  company  had  sunk  their  shaft  the  depth  given  here, 
1,002  feet.  Was  that  the  depth  they  had  reached  the  time 
you  were  there  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Well,  they  have  extended  their  shaft  somewhat  in 
depth  since;  and  on  the  5th  of  February,  the  present  month, 
they  had  reached  a  depth  of  1,270  feet.  That  is  the  Ophir 
shaft.  During  the  time  they  were  occupied  in  construct- 
ing that  shaft,  they  made  drifts  amounting  to  3,350  feet. 
According  to  the  statement  which  Captain  Day  furnishes 
here,  we  get  $74  31  for  every  foot  of  descent. 
If  we  multiply  that  by  1,270,  the  number  of 

feet  of  depth,  we  get $94,373  70 

If  we  multiply  3,350  feet  of  drift  by  $25  11,  the 

estimate  furnished  by  Captain  Day,  we  get--     84,118  50 

Or  a  total  for  both  of- $178,492  20 

Now,  let  us  see  how  much  the  Ophir  company  has  spent. 
We  have  here  the  official  reports  made  by  Mr.  Raymond, 
the  United  States  commissioner  on  mining.  He  states  in 
his  report  for  1868  (that  is  the  official  report  published  by 


order  of  Congress)  that  the  Ophir  company,  (the  report  is 
dated  December  18,  1868,)  had  levied  assessments  up  to 
that  time  amounting  to  §593,000.  The  old  mine  and  shaft 
were  abandoned  about  sixteen  months  before.  That  was  on 
the  18th  of  December,  1868.  He  states, 

"The  old  mine  and  shaft  were  abandoned  about  sixteen  months  ago,  since 
which  time  work  has  been  progressing  on  the  new  shaft,  without  however 
ever  striking  any  ore." 

And  consequently  we  find  that  the  Ophir  company,  since 
that  time — sixteen  months  previous  to  this  date,  which 
brings  us  back  to  the.  18th  of  August,  1867— has  done 
nothing  but  sink  a  shaft  and  make  certain  drifts  from  that 
shaft  without  striking  any  ore.  You  are  aware  that  there 
has  been  no  ore  found  in  the  mine  ? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  That  you  know  of  your  own  observation.  What  I 
want  to  show  now  is  the  amount  of  money  this  company 
has  collected,  and  compare  that  with  the  statements  fur- 
nished in  the  reports  to  the  commissioners.  It  is  stated 
here  that  the  assessments  which  have  been  levied  up  to 
that  time  are  $593,000.  We  find  that  since  1867  they  have 
levied  the  following : 
They  levied  in  the  year  1867,  in  the 

latter  half $100,000 

King's  report,  (page  169,)  which  is 

also  an  official  report,  shows  for 

1867- 184,000 

From    which     deduct    assessments 

levied  in  the  first  half  of  the  year.       84,000 

And  you  have  for  1867— $100,000  00 

We  find  in  Raymond's  report  for  1868  the  as- 
sessments for  that  year  were .  168,000  00 

For  1869,  Mr.  Raymond  states  it  at— ._     134,000  00 

In  1870  it  is 168,000  00 

And  the  expenses  stated  by  Captain  Day,  for 

the  year  1870,  are 140,571  87 


This  makes  a  total  of.- ._._ $710,571  00 


7 

collected  by  the  Opbir  company  since  they  commenced 
this  new  shaft.  There  were,  however,  other  items  which 
they  collected  from  the  sale  of  machinery  and  mills,  which 
amount  to  some  seventy-odd  thousand  dollars.  The 
amount  was  $66,663,  which  they  received  from  these  other 
sources.  This  makes  a  showing  that  they  have  collected, 
as  above,  nearly  $800,000,  as  taken  from  the  reports  of 
Mr.  Raymond. 

But  if  we  take  another  basis,  and  take  Wheeler's  report, 
published  on  the  15th  of  November,  1871,  we  find  that  the 
total  assessments  of  the  Ophir  company  were  $1,144,000 
since  its  incorporation;  and  that  is  an  official  report.  It 
is  taken  as  authority  by  all.  It  is  the  official  mining  re- 
port. If  you  deduct  from  that  atnourit  $593,000,  which  is 
given  here  up  to  the  18th  of  December,  1868,  by  Mr.  Ray- 
mond, we  get  $551,000.  "With  what  had  been  levied  in 
the  year  and  a  half  previous  to  that,  we  get  $819,000,  very 
nearly  corresponding  with  the  figures  I  have  given.  Now, 
for  that  $819,000  the  Ophir  company  has  constructed  1,270 
feet  of  shaft  and  3,350  feet  of  drifts,  which  have  cost,  ac- 
cording to  the  statement  given  in  the  report  of  the  com- 
missioners, $178,492  20.  The  work  has  cost  $178,492  20, 
and  the  company  has  collected  $800,000.  There's  a  dis- 
crepancy of  over  $600,000  here.  The  present  superintend- 
ent of  the  Ophir  mine,  (Mr.  Day,  who  was  superintendent 
there  before, 'having  been  discharged,)  will  furnish  any  data 
that  may  be  wanted  from  his  books.  I  took  the  trouble 
to  telegraph  him  to  find  out  precisely  how  many  feet  they 
had  constructed  at  their  shaft,  and  how  many  in  drifts. 
Here  is  my  telegram,  dated  February  4,  1872: 


"To  PHILIP  DEIDESHEIMER,  Virginia  City: 
"Telegraph  total  expenditures  of  Ophir  c 


company  since  new  shaft  started; 
also  how  many  feet  drifts  and  shaft  constructed  since  that  time." 

That  is  my  telegram.  Here  is  the  answer,  dated  Feb- 
ruary 5: 

"  Main  shaft  down  1,270  feet ;  winzes,  400  feet;  drifts,  2,950  feet;  shaft  ex- 
pense is  $423,000;  machinery  expense  is  $173,000;  total  expense  of  Ophir 
new  shaft,  $596,000." 

Five  hundred  and  ninety-six  thousand  dollars!     This 


don't  quite  come  up  to  the  figures  which  we  arrive  at  by 
taking  the  assessments  levied,  but  still  it  amounts  to  a 
very  large  sum — to  about  $600,000.  Now,  if  we  go  a  little 
further  into  these  figures — 

Mr.  WALDRON.  One  moment,  Mr.  Sutro.  This  machi- 
nery expense  of  $173,000  of  course  is  not  included  in  this 
statement  of  Captain  Day. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  No,  sir.  We  don't  include  that.  We  take 
the  expense  of  $423,000,  the  actual  expense  at  the  shaft. 

Mr.  WALDRON.  The  fair  comparison  is  between  the 
$423,000  and  the  amount  that  this  would  figure  up  at  $74 
a  foot. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Precisely.  In  the  commissioner's  report 
this  figure  is  given.  * 

Mr.  KENDALL.  Have  you  calculated  what  would  be  the 
expense  per  running  foot  of  all  this  shafting  and  drifting, 
to  show  the  difference  between  your  estimates  and  those 
of  the  commissioners  per  foot? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  The  difference  is  just  2  y^  times  as  much. 
That  is  the  exact  figure.  Taking  $178,492  as  the  cost 
given  by  this  estimate  furnished  to  the  commissioners, 
while  the  actual  cost  has  been  $423,000,  we  have  to  mul- 
tiply all  these  sums,  these  data,  by  2  T376Q-,  in  order  to  arrive 
at  the  correct  cost.  I  want  to  show  now,  if  we  examine  a 
little  further  into  these  figures,  that  we  find  it  stated  by  Mr. 
Day  that  the  dimensions  of  his  shaft  (it  is  on  page  28)  are, 
outside  of  timbers,  18  feet  8  inches  by  7  feet  4  inches. 
The  dimensions  of  his  drift  are  4  feet  7  inches-  by  6  feet  6 
inches.  So  that,  by  calculating  the  area,  we  get  the  .cubic 
contents  of  each  foot  of  descent  in  the  shaft,  viz,  10  T5^-  tons, 
taking  13  cubic  feet  of  rock  for  a  ton.  Here  we  have  for 
every  foot  of  descent  10  tons  and  -ff^-  of  a  ton.  1,270  feet 
of  shaft  in  descent  will  give  us  13,360  tons  and  j4^-.  Tak- 
ing the  drifts,  we  find  -3,350  feet,  which  would  average, 
according  to  his  figures,  2  tons  and  T%5¥  per  foot;  that  is, 
every  foot  of  drift  gives  us  2  T2^-  tons.  This  gives  us  a 
total  of  7,537  T5^-  tons,  extracted  by  the  Ophir  company, 
of  waste  rock  from  the  drifts,  and  13,360  y4^-  tons  taken 


9 

out  from  the  shaft,  a  total  of  20,897  *<fo  tons  taken  out 
since  the  new  shaft  was  started,  and  that  event  was  on  the 
18th  of  August,  1867.  If  we  take  that  as  a  basis,  20,897 
tons,  which  is  absolutely  the  total  of  tons  extracted  from 
that  mine,  during  which  time  the  actual  expenses  have 
been  $423,000,  we  find  that  during  1,628  days,  or  four 
years,  five  months,  and  eighteen  days,  they  have  hoisted 
out  12  ,8/g-  tons  per  day.  According  to  the  statement 
which  Captain  Day  furnishes,  of  29.6  cents  per  ton  for 
hoisting,  we  have  a  daily  expense  of  hoisting  rock  of 
$3  80.  Now,  do  you  believe  that  is  correct,  General  Fos- 
ter, that  the  expenses  of  hoisting  rock  from  the  Ophir 
mine  are  only  $3  80  per  day? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  Well,  I  am  not  prepared  to  state,  because 
I  have  not  followed  your  calculations ;  but  we  went  to  the 
Ophir  mine  and  examined  it  pretty  thoroughly,  and  made 
notes  there.  We  took  this  statement  and  the  items  of 
hoisting  rock  and  ore.  The  first  items  of  hoisting  would 
be  the  engineers'  and  firemen's  wages,  the  wood  hauling, 
fuel,  oil,  tallow,  etc.,  etc.,  and  the  interest  on  the  machinery, 
the  wear  and  tear.  These  are  some  of  the  small  items. 
We  took  his  estimate  and  went  over  it,  and  made  up  our 
minds  that  it  was  a  pretty  fair  estimate,  taking  the  prices 
as  they  were  out  there.  He  gave  us  sufficient  confidence 
in  the  estimate  to  base  our  estimates  upon  it. 

Q.  But  upon  how  many  tons  was  this  estimate  based? 
Did  you  know  or  did  you  arrive  at  these  figures,  showing 
that  the  average  hoisting  was  but  12  ,804o  tons  per  day?  His 
estimate  is  upon  the  basis  of  taking  out  216  tons  per  day, 
but  they  never  took  that  out. 

A.  Well,  we  know  that  they  can  run  the  cars  at  the  rate 
of  800  feet  per  minute;  we  know  that  they  carry  double- 
deck  cars,  because  we  saw  them  doing  it ;  we  know  that 
each  car  contains  about  fifteen  hundred  pounds;  we  know 
that  they  can  run  easily  six  trips  an  hour,  including  all  the 
stoppages,  delays,  etc.,  and  hoisting  the  men;  and  taking 
these  six  an  hour,  and  twenty  four  hours  in  the  day,  you 
will  get  just  216  tons. 


10 

Q.  Yes;  but  that  has  not  been  the  amount  extracted. 

A.  I  don't  say  that  they  hoisted  216  tons;  but  if  they 
run  their  machinery  the  way  they  can  run  it,  paying  their 
engineers,  firemen,  wood-haulers,  etc.,  according  to  the 
prices  out  there,  running  the  machinery  all  the  time  regu- 
larly, they  can  hoist  216  tons  a  day. 

Q.  But  that  is  not  the  question  I  want  to  get  at.  I  want 
to  get  at  this  question  :  Do  you  believe  that  12  ^  tons  per 
day  can  be  hoisted  as  cheaply  per  ton  as  216  tons  ? 

A.  No,  sir;  it  cannot. 

Q.  Do  you  believe  it  possible  that  they  could  even  oil 
that  whole  machinery  of  hoisting  for  $3.80  a  day? 

A.  No,  sir;  not  if  they  run  it  all  the  time. 

Q.  But  could  they  run  it  at  all  at  that  rate  ? 

A.  No,  sir ;  they  could  not  start  the  machinery  for  that. 
Each  fireman's  wages  would  be  $4.00. 

Q.  Well,  now,  in  making  your  estimates  about  the  cost 
of  hoisting,  you  have  taken  the  statements  which  these 
gentlemen  have  furnished.  As  I  have  shown  already,  the 
cost  of  hoisting  here  is  based  upon  a  very  large  extraction; 
and  this  gentleman  at  the  Ophir  mine,  where  they  have 
taken  out  no  ore  at  all,  bases  his  figures  upon  an  extract- 
ion of  216  tons  a  day,  while  they  only  extracted  12  tons  a 
day.  Now,  in  making  your  figures,  taking  the  average 
of  the  statements  made  by  the  various  superintendents, 
you  arrived  at  the  estimate  of  51  ^  cents  per  ton.  If 
you  take  the  hoisting  of  the  Ophir  mine  as  a  basis,  you 
find  that  the  difference  in  the  statement  furnished  there 
and  the  statement  of  the  actual  expenses  is  $11.70  per  ton 
on  every  ton  of  ore :  that  is  the  difference  we  get.  Now, 
General  Foster,  would  you  consider  that  a  fair  average, 
taking  the  statements  made  by  the  superintendents,  51  cents 
a  ton,  including  in  your  premises  the  waste  rock  which  has 
been  hoisted  ? 

A.  Well,  the  waste  rock  costs  exactly  as  much  as  the 
ore,  and  the  statements  of  all  the  superintendents  as  to 
what  it  costs  them  to  hoist  a  ton  are  given.  We  took  an 
average  of  all  those  statements.  Yes,  I  consider  that  fair; 


11 

because  when  I  went  through  the  mines  I  asked  some  of 
the  superintendents,  incidentally,  what  it  cost  them  to  raise 
a  ton  of  ore,  and  they  told  me,  and  I  made  a  note  of  it  at 
the  time.  Those  incidental  reports  were  made  without  any 
idea  of  their  being  used,  and  they  accord  very  well.  The 
general  statement  was  fifty  cents  a  ton. 

Q.  You  took  the  statements  which  they  furnished  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir ;  I  took  the  statements  which  they  furnished 
and  authenticated  them  by  observation. 

Q.  You  state  on  page  9, 

"  In  the  above  statement  the  cost  of  hoisting  the  refuse  rock  from  the  drifts, 
winzes,  etc.,  is  not  included" 

A.  Not  included ;  no. 

Q- 

"as  the  quantity  is  wholly  indeterminate,  being  the  greatest  in  those 

mines  where  prospecting  alone  is  being  carried  on,  and  the  least  in  those  which 
are  working  upon  ore  bonanzas.  Indeed,  in  the  latter  the  amount  of  debris 
is  inconsiderable.  It  would  be  of  the  highest  importance  to  a  full  and  accu- 
rate comparison  of  the  cost  of  working  in  the  mines  by  the  present  method 
and  by  the  tunnel  to  introduce  this  item,  as  it  is  very  considerable,,  and  the 
expenditure  per  ton  for  hoisting  it  is  the  same  as  for  ore;  but  this  seems  quite 
impossible,  owing  to  the  indefiniteness  of  the  quantity  of  refuse  from  the 
mines."  \ 

You  state  here  that  you  have  not  included  the  hoisting  of 
refuse  matter,  because  you  could  get  no  figures,  you  could 
get  no  estimate.  Now,  what  I  want  to  get  at  is,  can  they 
hoist  refuse  rock  from  a  mine,  where  it  must  be  very  lim- 
ited, at  the  same  rate  that  they  can  hoist  a  large  quantity  of 
ore? 

A.  Of  course  they  can  hoist  no  more  rock  than  they 
excavate  from  the  drifts  and  the  shafts ;  whereas  where  they 
are  taking  out  ore  they  hoist  a  much  larger  quantity,  be- 
cause the  miners  are  throwing  out  a  much  larger  quantity. 

Q.  Then  it  costs  them  comparatively  less  to  hoist  large 
quantities  than  small  quantities  per  ton  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  very  much  less. 

Q.  Does  it  make  a  material  difference  in  the  cost  where 
you  have  a  steam  engine  or  two  steam  engines,  and  have  got 
to  have  engineers  and  firemen  and  everything  to  keep  the 
machinery  going,  whether  you  hoist  twelve  tons  or  two  hun- 
dred tons  a  day?  It  is  nearly  the  same  expense,  is  it  not? 


12 

A.  "Well,  no.  If  you  only  have  twelve  tons  to  hoist, 
you  run  your  machinery  only  a  short  time.  If  you  are 
hoisting  large  quantities,  you  run  night  and  day.  In  one 
case  you  have  three  relays  of  men ;  in  the  other  you  have 
only  one. 

Q.  Well,  if  you  are  running  day  and  night  in  the  mine, 
won't  you  have  to  keep  your  machinery  in  motion  all  the 
time,  and  hoist  out  when  the  time  comes  ? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  think  they  can  accumulate  the  surplus  in 
the  shaft,  and  hoist  it  all  at  one  time.  When  I  was  at  the 
Ophir  they  were  not  running  machinery.  They  had  been 
running  it,  but  they  were  not  running  it  then.  "We  went 
there  another  time  when  they  were  running  it.  So  that 
they  accumulate  their  rock,  -I  think,  down  below,  on  a 
level,  and  hoist  it  up  all  at  one  time.  I  am  not  sure  of 
that,  however,  but  such  is  .my  impression. 

Q.  But  in  sinking  a  shaft,  they  must  remove  the  rock  as 
fast  as.  it  is  taken  out  ? 

A.  In  sinking  a  shaft;  yes,  sir.  But  it  is  not  necessary. 
They  can  put  it  up  on  a  shelf. 

Q.  But  in  running  a  drift  the  rock  is  removed  from 
the  face  where  they  are  working,  and  put  into  cars  at 
once? 

A.  Into  cars ;  yes,  sir. 

Q.  But  where  will  they  leave  those  cars  if  they  do  not 
hoist  them  at  once? 

A.  Well,  they  can  put  them  along  the  drift,  and  have  a 
dozen  or  twenty  cars  ready  when  the  time  comes  for  hoist- 
ing. 

Q.  Do  you  know  a  single  place  in  the  Comstock  lode 
where  they  don't  hoist  out  the  rock  as  they  go  along ;  do 
you  know  of  any  mine,  of  your  own  knowledge,  where 
this  is  not  the  course  pursued  ? 

A.  It  is  my  impression  that  they  usually  hoist  the  rock 
as  fast  as  they  mine  it,  but  I  do  not  consider  it  a  necessity 
at  all.  As  I  told  you,  Tme  time  I  went  to  the  Ophir  mine 
and  they  were  not  hoisting,  although  they  were  working 
below. 


13 

Q.  Supposing  you  were  to  run  your  machinery  all  the 
time,  would  it  not  cost  as  much  to  take  out  twelve  tons  a 
day  as  it  would  two  hundred  and  sixteen? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  it  would  cost  nearly  as  much  to  take  out  a 
little  as  a  great  deal. 

Q.  Well,  then,  do  you  consider  this  a  fair  estimate  which 
has  heen  given  here,  of  twenty-nine  cents  per  ton,  when, 
according  to  the  figures  which  I  have  given  here,  based  upon 
•the  actual  amount,  we  find  it  costs  $11.70  additional  for 
every  ton  of  rock  they  have  taken  out;  and  do  you  consider 
that  twenty-nine  cents  would  begin  to  cover  the  cost  in 
the  Ophir  mine  of  hoisting  the  rock  ? 

A.  Well,  I  don't  know.  It  might,  under  certain  cir- 
cumstances. 

Q.  As  the  circumstances  were  there — as  they  have  been 
there;  and  would  you  think  twenty-nine  cents  a  ton  covered 
the  expenses  of  hoisting? 

A.  Well,  not  while  we  were  there;  no,  not  at  that  par- 
ticular time.  I  don't  think  it  would  cover  their  ex- 
penses. 

Q.  Well,  taking  this  as  a  basis,  have  you  any  idea  where 
the  discrepancy  of  $200,000  in  Captain  Day's  figures  comes 
from?  Have  you  any  idea  what  that  money  could  have 
been  spent  for,  if  it  was  not  for  pumping  ? 

A.  Well,  I  had  no  data  to  get  at  the  expenditure  of 
money.  They  had  put  up  new  buildings  and  new  machinery. 

Q.  That  is  not  included  in  this ;  the  machinery  has  cost 
$173,000? 

A.  They  bought  new  dumping-grounds. 

Q.  That,  of  course,  is  not  included. 

A.  Of  course  I  cannot  estimate  how  they  spent  their 
money. 

Q.  They  have  a  total  here  of  over  $800,000  which  they 
have  expended  there,  and  it  is  not  accounted  for ;  it  is  only 
$178,000,  and  what  has  become  of  the  money? 

A.  Well,  that  we  don't  pretend  to  find  out. 

Q.  Of  course  you  had  no  access  to  their  books  ? 

A.  We  took  the  items  of  expenses  and  looked  at  them 


14 

to  see  whether  they  were  correct,  and  whether  they  had 
estimated  them  at  a  fair  rate. 

Q.  ]N"ow,  if  we  turn  to  page  30,  in  the  report  of  Captain 
Day,  we  find  he  states, 

"The  amount  of  water  raised  during  the  year  ending  May  31,  1871,  the 
monthly  average  of  daily  measurements,  as  follows :  In  June,  1870,  18  inches ; 
July,  16  inches;  August,  11  inches  ;  September,  11  inches:  October,  10 inches; 
November,  10  inches;  December,  10  inches.  In  January,  1871,  9  inches; 
February,  9  inches;  March,  9  inches;  April,  8  inches;  May,  7  inches.  Pres- 
ent flow  of  water,  September  10,  1871,5  inches.  Decrease  in  amount  of  water 
at  700-foot  level,  from  June,  1870,  to  date,  72T2^ff  per  cent." 

Did  you  enter  the  Ophir  mine  while  you  were  over  there  r 

A.  We  did. 

Q.  Did  you  go  into  the  drift  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  You  probably  know,  then,  that  the  drift  extends 
from  the  700-foot  level,  from  which  he  dates  the  decrease 
in  water  here ;  in  fact,  he  states  on  the  preceding  page  that 
the  drift  does  extend  from  the  700-foot  level. 

Mr.  FOSTER.  I  beg  your  pardon ;  I  did  not  go  down  the 
Ophir  shaft.  I  forgot.  I  think  I  did  not  go  down. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  "Well,  I  want  to  call  attention  to  the  fair- 
ness of  Mr.  Day's  statement.  The  water  in  the  Comstock 
lode-- 
Mr. BANKS.  Two  or  three  gentlemen  have  just  come  in 
since  the  discussion  began.  I  do  not  understand  what  par- 
ticular proposition  is  intended. 

Mr.  WALDRON.  Mr.  Sutro  is  attacking  the  report  made 
by  Captain  Day,  superintendent  of  the  Ophir  silver  mine, 
which  report  is  attached  to  the  report  of  the  commission- 
ers, and  introducing  figures  and  statistics  to  show  that  the 
report  of  Captain  Day  is  incorrect,  so  far  as  the  cost  of 
making  shafts  and  drifts  in  the  mines  are  concerned. 

Mr.  BANKS.  Is  it  above  the  cost,  or  below  the  cost? 

Mr.  WALDRON.  Below  the  cost. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  What  I  am  trying  to  show  is  this:  In  the 
report  of  the  commissioners,  on  page  9,  it  is  stated,  in  a 
comparison  between  the  cost  of  mining  as  it  is  done  now, 
and  the  cost  of  mining  through  the  tunnel,  that  under  the 
present  mode  of  mining  it  costs  51  '-ffc  cents  per  ton  to 


15 

hoist.  I  am  trying  to  show  that  it  costs  in  some  mines 
more  than  §10  per  ton  to  hoist.  General  Foster  has 
stated  that  this  estimate  of  51  ^  cents  is  arrived  at  by 
taking  the  statements  of  the  various  mine  superintendents 
and  averaging  them.  That  is  it,  is  it  not,  General? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  The  commissioners  had  no  access  to  the 
hooks  over  there,  and  the  only  figures  they  could  make 
were  by  taking  the  statements  of  these  people  anjd  averag- 
ing them,  and  basing  their  report  on  the  data  furnished. 
I  want  to  show  that  these  people  have  not  told  the  whole 
truth,  have  not  told  the  whole  thing,  as  I  have  already 
shown  in  the  case  of  the  Ophir  company.  In  this  mine, 
where  the  expenditures  amounted  to  from  six  to  eight 
hundred  thousand  dollars  during  the  time  they  had  been 
constructing  this  shaft,  according  to  the  statement  of  the 
superintendent,  it  only  cost  $178,000.  Consequently  there 
is  a  discrepancy  of  from  four  to  six  hundred  thousand 
dollars. 

Mr.  BANKS.  It  is  an  under-estimate  to  that  amount. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  It  is  an  underestimate  absolutely,  and  it 
makes  an  unfavorable  showing  as  regards  the  comparative 
working  of  the  tunnel.  It  is  my  endeavor  to  show  that  these 
people  here  who  have  made  these  figures  have  not  told  the 
whole  truth;  they  have  withheld  certain  facts  which  are 
highly  important  to  know;  and  they  can  only  be  brought 
•  out  by  having  these  gentlemen  state,  of  their  own  knowl- 
edge, what  they  know  of  the  accuracy  of  these  figures,  and 
what  we  can  arrive  at  by  examining  the  official  reports 
which  are  made  from  year  to  year  to  Congress  by  the  Com- 
missioner on  the  mineral  resources  of  the  country. 

Mr.  N"EGLEY.  Mr.  Chairman,  right  here  I  would  like  to 
ask  one  question  of  General  Foster. 

Mr.  WALDRON.  Certainly. 

Mr.  ;N~EGLEY.  During  your  investigations  there,.  Mr. 
Foster,  did  you  discover  any  feeling  of  antagonism  among 
the  owners  of  these  properties  to  the  projected  tunnel? 

Mr.  FOSTER.     Yes,  sir;  decidedly. 


16 

Q.  That  feeling  was  general? 

A:  Not  to  obstruct  their  giving  information  of  all  kinds. 
They  came  to  us  and  said  they  courted  the  fullest  investi- 
gation; and  they  facilitated  our  visits  to  the  mines,  came 
to  us  with  invitations,  took  us  to  the  mines.  "We  went 
through  almost  all  the  mines.  They  gave  information 
freely,  verbally  and  in  writing;  but  there  was  a  decided 
feeling  of  antagonism,  as  shown  by  their  published  reports. 
In  their  conversations  they  said  about  the  same  things  }rou 
find  in  their  reports,  made  here  and  in  the  appendix.  Some 
of  them  were  quite  violently  opposed;  others  less  so.  Some, 
whose  names  appear  here,  appeared  to  be  rather  lukewarm 
in  their  opposition.  Still,  as  a  general  thing,  with  one  or 
two  exceptions,  they  were  opposed  to  the  tunnel.  The 
feeling  was  against  it. 

Q.  Did  they  give  you  their  reasons? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  they  gave  reasons  about  as  they  are  embod- 
ied in  their  reports  here.  They  said  that  they  could  hoist 
by  the  present  arrangement  cheaper  than  they  could  send 
their  ore  out  by  railroad  trains  five  miles,  the  hoisting 
being  direct,  and  with  nearly  the  same  velocity.  They 
claimed  that  stationary  machinery  was  cheaper  to  use  than 
rolling  stock;  that  time  was  an  element  in  getting  miners 
in  and  out,  and  also  in  getting  lumber  in  and  out.  The}7 
made  other  minor  points,'  that  they  enlarged  upon  in  con- 
versation; but  these  are  the  principal  ones,  and  the  ones 
to  which  we  attached  most  importance. 

Q.  Another  question,  General.  Presuming  the  intro- 
duction of  any  more  facile  mode  of  removing  the  rock 
and  ore  from  the  mines,  would  it  not  lessen  the  number 
of  employes  that  are  now  engaged  in  operating  the  ma- 
chinery and  hoisting  apparatus? 

A.  You  mean  if  the  tunnel  comes  in? 

Q.  Yes,  sir. 

A.  Well,  in  my  opinion  it  would  almost  do  away  with 
machinery.  That  is  to  say,  if  they  mine  up  from  the  tun- 
nel, they  can,  with  very  simple  arrangements  of  pulleys 
and  endless  chains,  let  down  the  ore  and  carry  their  tim- 


17 

her  and  miners  up;  in  fact,  hoisting  apparatus,  if  at  all 
necessary,  would  be  of  a  very  light  character. 

Q.  Would  that  not  necessarily  invoke  the  hostility  of 
the  employes  that  are  there  now,  seeing  their  occupations 
likely  to  be  gone? 

A.  Perhaps  the  engineers,  and  firemen,  and  pitmen,  and 
wood-haulers;  that  would  be  all.  You  see  the  miners 
would  have  to  be  engaged  just  the  same  as  now.  The  car- 
penters that  place  the  timbers  would  have  to  be  employed 
just  as  now.  There  would  be  very  few  engineers  but  would 
find  employment  in  the  new  mills  that  would  be  erected 
at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  so  that  it  would  not  affect 
labor. 

Q.  My  inquiry  arose  from  the  fact,  that  miners  in  our 
coal  mines  are  almost  invariably  opposed  to  any  innova- 
tion or  new  custom  in  the  old  established  rules  of  mining? 

o 

A.  Now  that  you  have  mentioned  that,  I  will  say  the 
miners,  as  far  as  I  could  get  information  from  prominent 
men,  seemed  to  be  in  favor  of  the  tunnel.  I  believe  the 
Miners'  Union  is  in  favor  of  the  tunnel. 

Q.  Did  they  give  you  their  reasons? 

A.  No;  they  had  no  reason  that  I  knew  of.  They  had 
their  preferences,  though. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  General,  do  you  know  who  are  opposed  to 
the  tunnel,  or  at  least  who  are  charged  with  being  opposed 
to  it  over  there  by  these  people  you  speak  of?  Who  is 
at  the  bottom  of  it? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  If  you  want  a  straightforward  answer,  I 
would  say  that  the  property-owners  in  Virginia  City,  those 
that  have  money  invested  in  the  mills  around  there,  the 
Bank  of  California,  through  its  agent,  and  the  railroad 
company. 

Q.  May  I  ask  you  who  the  owners  of  the  railroad  are, 
as  far  as  you  know:  whether  it  is  owned  by  the  Bank^of 
California  or  its  men  ? 

A.  I  don't  know  who  the  owners  are. 

Q.  "Well,  what  did  you  hear  over  there?  Tell  us  simply 
2 


18 

by  hearsay.  You  cannot  have  an  absolute  knowledge,  for 
you  haven't  seen  their  books. 

A.  I  haven't  the  slightest  idea  who  owns  that  road. 

Q.  "Who  has  control  of  it? 

A.  Mr.  Sharon  seemed  to  control  it. 

Q.  The  agent  of  the  Bank  of  California? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Who  owns  the  majority  of  the  mills  over  there? 

A.  On  the  Carson  river? 

Q.  Yes,  sir;  and  the  other  mills — the  majority  of  the 
mills. 

A.  A  very  large  number  of  the  mills  is  owned  by  the 
Union- Mill  and  Mining  Company. 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  the  Bank  of  California  has 
anything  to  do  with  that? 

A.  Mr.  Sharon  has  a  large  amount  of  stock  in  that,  I 
'believe,  but  I  am  not  positive. 

Q.  Is  he  the  agent  of  the  Bank  of  California? 

A.  I  heard  so. 

Q.  Well,  then,  the  opposition  to  it  is  by  the  Bank  of 
California,  by  the  railroad,  and  by  the  mills — which  means 
the  Bank  of  California — and  by  some  people  who  own  town 
lots  in  Virginia  City.  Do  you  know  why  these  people  are 
opposed  to  it? 

A.  Well,  they  say  that  it  will  render  their  property  com- 
paratively valueless. 

Q.  Because  the  town  would  move  away  from  there? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  because  the  workmen  would  have  to  go  to 
the  mouth  of  the  tunnel. 

Q.  Well,  it  is  about  the  same  sort  of  opposition  that 
men  who  own  a  toll-road  would  make  against  a  railroad, 
because  it  would  diminish  the  value  of  their  property? 

Mr.  SARGENT.  How  large  a  town  is  Virginia  City? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  I  should  say  it  had  about  3,000  inhabitants. 

Mr.  SARGENT.  Oh,  it  has  a  great  deal  more  than  that. 
It  is  a  large  mining  town,  isn't  it? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  suppose  there  are  6,000  people  there. 

Mr.  FOSTER.  In  Virginia  City  ? 


19 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Yes;  I  suppose  there  are. 

Mr.  FOSTER.  You  mean  Gold  Hill  and  everything  in- 
cluded, I  suppose  ? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  SARGENT.  The  result  would  be  to  destroy  all  the 
property  there.  Then,  aside  from  those  great  values,  how 
about  'those  mills  that  are  used,  under  present  circum- 
stances, upon  Carson  river?  Those  are  considerable,  I 
suppose.  Then  this  railroad  that  has  been  built;  that 
would  be  useless,  would  it  not? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  That  would  become  comparatively  useless. 

Q.  So  that,  by  running  that  tunnel  in  there,  all  these 
persons  owning  these  property  interests  would  have  them 
destroyed? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  see  anything  unnatural,  then,  in  their  oppo- 
sition to  the  project? 

A.  "No,  sir;  nothing  at  all. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  General  Foster,  don't  you  think  that  some  day 
there  will  be  an  end  to  mining  at  Virginia  City,  the  way 
they  are  doing  it  now  ? 

A.  No,  sir;  not  at  all.  They  can  go  down  four  thousand 
feet.  I  don't  know  how  the  heat  will  be  there.  We  esti- 
mate that  they  cannot  go  below  that,  because  the  heat  will 
be  .almost  too  great  for  them  to  work. 

Q.  Don't  the"  expense  increase  as  you  go  down? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  You  state  in  your  report  that  there  are  out  there 
very  large  quantities  of  low  grade  ores? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  very  large. 

Q.  Do  you  think  they  could  be  worked  up  to  Virginia 
City  and  carried  on  the  railroad  with  advantage? 

A.  Not  at  the  present  prices.  It  would  not  pay  to  take 
out  low  grade  ores  at  the  present  prices. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Do  you  mean  prices  of  labor? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  prices  of  labor  and  milling.  It  doesn't  pay 
now  to  take  out  ore  that  is  not  worth  $20  a  ton.  It  costs 
that  to  mine  and  mill  it,  and  anything  that  yields  less  than 


20 

that  (although  it  may  assay  much  more)  won't  answer  to 
work.  But  I  hope  in  time  they  will  hit  upon  some  cheap 
method  of  reducing  the  ores,  so  that  a  great  deal  of  these 
low-grade  ores  will  be  worked  over. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Don't  you  think,  General  Foster,  that  if  these 
shafts  were  connected  with  the  tunnel,  it  would  be  cheaper 
to  drop  the  ore  than  to  hoist  it  out,  which  is  done  now  by 
fifty-four  steam  engines? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  it  would  be  cheaper  to  drop  it  down  than 
to  raise  it  up. 

Q.  Would  a  tunnel  practically  abolish  all  that  steam 
machinery  up  there? 

A.  It  would  to  a  large  extent;  yes,  sir. 

Q.  To  a  very  large  extent? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  The  ore  could  be  dropped  down  into  the  tunnel,  or 
rather  lowered  down,  at*a  very  trifling  cost? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  comparatively  trifling,  looking  at  the  pres- 
ent expense  of  getting  it  out. 

Q.  Well,  the  expense  of  bringing  the  ore  from  the  mines 
to  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  it  is  stated  here,  can  be  put 
down  as  low  as  seven  cents  a  ton  ? 

A.  Seven  cents  a  ton  a  mile? 

Q.  Seven  cents  a  ton  for  the  whole  distance. 

Mr.  SARGENT.  What  report  have  you,  Mr.  Sutro? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  It  is  a  report  by  Mr.  Carlyle,  a  very  eminent 
engineer  and  intelligent  mechanic.    He  gives  the  compara- 
tive costs  here  of  taking  out  ore.     In  the  first  place  he 
does  it  by  horses.     He  says  that  one  hundred  horses,  at 
two  hundred  dollars  each,  will  cost  $20,000,  and  the  cost 
of  running  that  appliance  is  as  follows : 
Three  per  cent,  per  month  (you  know  they  are  lib- 
eral in  interest)  interest  for  one  day  on  $20,000 

is $20  00 

And  six  per  cent,  per  month  for  wear  and  tear  is.-  40  00 
Feed  -for  one  hundred  horses,  at  $1  50  each  per 

day,  would  be —     150  00 

Fifty  drivers,  at  $3  50  each  per  day 


21 

Mr.  FOSTER.  I  don't  understand  it  is  proposed  to  use 
horses? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  No;  I  am  giving  some  comparative  state- 
ments here;  I  am  instituting  a  comparison.  Fifty  drivers, 
at  $3  50  each  per  day,  would  be  $175;  that  is,  $885  per 
day.  And  if  we  assume  the  total  extraction  of  ore  and 
rock  at  three  thousand  tons  a  day,  this  gives  a  cost  of  thir- 
teen cents  per  ton,  which  is  a  very  fair  estimate. 

Mr.  FOSTER.   Is  that  for  the  whole  distance,  sir? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  The  whole  distance. 

Mr.  FOSTER.   Well,  the  cost  of  transportation  is  a  practi- 
cal thing,  that  practical  railroad  men  can  tell.     Running- 
through  a  tunnel,  it  would  be  at  a  little  increase  in  cost. 
They  would  have  to  go  with  greater  care,  and  the  wear 
and  tear  would  be  greater? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Where  there  is  much  transportation,  I  think 
the  general  estimate  is  two  cents  per  ton  per  mile.  The 
tunnel  would  be  four  miles  long,  and  at  that  rate  it  would 
give  a  cost  of  eight  cents.  But  here  is  another  method, 
which  is  the  proper  method  to  employ,  and  that  is  the 
one  we  have  been  calculating  upon.  I  will  describe  now 
the  method  which  ought  to  be  employed  in  the  transporta- 
tion of  the  ore  from  where  it  is  mined  to  the  mouth  of' 
the  tunnel.  It  would  be  by  an  endless  rope,  a  wire 
rope,  and  a  stationary  engine  at  the  mouth,  a  wire  rope^ 
running  on  rollers  and  pulleys,  and  running  like  a  belt,  such 
as  is  used  very  extensively  in  the  mines  of  England.  As 
fast  as  cars  are  loaded  they  are  clamped  on  to  the  rope  and 
are  drawn  out.  There  is  a  continuous  coming  in  and  going 
out.  The  moment  a  car  reaches  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel, 
the  clamp  detaches  it,  and  leaves  it  free  to  move  off.  That 
is  the  system,  in  brief,  to  be  employed.  The  total  cost 
will  be  $49,328. 

To  get  at  the  daily  expense  to  run  this  apparatus,  Mr. 
Carlyle  gives  us  the  following  figures: 
Three  per  cent,  interest  per  month  for  one  day  on 

$50,000 - $50  00 


•      22 

Five  per  cent,  per  month,  wear  and  tear,  one  day 

on  §50,000 83  33J 

Two  and  one-third  cords  of  wood,  at  $8  per  cord-  18  66| 

Two  engineers,  at  $5  per  day 10  00 

Oil,  tallow,  and  general  findings 10  00 

Attendants-  40  00 


Total $212  00 

Or  3,000  tons,  at  seven  cents  per  ton,  for  a  distance  of  four 
miles. 

Mr.  WALDRON.  By  this  calculation,  it  is  meant  that  the 
whole  apparatus  shall  be  replaced  in  twenty  months? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Yes,  sir.  These  figures  have  heen  made 
with  great  care.  This  was  intended  to  be  submitted  to 
financial  men,  so  that  there  should  be  no  caviling.  In- 
cluding everything,  wear  and  tear  and  interest,  and  the 
wages  of  the  necessary  employees,  with  an  extraction  of 
3,000  tons  of  ore  a  day,  this  method  gives  us  transporta- 
tion to  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  at  the  rate  of  seven  cents 
a  ton. 


" 
Hearing  by  the  Sub-  Committee  on  Mines  and  Mining,  appointed 

February  12^/i,  and  consisting  of  Messrs.  JAMES  S.  NE&LEY, 
WALTER  L.  SESSIONS^  FHANCIS  E.  SHOBEII,  and  CHARLES 
W.  KENDALL. 


FRIDAY  EVENING,  FEBRUARY  16,  1872,  AT  7J  O'CLOCK. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Gentlemen  of  the  committee,  Mr.  Sutro 
has  requested  the  opportunity  to  continue  his  examination 
before  the  sub-committee  us  before  the  committee  of  the 
whole,  and,  there  being  no  objection,  he  will  now  proceed. 
I  have  indicated  to  Mr.  Sutro,  and  will  now  to  Mr.  Sun- 
derland,  that,  in  order  to  prevent  the  continued  recalling 
of  the  members  of  the  commission  appointed  to  examine 
and  report  on  the  tunnel,  it  will  be  best  for  the  gentleman 
on  the  one  side  to  put  his  interrogatories,  and  the  gentle- 
man on  the  other  side  to  follow.  If  there  be  no  objection 
to  that  we  will  so  proceed. 

Mr.  SUTRO.     Shall  I  commence? 

The  CHAIKMAJ*.  Just  go  on  with  your  examination,  if 
you  desire. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Well,  Mr.  Chairman,  I  would  ask  General 
Foster  now  whether  he  is  familiar  with  the  cost  of  trans- 
portation on  railroads  generally? 

Mr.  FOSTER.     No,  sir ;  not  very  familiar. 

Q.  Have  you  any  idea  how  much  it  costs  per  ton  a  mile? 

A.  I  have  an  idea;  yes,  sir;  but  no  accurate  one. 

Q.  Well,  what  is  your  idea  of  the  cost  ? 

A.  Well,  three  or  four  cents  per  ton. 

Q.  Three  or  four  cents;  on  ordinary  railroads? 

A.  On  ordinary  railroads,  yes. 

Q.  That  cost  would  be  increased  somewhat  in  a  tunnel, 
I  suppose  ? 

A.  Yes;  on  account  of  the  slowness  and  care  that  must 
be  observed  in  running  the  trains,  the  additional  caution 

23 


24 

to  be  exercised,  and  all  the  elements  of  expense  that  go  to 
make  up  the  cost  of  running  trains. 

Q.  Have  you  made  any  comparison  between  the  cost  on 
different  roads,  in  order  to  arrive  at  your  estimates? 

A.  No,  sir;  no. 

Q.  I  made  inquiry  of  General  Dodge,  who  is  a  very  ex- 
perienced railroad  man,  a  few  days  ago,  and  he  told  me 
the  average  cost  is  about  a  cent  and  a  quarter  a  mile? 

A.  Ah! 

Q.  In  regard  to  lowering  rock  from  shafts  into  tunnels: 
are  you  acquainted  with  the  kinds  of  apparatus  usually 
used  for  that  purpose  in  mines?  Here  is  a  drawing  of  one 
in  Mr.  Carlyle's  report.  [Exhibiting  draught.] 

A.  I  have  never  seen  one  of  those  in  operation,  but  I 
have  examined  that  plan,  and  I  don't  see  any  reason  why 
it  shouldn't  work. 

Q.  The  operation  is  by  a  double  shaft,  with  a  car  at- 
tached to  a  wire  rope,  which  passes  over  a  double  pulley, 
and  the  loaded  car  going  down  pulls  up  the  empty  car. 
That  is,  the  loaded  car  pulls-  up  the  empty  car  and  the 
cage. 

Mr.  SHOBER.  "What  is  it  loaded  with  going  down  ? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  It  is  loaded  with  ore  or  rock. 

Mr.  SHOBER.  I  thought  it  was  to  hoist  the  ore? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  No,  sir;  it  is  to  lower  the  ore  into  the  tun- 
nel. The  operation  is  carried  out  by  having  a  brake  at- 
tached to  a  wire  rope,  which  regulates  the  motion,  and  the 
loaded  car  going  down  draws  up  the  empty  car.  Do  you 
see  any  difficulty  about  that  operation,  General  Foster? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  No,  sir,  I  do  not,  with  proper  brakes. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  All  that  would  be  required  is,  a  brakesman 
to  stand  by  the  brake,  who  shall  lower  the  ore  down  and 
stop  it  at  the  different  stations  as  the  signals  are  given. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  The  committee  will  understand  that 
all  this  that  is  taken  down  is  not  General  Foster's  testi- 
mony. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Whatever  transpires  will  appear  in  the  re- 
port, which  is  to  be  printed.  It  will  be  necessary  for  me  to 


25 

elaborate  my  questions  somewhat,  because  they  are  intri- 
cate questions. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  know,  Mr.  Sutro,  you  may  very  often 
make  a  long  statement,  to  which  General  Foster  does  not 
make  any  reply  at  all;  and  I  see  it  is  all  taken  down.  I 
don't  know  whether  it  is  taken  down  as  testimony  or  not. 
If  it  is  only  shown  it  is  not  testimony,  that  is  all  I  want. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  think  it  will  clearly  appear  in  the  report 
what  is  a  question,  what  is  a  statement  by  me,  and  what  is 
a  statement  by  General  Foster.  It  will  clearly  appear,  as 
you  will  see  from  this  report  of  last  Monday's  hearing. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  haven't  seen  that. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  No,  sir;  because  it  has  just  been  printed. 
Here  is  a  proof-sheet  of  the  last  proceedings. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  have  no  doubt  the  committee  would 
desire  direct  interrogatories  and  replies,  so  far  as  practi- 
cable. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  should  very  much  prefer  it,  as  far  as 
I  am  concerned. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Have  you  any  idea,  General  Foster,  how 
much  it  would  cost  per  ton  to  lower  it  in  the  manner  shown  ? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  We  estimate  it  would  cost  ten  cents  per 
ton. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Then,  according  to  your  statement  here,  it 
costs  ten  cents  a  ton  to  lower  it.  I  think  that  is  the  state- 
ment you  made? 

A.  Yes,  that  it  would  cost  ten  cents  a  ton. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Did  I  understand  the  chairman  to  say 
he  desires  me  to  ask  questions  as  we  go  along? 

The  CHAIRMAN.  No,  sir.  It  is  intended  for  you  to  pro- 
ceed after  Mr.  Sutro  and  members  of  the  committee. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  understand  you  I  am  to  proceed  now,  and 
Mr.  Sunclerland  is  to  come  on  afterwards. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  That's  it.  I  didn't  understand  the 
chairman;  that  is  all.  I  wanted  to  understand  it. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  According  to  this  statement,  Gen.  Foster, 
you  say  it  costs  ten  cents  to  lower  the  ore.  Was  it  three 


26 

or  four  cents  a  mile  cost  of  railroad  transportation  that 
you  stated? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  I  stated  that  I  ain  not  acquainted  with  rail- 
road transportation. 

Q.  But  your  idea? 

A.  That  was  my  idea. 

Q.  Well,  at  that  rate,  for  five  miles  it  would  cost  25 
cents,  and  ten  cents  to  lower  it,  would  make  35  cents  per 
ton  to- take  the  ore  out  of  the  mine  and  deliver  it  at  the 
mouth  of  the  tunnel.  That  corresponds  with  your  figure, 
I  believe? 

A.  JSTo;  five  miles,  at  three  cents,  would  be  fifteen  cents, 
and  ten  cents  for  lowering,  is  twenty-five  cents. 

Q.  Twenty-five  cents.  Then,  according  to  this  modus 
operandit  it  would  cost  twenty-five  cents  per  ton  to  take  the 
ore  from  the  mine  and  deliver  it  at  the  mouth  of  the  tun- 
nel? 

A.  I  don't  say  that  it  can  be  delivered  for  that;  I  simply 
say  that  that  was  my  general  idea  about  railroad  transpor- 
tation. Of  course,  in  a  tunnel  tne  expense  would  be  much 
greater. 

Q.  How  much  greater  do  you  think? 

A.  I  don't  wish  to  make  any  new  estimates,  Mr.  Sutro. 

Q.  You  do  not? 

A.  ~NonQ  at  all.  I  don't  appear  as  an  expert  upon  railroad 
transportation,  and  don't  want  to  be  drawn  into  making 
any  statements  which  might  conflict  with  established  facts. 

Q.  Well,  I  will  leave  that  subject  now.  I  will  go  into  the 
report  of  Mr.  Day.  I  want  to  ask  a  few  questions  in  regard 
to  that,  as  far  as  your  own  knowledge  and  observation  in 
regard  to  the  operation  of  the  tunnel  is  concerned. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Mr.  Sutro  will  you  be  so  kind  always 
as  to  designate  the  page  from  which  you  are  reading,  so 
that  the  committee,  in  perusing  the  testimony,  may  be  en- 
abled to  turn  to  it  without  any  delay? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  This  is  on  page  26. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  What  is  your  question? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  T  wish  to  read  from  the  Commissioners'  Re- 


27 

port,  from  the  Appendix  of  the  Commissioners'  Report,  on 
page  26.  Mr.  Day,  after  speaking  ahout  the  completion  of 
the  tunnel,  with  all  its  drifts,  goes  on  to  say: 

"We  have, to  begin  with,  (page  19,  'Sutro  Tunnel,')  three  thousand  miners 
to  carry  to  and  from  their  work  an  average  distance,  from  the  mouth  of  the 
tunnel,  of  four  and  a  half  miles.  These  three  thousand  miners,  divided  into 
three  shifts  of  eight  hours  each,  give  us  one  thousand  men  on  each  watch. 
Allowing  ten  men  to  a  car,  it  would  require  one  hundred  cars  to-  convey  the 
men  into  the  tunnel.  The  train  would  occupy  twelve  hundred  or  fifteen  hun- 
dred feet  in  length  of  the  tunnel,  and  when  the  head  of  this  train  would  reach 
the  place  of  destination  the  rear  cars  would  be  quite  an  inconvenient  distance 
back  from  the  place  of  destination,  thereby  creating  much  confusion  and  more 
or  less  delay." 

If  the  apparatus  to  convey  the  cars  into  the  tunnel  by 
wire  rope  Is  so  arranged  that  it  goes  along  the  main  tunnel 
and  along  the  drifts,  do  you  see  any  difficulty  in  stopping 
that  train  at  each  shaft  as  it  arrives,  and  letting  the  men 
off? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  !Nb,  sir;  I  think  it  can  be  arranged  so  as 
to  operate  with  perfect  facility. 

Q.  With  perfect  facility.  Then  there  would  be  no  such 
emergency  arise  as  is  supposed  here  by  Mr.  Day,  of  a  train 
twelve  or  fifteen  hundred  feet  in  length,  from  which  a 
thousand  men  would  have  to  get  at  once.  They  would, 
however,  be  allowed  to  get  out  at  their  respective  stations, 
and  there  would  be  no  confusion  ? 

A.  Well,  it  would  depend  entirely  upon  the  facilities 
that  are  provided — upon  whether  facilities  are  provided 
for  switching  off  the  cars  at  the  proper  stations.  I  should 
think  the  men  ought  to  be  left  directly  at  the  drifts  leading 
to  the  different  mines. 

Q.  Now,  Mr.  Day  goes  on  to  say: 

"At  this  point  the  miners'  greatest  trouble  begins,  their  respective  stopes 
and  places  of  work  being  far  above  them.  They  commence  to  climb  the  lad- 
ders, and  go  up  various  heights,  many  from  five  hundred  to  one  thousand 
feet.  They  arrive  at  the  place  where  their  day's  work  is  to  be  done  in  an 
exhausted  condition,  positively  unfit  and  unable  to  do  a  day's  work." 

Provided  these  men  go  in  a  railroad  train  and  arrive  at 
their  respective  stations,  and  then  this  apparatus,  which  it 
is  proposed  to  apply,  hoists  them  up,  will  there  be  any 
difficulty?  Will  there  be  any  difficulty  in  hoisting  these 
men  up  on  the  empty  cage,  to  any  point  desired,  by  lower- 


28 

ing  ore  down  on  the  other  side,  by  having  a  counter-balance 
of  say  one  or  two  tons  ? 

A.  They  can  hoist  the  cage  up  as  far  as  the  pulley  is 
fixed. 

Q.  Supposing  that  pulley  be  fixed  near  the  top? 

A.  Well,  then,  they  can  be  hoisted  up  to  that  level. 

Q.  Do  you  see  any  difficulty  (as  is  done  now  from  above, 
in  giving  signals  to  those  below)  in  signalling  the  brake- 
man  where  to  stop? 

A.  I  don't  see  any — no,  sir.  I  think  the  apparatus  ought 
to  be  made  to  work  with  proper  arrangements. 

Q.  Then  the  men  do  not  arrive  in  an  exhausted  condi- 
tion. They  go  up  very  comfortably.  They  go  up  the 
same  as  they  go  down  now. 

A.  Well,  I  don't  know  about  that.  They  can  go  up  as 
high  as  that  pulley  is  established.  If  they  have  to  go  any 
higher,  of  course  they  have  to  climb. 

Q.  Well,  suppose  they  have  those  pulleys  established  at 
the  top? 

A.  They  can  go  as  high  as  that. 

Q.  They  could  be  landed  at  any  station? 

A.  I  don't  know  of  any  particular  labor  that  would  ex- 
haust them.  Of  course  you  suppose  that  men  are  there  to 
operate  the  machinery,  and  men  are  there  to  put  on  the 
loaded  cars  to  act  as  counterpoise. 

Q.  Precisely.  This  apparatus,  then,  which  one  man  will 
"work,  would  take  the  place  of  a  ponderous  steam-engine, 
would  it,  think  you,  general? 

A.  Well,  I  do  not  know  whether  it  would  entirely  dis- 
pense with  a  small  engine.  I  have  my  doubts  upon  that 
point. 

Q.  What  obstacles  are  there? 

A.  I  think  there  may  be  emergencies  which  would  re- 
quire some  power  there,  but  to  what  extent  I  cannot  say. 

Q.  You  have  stated  that  they  take  fifteen  hundred 
pounds  of  ore  in  their  cages  now,  and  hoist  it  up;  they 
certainly  can  lower  that  much  ? 

A.  I  wouldn't  like  to  say  that  I  am  perfectly  sure  that 


29 

that  would  work  without  additional  power.  I  think  it  will, 
but  I  see  there  are  many  circumstances  that  would  arise 
where  you  would  want  a  little  power. 

Q.  Well,  supposing  you  put  in  a  load  here  of,  say,  three 
thousand  pounds  on  a  car,  against  an  empty  car  here,  (three 
thousand  pounds  and  a  car  against  an  empty  car,)  would 
that  go  down  with  immense  velocity? 

A.  It  would  go  down  with  yery  great  velocity.  It  would 
depend  upon  the  height. 

Q.  Supposing  you  put  three  thousand  pounds  in  here, 
and  ten  men  in  here  that  would  weigh  fifteen  hundred 
pounds,  wouldn't  it  go  with  immense  velocity,  with  fifteen 
hundred  pounds  over-weight  on  the  other  side? 

A.  "Well,  if  you  let  it  go  fast,  it  would  go  very  fast. 

Q.  Would  there  be  any  difficulty  in  making  that  go  at 
any  required  speed? 

A.  The  trouble  would  be  in  controlling  the  machine. 
You  cannot  stop  such  a  moving  body  immediately.  You 
cannot  let  it  go  too  fast,  because,  if  you  do,  you  carmot 
break  it  up  sufficiently  quick  when  it  gets  to  the  bottom. 
The  motion  must  be  such  as  to  permit  you  to  stop  it  a  mo- 
ment's notice  almost. 

Q.  Do  you  think  five  hundred  feet  a  minute  would  be 
too  great  a  speed  to  stop  ? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  They  could  do  that  conveniently,  could  they  ? 

A.  Yes,  ^ir;  I  think  so. 

Q.  Then,  according  to  this,  the  brakeman  here  would 
take  the  place  of  all  these  engineers  and  firemen  on  top, 
and  would  supply  the  place  of  all  the  steam  power  that  is 
up  there,  or  nearly  all;  that  is,  after  this  arrangement  is 
put  in  operation? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  provided  no  additional  power  is  needed 
here. 

Q.  I  will  read  on  further: 

"  The  timbers  used  in  the  various  mines  are  to  be  conveyed  to  their  respec- 
tive destinations  by  the  same  tedious,  slow,  and  expensive  routes ;  expensive, 
because  time  in  this  country  is  money — in  fact,  the  most  expensive  commod- 
ity that  is  employed  in  the  working  of  these  mines." 


Can  you  perceive  any  difficulty  in  getting  timbers  in  on 
this  railroad,  if  you  have  cars  constructed  for  that  purpose, 
and  hoisting  them  up  by  the  same  means  that  we  have 
just  described? 

x-  A .  "Well,  it  is  more  difficult  to  move  timber  than  it  is  to 
move  men.  The  cars,  if  properly  switched  off,  could  not 
properly  be  brought  in  directly  to  the  bottom  of  this  shaft. 
Timbers  would  have; to  be  moved  by  hand  a  certain  distance 
at  least.  They  would  have  to  be  unloaded  from  the  cars. 

Q.  Would  they  not,  on  the  surface,  have  to  unload  it 
from  the  cars,  and  load  it  on  the  cage,  in  taking  it  down 
to  the  mines  ? 

A.  Well,  in  surface  working  the  teams  are  generally 
driven  up  very  close  to  the  shaft,  the  timbers  are  run  in, 
and  the  cage  is  lowered  directly  in  the  shaft.  Here  the 
cars  stop  some  distance  off,  necesarily,  because  the  branch 
tunnel  would  not  be  directly  under  the  shaft.  It  then  has 
to  be  conveyed  in  by  a  drift  on  the  bottom  of  the  shaft. 

Q.  In  delivering  timbers  on  the  surface,  are  they  not 
generally  put  into  a  place  for  storing,  and  taken  out  when 
required,  and  then  framed  first? 

A.  Yes,  sir.  . 

Q.  Well,  then,  they  will  have  to  load  them  at  a  time 
when  they  will  be  required? 

A.  Yes;  but  they  usually  have  them  in  shops  adjoining 
for  the  machinery;  and  they  have  little  cars  there  with 
which  they  can  take  them  right  to  the  mouth  of  the  shaft. 

Q.  Will  there  be  any  difficulty  in  running  under  the 
place  where  you  put  them  in  the  cage  ? 

A.  There  would  be  more  difficulty  than  on  the  surface, 
on  account  of  the  confined  space.  It  will  be  more  diffi- 
cult to  have  a  place  of  size  enough  to  admit  of  all  this 
carriage. 

Q.  I  don't  mean  to  say  that  these  timbers  are  to  be 
stored  at  the  bottom  of  the  shaft,  but  that  they  are  to  be 
conveyed  in  when  required — two  or  three  sets  put  into  a 
cage,  and  carried  to  the  place  of  destination.  That  wouldn't 
require  much  space,  would  it? 


31 

A.  I  should  think  it  would. 

Q.  It  would  require  some  space? 

A.  You  cannot  carry  timbers  through  a  long,  li  arrow 
drift  easily. 

Q.  You  would  have  to  have  a  chamber  at  the  bottom  of 
the  shaft? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  it  would  be  more  difficult  than  conveying 
it  from  the  surface. 

Q.  How  much  additional  expense  do  you  think  it  would 
be  per  thousand  feet.  Have  you  any  idea? 

A.  Well,  I  should  think  it  would  cost  twice  as  much  to 
carry  it  and  to  load  it. 

Q.  Have  you  any  idea  how  much  it  costs  to  carry  it  from 
the  carpenter's  shop  to  the  shaft? 

A.  It  would  cost  very  little.  They  load  it  directly  from 
the  cars,  usually,  where  they  have  that  arrangement,  as  at 
the  Ophir,  with  the  shops  close  by  the  engine-house. 

Q.  Do  you  think  it  costs  a  dollar  a  thousand  feet? 

A.  I  have  no  idea,  sir. 

Q.  In  running  the  men  in  through  the  tunnel,  at  what 
rate  of  speed  do  you  think  that  railroad  could  be  operated? 

A.  I  think  it  could  be  run  eight  hundred  feet  a  minute. 

Q.  Eight  hundred  feet  a  minute? 

A.  About  eight  or  nine  mites  an  hour.     About  nine 

•i  i 

miles  an  hour. 

Q.  Our  calculation  was  ten  miles  an  hour;  that  comes 
close  to  your  figures. 

A.  Pretty  nearly  that. 

Q.  Then,  according  to  that,  how  long  would  it  take  to 
run  these  men  in  five  miles? 

A.  About  half  an  hour. 

Q.  About  thirty  minutes? 

A.  Yes,  about  thirty  minutes. 

Q.  About  thirty  minutes  to  run  them  in.  I  said  from 
the  point  where  they  are  left  they  could  be  hoisted  to  their 
place  of  destination  at  nearly  the  same  rate  as  they  could 
be  sent  from  the  surface  down  below? 

A.  Nearly  the  same;  yes,  sir. 


32 

Q.  How  many  men  can  they  lower  at  a  time? 

A.  Ten  men,  I  believe. 

Q.  How  long  does  it  take  ? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Is  that  on  a  single  cage,  general,  or 
a  double  cage  ? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  Well,  I  think  that  is  on  a  double  cage; 
although  they  can  crowd  more  on  that.  They  cannot  get 
ten  men  on  a  single  cage. 

Mr.  SUTRO.     They  can  get  on  about  six. 

Mr.  FOSTER.  Well,  there  were  five  on  when.  I  went  down, 
and  they  were  squeezed  nearly  to  death. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Yes,  I  know  they  squeeze  these,  men 
harder  than  they  do  you. 

Mr.  FOSTER.  I  don't  see  how  they  can  get  on  more 
than  five.  There  is  nothing  around  the  cage;  you  have 
to  hold  to  the  bars.  I  don't  know  how  many  they  carry. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  You  think  about  ten  men  ? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  Five  on  a  cage;  they  may  carry  more. 
Yes,  ten  men. 

Q.  Ten  men  ? 

A.  I  don't  know  how  many  they  will  carry,  but  I  should 
think  five  as  many  as  could  go  down  on  a  cage  safely. 

Q.  In  lowering  men,  do  they  run  the  cages  as  fast  as 
they  do  in  lowering  rock  ? 

A.  I  believe  not;  no. 

Q.  How  long  do  you  think  it  takes  to  lower  a  gang  of 
men  two  thousand  feet  deep,  and  have  the  cage  come  back 
and  hoist  out  another  gang?  How  long  will  it  take  to 
have  the  cage  go  down  with  ten  men,  and  bring  ten  up, 
at  the  speed  run  at  in  lowering  men  ?  I  mean  including 
the  delays,  and  having  the  men  get  on  and  off  below  and 
hoisting  ? 

A.  I  should  think  it  would  take  ten  minutes. 

Q.  Ten  minutes  for  a  round  trip  to  a  depth  of  two  thou- 
sand feet? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Well,  supposing  these  three  thousand  miners  were 


33 

all  to  go  clown  in  one  shaft,  (I  only  suppose  a  case  now,) 
there  would  be — 

A.  I  think  that  I  have  got  that  too  finely  estimated. 

Q.  Well,  we  will  say  three  thousand  men  are  employed 
in  three  shifts :  one  thousand  in  a  shift,  of  eight  hours,  du- 
ration. It  would  take  them,  according  to  your  figures, 
one  hundred  trips  to  lower  a  thousand  men  in  one  shaft  and 
hoist  out  another  thousand.  They  only  lower  them  when 
they  change  shifts;  consequently,  when  you  lower  the  one 
thousand  down  the  other  thousand  comes  up.  Ten  men 
in  ten-  minutes  gives  us  for  the  whole  thousand  men  just  a 
thousand  minutes.  It  gives  us  about  seventeen  hours  to 
do  it  in,  if  we  are  doing  it  all  in  one  shaft.  Now,  suppos- 
ing these  men  are  divided  among  ten  shafts,  (you  have  re- 
ports here  from  seven  different  superintendents ;  we  will 
call  it  ten  deep  shafts,)  it  would,  take  an  hour  and^seven- 
tenths  to  get  the  men  down  and  up.  That  is  what  it  would 
take,  general,  is  it?  Have  you  followed  my  figures? 

A.  Yes;  I  tried  to. 

Q.  Well,  you  see  here  are  a  thousand  men.  It  takes  a 
hundred  trips  to  lower  them  down,  because  ten  men  go  in 
a  trip.  Is  that  correct? 

A.  Yes.     Very  good. 

Q.  Then,  at  ten  minutes  a  trip,  it  gives  us  a  thousand 
minutes. 

A.  Very  good. 

Q.  A  thousand  minutes  is  sixteen  hours  and  sixty-six 
one-hundredths  of  an  hour.  It  would  take  that  if  we  had 
but  one  shaft.  But  supposing  there  are  ten  shafts — at 
16 T%  hours  it  would 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Call  it  seventeen  hours.  It  don't 
make  any  difference. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  might  as  well  give  these  figures  accurately. 
If  that  is  divided  among  ten  shafts  it  would  give  an  hour 
and  sixty-six  one-hundredths  of  an  hour. to  lower  down  the 
quota  in  each  shaft.  By  the  tunnel,  as  we  have  just  shown, 
they  can  be  carried  in  in  thirty  minutes. 

Mr.  FOSTER.  Carried  in  in  thirty  minutes? 
3 


34 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Thirty  minutes,  sir. 

Mr.  FOSTER.  Well,  then  you  have  to  bring  the  others  out. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  They  will  come  out.  They  come  out  at  the 
same  time  that  the  others  go  in.  We  have  a  continuous 
string  of  cars  going  in  and  out  all  the  time. 

Mr.  FOSTER.  Well,  the  men  in  there  when  the  others 
leave — 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Well,  it  will  take  another  half  hour;  call 
it  an  hour.  Now,  to  take  in  all  the  men  it  would  take 
seventeen  hours — and  to  take  them  out — in  the  old  way. 
Mr.  Day  says  time  is  an  expensive  commodity.  That  is 
what  I  thought. 

"Suppose  a  cave  is  threatened  in  some  one  of  the  most  distant  or  inacces- 
sible mines" 

[I  am  reading  right  on  where  I  stopped] 

"A^car  load  or  two  of  timbers,  immediately  and  judiciously  used,  might 
and  often  does,  prevent  a  disastrous  cave.  By  the  present  mode  of  working 
in  such  a  contingency  as  the  above,  the  miner  would  send  his  order  up,  and 
in  a  very  few  minutes  the  return  cage  would  bring  the  desired  timbers,  and 
in  a  few  minutes  more  the  timbers  would  be  in  place,  and  the  threatened  dis- 
aster averted.  How  would  it  be  in  working  through  the  tunnel?  The  miner 
would  first  give  his  order  for  timbers,  the  order  conveyed  down  the  ladder, 
probably  1,000  feet,  to  reach  the.  tunnel,  then  out  of  the  tunnel  a  distance  of 
four  or  five  miles  to  the  carpenters'  shop  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel;  the  tim- 
bers procured  and  sent  by  return  cars  to  the  foot  of  the  upraise,  then  raised 
by  some  as  yet  unexplained  process  to  the  point  of  danger  or  trouble." 

We  have  already  explained  how  to  bring  the  timbers  in 
on  the  cars.  Do  you  see  any  difficulty,  General,  in  a  man 
coming  down  by  the  method  proposed  into  the  tunnel,  and 
going  to  a  telegraph  instrument,  which  is  supposed  to  be 
stationed  at  the  bottom  of  the  shafts,  telegraph  out  to  the 
mouth  of  the  tunnel,  and  tell  them  what  to  send  in?  Do 
you  see  any  difficulty  about  that? 

A.  None,  whatever,  with  the  proper  apparatus. 

Q.  Well,  then,  it  would  take  thirty  minutes  to  send  that 
timber  in  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  besides  the  loading. 

Q.  It  wouldn't  take  long  to  hoist  it  up  there? 

A.  Well,  it  would  take  time.  I  don't  pretend  to  say  how 
long  it  would  take. 

Q.  It  would  take  a  little  time.     And  this,  "as  yet  unex- 


35 

plained  process/'  we  have  explained  here  a  little  while  ago. 
[I  am  reading  again  from  Mr.  Day's  statement :] 

"  In  this  way  hours  might  elapse  before  the  much-needed  timbers  would 
arrive,  and  then  they  would  probably  arrive  too  late  to  prevent  great  dam- 
age." 

Well,  we  have  disposed  of  that  part  already. 

"Another  disadvantage  in  working " 

Mr.  SUNDEBLAND.  I  would  like  to  have  the  General's 
answers  to  any  questions  that  are  proposed. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  General,  do  you  consider  that  disposed  of? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  I  don't  understand  exactly  what  question 
was  asked. 

Q.  I  did  not  put  the  question.  I  will  put  the  question, 
however,  now.  I  simply  read.  I  will  make  a  question. 
Mr.  Day  here  states  that  "hours  might  elapse  before  the 
rnuch-ne'edecl  timbers  would  arrive."  Do  you  think  that 
hours  would  elapse  before  they  could  be  brought  in  through 
the  tunnel? 

A.  Well,  I  wouldn't  like  to  express  myself  with  regard 
to  the  accuracy  of  that  statement.  It  is  perfectly  evident 
that  it  will  take  longer  (in  my  mind)  to  bring  the  timber 
in  from  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  than  it  would  to  lower  it 
from  the  workshops  above  by  the  shaft.  I  cannot  pretend 
to  say,  without  a  great  deal  of  calculation,  how  much  longer 
it  would  take,  but  it  would  evidently  take  longer,  because 
in  this  case  you  have  to  bring  it  five  miles,  while  in  the. 
other  you  lower  it,  say  two  thousand  feet,  right  down,  at 
railroad  speed.  There  is  the  difference  of  two  thousand 
feet  against  five  miles. 

Q.  In  one  case  it  would  take  ten  minutes  to  lower  it; 
in  the  other  case  it  would  take  thirty  minutes? 

A.  No,  not  ten  minutes.     Two  or  three  minutes. 

Q.  Well,  say  two  or  three  minutes.  In  the  other  case 
it  would  take 'thirty  minutes  to  bring  it  in? 

A.  Loading  and  carrying  to  the  bottom  of  the  shaft, 
yes. 

Q.  Let  me  ask  you  another  question,  General.  If  a  cave 
is  threatened  in  the  mine,  it  would  probably  require  five 


3(3 

or  ten  thousand  feet  of  timber.  How  much  could  you  carry 
at  one  load  down  in  a  cage  ? 

A.  Well,  that  I  do  not  know. 

Q.  It  is  difficult  to  tell.  It  would  take  a  number  of 
trips,  however? 

A.  You  could  take  down  just  as  much  as  you  could  pile 
into  the  cage,  and  as  much  as  you  could  attach. 

Q.  Well,  let  us  calculate  on  that  once  ? 

A.  Certainly,  the  trips  can  be  made  very  rapidly.  They 
can  run  the  engine  a  thousand  feet  a  minute.  You  can 
run  the  cages  up  and  down,  and  take  the  timbers  down 
very  fast. 

Q.  Well,  you  have  got  continually  to  be  sending  the 
cages  up  and  down  ? 

A.  I  do  not  know  the  particular  process  of  sending  tim- 
ber down,  whether  they  put  it  in  cages  or  sling  it* 

Q.  They  send  it  down  on  cages.  That  is  the  process,  is 
it  not  Mr.  Sunderland? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  SUTRO.     A  dozen  trips  would  take  a  good  while? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  They  might  rHin  a  cage  up  and  down  in 
one  and  a  half  or  two  minutes  with  timbers. 

Q.  Do  you  see  any  difficulty  in  running  in  a  large  quan- 
tity of  timber  in  the  tunnel? 

A.  No.  You  can  load  as  many  cars  as  you  want,  or  you 
can  have  cars  ready  loaded  if  you  choose.  As  many  cars 
as  you  take,  so  much  timber  can  you  take.  You  can  take 
so  many  car-loads. 

Q.  Do  these  caves  come  very  suddenly  in  mines,  or  do 
they  come  gradually  ? 

A.  I  do  not  know  about  that. 

Q.  You  have  not  examined  into  that.  They  generally 
tell  a  day  beforehand  when  there  is  going  to  be  a  cave; 
that  is  ray  experience;  the  timbers  commence  gradually  to 
give  way.  I  will  read  again  from  Mr.  Day's  report,  where 
I  left  off: 

"Another  disadvantage  in  working  the  mines  through  the  Sutro  tunnel  is, 
the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  being  located  several  miles  farther  from  the  timber 


37 

and  lumber  supplies,  would  necessarily  increase  the  cost  of  the  same  two  or 
three  dollars  per  thousand  more  than  when  delivered  at  Virginia  or  Gold 
Hill." 

Do  you  think,  General  Foster,  that  it  would  cost  as  much, 
to  deliver  tiraher  from  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  by  floating 
it  down  the  river,  as  it  would  to  carry  it  from  Virginia 
.City? 

A.  ISTo,  sir. 

Q.  Mr.  Day  says  it  will  cost  more,  because  'it  is  further 
off.  Do  you  know  at  how  much  less  price  timbers  could 
be  delivered  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  than  they  could  be 
at  Virginia  City? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  do  not  know.  It  would  be  just  as  much 
cheaper  as  floating  timber  down  is  cheaper  than  carrying 
it  on  the  railroad. 

Q.  Yes,  sir.  The  head  of  Carson  river  is  in  the  Sierra 
Nevada  mountain,  where  the  timber  supplies  come  from? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  timber  costs  at  Virginia  City — 
summer  prices  ? 

A.  I  believe  it  was  twenty-two  dollars  a  thousand  when 
I  went  there. 

Q.  I  think  you  are  mistaken,  general;  twenty-eight  dol- 
lars a  thousand.  You  are  certainly  mistaken? 

A.  I  think  I  have  my  notes  here,  and  they  will  show. 

Q.  It  costs  twenty-eight  to  thirty  dollars? 

A.  Here  it  is;  the  cost  of  timber  at  the  Ophir  mine, 
July  21,  was  twenty-two  dollars  per  thousand  delivered. 
Last  year  paid  $26  50.  Year  before  paid  $42.  Contracts 
for  lumber  and  wood  are  made  every  year  with  the  persons 
who  will  furnish  the  cheapest.  The  contract  price  for  this 
year,  as  I  understood  him — 

Q.  May  I  ask  you,  General  Foster,  whether  that  state- 
ment is  made  by  the  gentleman  who  makes  these  accurate 
statements  in  this  report? 

A.  Captain  Day;  yes,  sir. 

Q.  I  find  in  a  report  of  Mr.  Raymond  for  1867,  some 
time  ago:  "Present  price  of  timber  and  lumber  for  mining 


38 

purposes  ranges  from  twenty-eight  to  thirty  dollars  a 
thousand  for  board  measure."  You  cannot  give  us  any 
other  figures? 

A.  The  timber  of  the  year  before  was  $26  50,  according 
to  Captain  Day.  The  year  before  that  it  was  $42.  That  is 
Captain  Day's  statement. 

Q.  You  cannot  give  us  any  figures,  however,  about  the 
cost  for  floating  down  the  river.  You  haven't  taken  any 
figures  of  that? 

A.  I  do  not  know  how  much  it  costs. 

Q.  It  would  be  decidedly  less,  however  ? 

A.  You  would  have  to  provide  a  flume  for  that  purpose. 
They  have  flumes  constructed  near  Carson;  but  they  cost 
I  don't  know  how  much.  I  think  it  is  stated  somewhere 
in  Mr.  Clarence  King's  report. 

Q.  Mr.  Clarence  King's  report  is  not  here  to-night.  I 
will  look  for  that,  however,  the  next  time.  Well,  we  dis- 
posed of  this  statement,  that  this  is  several  miles  farther 
from  the  lumber  supply,  and  would  necessarily  increase 
1he  cost  two  or  three  dollars  per  thousand. 

"The  foregoing  are  some  of  the  practical  objections  to  using  said  tunnel  as 
an  avenue  through  which  to  work  the  mines  on  the  Comstock ;  and,  as  a 
practical  miner  of  more  than  forty  years'  experience  in  various  kinds  of  min- 
ing, I  make  this  assertion,  that  should  the  tunnel,  with  its  lateral  drifts,  be 


it.     And  why?     Because  the  present  mode  of  working  is  cheaper  and  more 
expeditious." 

If  that  be  correct,  General  Foster,  there  won't  be  much 
danger  of  Virginia  City  being  injured,  will  there?  Sap- 
posing  this  statement  to  be  correct,  that  they  won't  use 
the  tunnel? 

A.  I  don't  want  to  make  any  statement  with  Regard  to 
that.  It  is,  of  course,  a  matter  of  opinion,  and  I  would 
rather  confine  myself  to  what  is  actually  known  than  give 
iny  opinion. 

Q.  But  supposing  Mr.  Day  is  correct,  and  that  they 
won't  use  the  tunnel,  even  if  free  of  charge,  when  it  shall 
have  been  completed,  do  you  think  it  would  interfere  with 
Virginia  City  in  any  manner,  if  the  tunnel  would  not  be 
used  for  transportation  ? 


A.  If  it  did  not  alter  the  status  of  the  working  mines, 
of  course  it  would  not  affect  it. 

Q.  Mr.  Day  now  goes  on  to  say  what  enormous  prices  he 
will  have  to  pay  to  the  tunnel  company.  It  is  too  lengthy 
to  read  it  all.  He  shows  how  much  they  would  have  to 
pay  per  ton  to  get  this  rock  and  ore  out.  Then  he  goes  on 
to  state  how  much  it  would  cost  to  transport  the  miners  in 
and  out.  He  says  it  will  cost  $1,779,375  a  year.  The  total 
for  the  transportation  and  taking  the  miners  in  and  out 
would  cost  $1,779,375  a  year.  That  is  taking  the  trans- 
portation at  $1  12J  per  trip? 

A.  Yes,  a  little  less  than  what  we  took  it.  We  took  it 
$1  25,  considering  it  five  miles. 

Q.  And  the  balance  he  gets  at  by  counting  fifty  cents  for 
two  hundred  men  in  and  out.  Then  he  goes  on  to  say 
there  are  sixteen  million  feet  of  lumber  that  have  got  to 
be  taken  in,  which  amounts  to  $37,500.  The  whole  amounts 
to  $1,816,875.  Then  he  concludes  this  way: 

"  But  thus  far  there  is  one  redeeming  feature  in  the  contract;  it  is  this:  it 
is  optional  with  the  different  mining  companies  whether  they  pay  any  or  all 
of  the  beforementioned  tariffs,  for  if  they  do  not,  work  through  the  tunnel, 
they  need  not  pay  any  of  them."  , 

Do  you  understand  it  is  compulsory  for  them  to  work 
through  the  tunnel? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  That  is  a  matter  of  construction  of  the 
contract  altogether.  I  do  not  see  that  there  is  any  propri- 
ety in  asking  that  question.  It  is  not  a  question  for  the 
witness  to  answer  at  all. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Well,  we  will  take  Mr.  Day's  statement  for 
it.  He  says  they  need  not  pay  for  it  unless  they  want  to. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  No,  we  won't  take  his  statement  at  all. 
We  will  take  the  contract. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  am  reading  his  statement.  Now  he  goes 
on  to  say ; 

"  We  now  come  to  a  tax  that  is  more  arbitrary  in  its  character.  No  mine 
on  the  Comstock  lode  can  escape  its  provisions.  It  is  what  is  termed  the  two 
dollars  per  ton  royalty,  which  is  intended  to  be  a  compensation  for  draining 
the  mines,  and  is  claimed  to  be  a  cheaper  mode  of  drainage  than  that  of 
pumping,  the  mode  now  in  use. .  I  will  now  proceed  to  the  consideration  of 
that  branch  of  the  Sutro  tunnel  question,  practically  considered.  These 
mines  have  been  worked  for  about  twelve  years,  more  or  less  extensively." 


40 

A 

Mr.  Day  here  speaks  about  paying  a  royalty  of  two  dol- 
lars per  ton.  Do  you  know  on  what  this  royalty  is  to  be 
paid,  General  Foster? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  Paid  on  the  ore  that  is  taken  out. 

Q.  On  paying  ore  ? 

A.  Well,  I  am  not  intending  to  construe  the  law.  They 
are  to  pay  two  dollars  royalty  on  what  is  prescribed  by  the 
law.  I  think  that  is  the  law. 

Q.  There  is  no  law  about  it ;  it  is  a  contract. 

Mr.  SUKDERLAND.  All  ores  that  are  worked  are  sold. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  (Reading:) 

" provided  said  sum  of  two  dollars  per  ton  on  the  ore  extracted, 

which  said  second  party  shall  have  reduced  at  some  mill  or  other  reduction 
works,  or  shall  have  sold." 

That  is  the  way  it  reads  in  the  contract  at  that  point. 
Mr.  Day  goes  into  more  elaborate  figures  to  show  that  it 
would  cost  $1,095,000  in  royalty  on  the  Comstock  lode.  It 
is  at  the  bottomof  page  — . 

Mr.  FOSTER.  Taking  the  daily  yield  as  fifteen  hundred 
tons? 

•Mr.  SUTRO.  Yes,  sir;  he  makes  it  out  as  $1,095,000. 
Were  they  taking  any  ore  out  of  the  Ophir  mine  while  you 
were  out  there? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  No,  sir. 

Q.  How  much  would  the  Ophir  mine  have  had  to  pay 
to  the  tunnel  company  in  the  last  four  years  and  a  half,  if 
they  took  out  no  ore? 

A.  I  do  not  know  how  long  it  has  been  since  they  took 
out  any  ore. 

Q.  Well,  say  since  their  new  shaft  was  started? 

A.  Well,  I  suppose  they  would  pay  no  royalty  while 
they  took  out  no  ore. 

Q.  How  much  would  the  Ophir  company  have  paid  the 
tunnel  company  since  they  started  their  shaft,  which  was 
started,  according  to  the  statement  given  here  in  Mr  Ray- 
mond's report,  on  the  18th  of  August,  1867,  (he  states  here 
on  the  18th  of  December:  "the  old  mine  and  shaft  were 
abandoned  sixteen  months  ago,  since  wMch  time  work  has 


41 

been  progressing  on  the  new  shaft,  without,  however, 
striking  any  ore.")  They  have  not  struck  any  ore  since. 

A.  They  would  have  paid  nothing,  as  I  understand  it. 

Q.  "Well,  supposing  the  tunnel  would  have  offered  the 
Ophir  company  drainage  and  ventilation  without  contribut- 
ing one  single  dollar  to  the  tunnel  company  while  they 
were  hoisting  out  the  waste  rock  to  the  surface,  would  you 
consider  that  it  would  have  been  an  advantage  to  that 
company  to  have  had  the  tunnel  in? 

A.  "While  they  were  sinking  this  shaft? 

Q.  Yes,  sir. 

A.  Well,  while  they  were  sinking  the  shaft  it  would 
have  been  no  advantage  to  them  except  as  drainage. 

Q.  Supposing  the  tunnel  had  been  finished  at  that  time 
when  they  commenced  constructing  that  shaft,  and  the 
drift  had  been  run  from  the  tunnel,  and  they  had  sunk  a 
bore-hole,  as.  they  bore  oil  wells,  and  connected  it  with  the 
tunnel,  wouldn't  it  have  completely  drained  their  mine, 
and  given  them  ventilation  at  the  same  time? 

A.  It  would  have  drained  the  shaft  probably.  I  don't 
know  about  ventilation,  because  this  hole  might  have 
become  choked  up  so  as  to  prevent  the  entrance  of  air. 

Q.  Would  not  the  water  passing  through  there  make 
some  ventilation'? 

A.  I  do  not  know  that  it  would. 

Q.  Supposing  the  hole  was  large  enough,  so  that  it  would 
not  be  quite  full  of  water? 

A.  If  traps  should  occur  in  the  hole  there  would  be  no 
passage  of  air. 

Q.  Could  they  not  be  removed,  General?  Is  there  any 
obstruction  in  the  way? 

A.  Weil,  a  small  drill  hole  would  hardly  aid  much. 

Q.  Call  it  an-eight  inch  -hole? 

A.  An  eight-inch  hole  would  make  it. 

Q.  General  ISTegley,  are  you  familiar  with  the  oil  wells  in 
Pennsylvania? 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  How  large  are  they? 


42 

A.  They  range  from  four  to  ten  inches. 

Q.  Is  there  any  difficulty  in  making  a  ten-inch  hole? 

A.  Not  the  slightest. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  What  kind  of  material  are  these  holes 
bored  through,  General:  ground  that  don't  swell  or  retains 
its  position? 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Well,  it  is  quite  variable.  They  have 
to  case  most  of  them.  The  first  four  hundred  feet  are 
through  variable  rock;  then  they  strike  sandstone.  They 
strike  the  first,  second,  and  third  sandstone  rocks,  which 
comprise  the  formation,  between  there  and  the  depth  of  a 
thousand  feet. 

Mr. .SUNDERLAND.  We  have  a  clay  there  that  nothing 
withstands  the  expansive  power  of  it. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Is  there  any  difficulty  in  driving  pipes  down 
those  bore-holes? 

The  CHAIRMAN.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  There  could  be  no  difficulty  if  we  drive  a 
pipe  down,  General  Foster. 

Mr.  FOSTER.  With  a  sufficient  sized  hole,  I  think  there 
would  be  no  trouble  about  the  passage  of  air. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  General,  at  our  last  examination  it  was  shown 
that  the  Ophir  company  collected  semething  like  $800,000, 
that  they  had  spent  $423,000  in  prosecuting  the  work  on 
the,  shaft,  and  had  erected  machinery  to  the  cost  of  $173,- 
000.  Now,  supposing  that  bore-hole  had  been  down,  so  that 
the  men  would  not  have  been  hampered  in  working  with 
water  in  the  bottom,  they  would  not  have  been  bothered 
in  pumping  and  being  flooded.  Do  you  think  that  that 
shaft  could  have  been  made  at  less  cost? 

A.  The  tunnel  completed? 

Q.  The  shaft,  provided  the  tunnel  be  completed,  sir? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  I  think  it  could  .have  been  done  at  less  cost. 

Q.  According  to  Mr.  Day's  figures  it  has  cost  them  $178,- 
000  to  make  the  shaft  and  the  drifts.  Do  you  think  that 
this  shaft  could  have  been  made  for  less  money,  less  than 
$178,492  20,  provided  that  bore-hole  had  been  put  through 


43 

and  the  shaft  sunk,  under  the  facilities  that  would  have 
furnished? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  I  think  it  would. 

Q.  Supposing  this  bore-hole  had  heen  put  in,  General, 
and  an  accurate  survey  made,  and  no  machinery  at  all 
erected  on  the  surface,  do  you  think  it  feasible  to  have 
constructed  that  shaft  from  the  bottom,  going  up,  without 
any  machinery  at  all? 

A.  It  could  have  been  .done. 

Q.  Then  it  would  have  come  down  simply  to  the  labor 
of  the  men? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  And  the  powder  used,  without  any  machinery  what- 
ever ? 

A.  You  say  without  any  machinery  whatever.  That 
would  be  impossible,  because  everything  that  you  use  is  a 
machine.  Machinery  for  lowering  might  have  been  used, 

Q.  Steam  machinery,  I  mean  ? 

A.  You  have  got  to  have  this  machinery  for  lowering. 

Q.  Yes,  sir. 

A.  It  wouldn't  be  necessary  to  have  the  steam-pumping 
machinery  that  they  now  use. 

Q.  Mr.  Day  goes  on  to  state  that  there  is  no  water  in  the 
mine,  that  there  is  almost  a  dry  fissure,  arid  he  says  it  is  a 
dry  country,  etc.  I  don't  want  to  go  into  this  pumping 
just  now,  about  the  quantity  of  water  in  the  Comstock 
lode.  I  will  go  from  that  for  the  present.  I  will  come 
back  to  that  by  and  by: 

"As  a  ventilator,  this  tunnel,  if  finished,  would  amount  to  just  what  a  con- 
nection between  any  two  or  more  mines  would — no  more  and  no  less.  Neither 
one  could  possibly  be  made  to  ventilate  any  exploring  or  prospecting  work, 
for  which  some  mode  of  artificial  ventilation,  either  by  patent  blower,  air- 
pumps,  or  some  other  more  efficient  method,  is  necessary," 

I  think,  General,  in  your  report,  you  state  that  the  mines' 
may  be  ventilated  by  having  two  shafts  which  exist  on  the 
vein  connected  by  drifts,  so  that  the  air  may  go  down  one 
and  come  up  the  other  through  the  draught? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  That  you  know;  you  have  seen  that? 


44 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  In  what  mine  have  you  seen  that,  General? 

A.  Crown  Point;  Yellow  Jacket. 

Q.  Crown  Point  and  Yellow  Jacket.  Do  you  recollect, 
General,  how  far  they  are  apart? 

A.  I  do  not  recollect  as  shown  on  the  map. 

Q.  Crown  Point  shaft,  from  this  map  here,  and  the  Yel- 
lew  Jacket  shaft,  I  should  judge  are  600  feet  apart.  Do 
you  think  that  is  about  it? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  About  600  feet.  In  going  down  the  Crown  Point 
shaft  they  have  a  drift  from  both  sides,  and  have  connected 
their  drifts,  and  thus  they  have  created  ventilation.  How 
would  you  ventilate  the  shaft,  say  between  the  Imperial 
shaft  and  the  next  deep  shaft  to  it,  the  Hale  and  RTorcross, 
which  is  a  distance  of  3,000  feet;  would  you  think  it  pos- 
sible to  make  a  connection  there  at  each  level  of  a  hundred 
feet,  and  ventilate  a  mine  between  those  two  points? 

A.  Well,  it  is  feasible,  certainly;  they  might  run  a  drift 
that  distance. 

Q.  "Well,  do  you  think  it  is  practical  to  do  it,  to  run 
three  thousand  feet  every  time  you  sink  down  a  hundred 
feet? 

A.  Well,  the  better  way  would  probably  be  to  sink  a 
second  shaft. 

Q.  That  is  the  point  I  want  to  get  at.  The  Comstock 
lode,  I  believe  you  stated,  is  something  like  20,000  feet  in 
length  ? 

A.  Twenty-two  thousand. 

Q.  Now,  how  many  feet  of  that  lode  are  actually  pro- 
ductive in  depth ;  how  many  of  the  mines  that  have  re- 
ported, leaving  out  the  others,  are  productive  in  depth;  let 
us  take  them  as  they  come.  Here  is  the  Ophir;  has  the 
Ophif  any  ore  in  depth  ? 

A.  The  Ophir  has  none. 

Q.  The  Gould  and  Curry;  have  they  any  ore  in  depth? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  I  beg  your  pardon;  I  will  read  from  their  own  state- 


45 

ment :  that  will  probably  give  us  the  best  idea  how  to  get 
at  it.  I  will  take  the  Gould  and  Curry,  and  show  you  what 
he  states  in  regard  to  it. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Which  report  is  that  you  have — Mr. 
Batterman's? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  That  is  Mr.  Batterman's  Report,  on  page  33. 
To  question  11,  which  is  this: 

"  How  long  a  time,  at  the  present  progress  of  working,  will  it  require  to 
exhaust  all  the  profitable  ore  in  the  mine  above  the  600-foot  level?" 

He  answers : 

"There  is  no  known  body  of  ore  existing  above  the  600-foot  level,  that 
could  be  profitably  worked  at  the  present  cost  of  reduction." 

No.  12  question: 

"  How  long  between  the  600  and  1,000-foot  level." 

Answer. 

"No  paying  ore  has  ever  been  found  in  this  mine  below  600  feet." 

That  is  according  to  the  statement  of  the  Gould  and  Curry 
company.  There  is  no  ore  below,  consequently  their  work 
in  depth  is  prospecting  only.  Is  that  so,  General? 

A.  They  have  plenty  of  ore  there.  He  says  their  ore  is 
not  profitable  at  the  present  reduction. 

Q.  Above  the  600-foot  level,  or  between  the  600  and 
1,000-foot  level,  the  tunnel  will  come  in  at  2,000  feet.  My 
question  is  this:  Below  the  600-foot  level,  in  the  Gould  and 
Curry  mine,  would  not  all  their  work  be  of  a  prospecting 
nature  simply? 

A.  Well,  that  is  difficult  for  me  to  say.  "  It  appears  to 
be  prospecting  now.  I  wouldn't  undertake  to  say  that  they 
won't  discover  ore  there  pretty  soon. 

Q.  Well,  I  mean  to  say  at  the  time  you  were  there,  when 
this  statement  was  furnished  you,  they  were  simply  pros- 
pecting? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Well,  considering  that,  would  they  have  to  pay  any 
royalty  to  the  tunnel  company  in  this  prospecting  work? 

A.  As  I  understand  the  law,  they  would  not. 

Q.  Well,  then,  the  Ophir  company  and  the  Gould  and 
Curry  company  would  have  had  the  benefit  of  this  tunnel 


46 

lor  nothing;  that  is  to  say,  the  drainage  and  ventilation 
would  have  paid  nothing  to  the  tunnel  company? 

A.  While  they  were  prospecting  they  would  have  had 
the  benefit. 

Q.  The  next  company  is  the  Savage.  You  see  what  his 
reply  is  to  that  question.  Answer  to  question  11 : 

"Six  months'  time,  at  the  present  rate  of  working,  will  exhaust  all  the  pro- 
fitable ore  in  sight  above  the  600-foot  level." 

Answer  to  question  12: 

"Six  months'  time  will  also  exhaust  all  profitable  oreyn  sight  between  the 
600-foot  and  1,000-foot  level." 

How  long  before  the  tunnel  could  get  in? 

A.  In  about  three  years. 

Q.  Well,  in  six  months  it  would  be  exhausted,  and  all 
their  work  would  be  of  a  prospecting  nature;  they  would 
pay  no  royalty.  They  can  pay  no  royalty  till  the  tunnel  is 
finished;  and  they  say  in  six  months  it  would  be  exhausted  ? 

A.  Well,  they  might  find  other  ore  again  very  soon. 

Q.  Well,  we  don't  know  but  they  must  prospect  for 
years  ? 

A.  And  they  might  strike  a  bonanza  at  any  time.  They 
have  struck  a  bonanza  now.  That  is  an  answer  to  it.  They 
have  prospected  until  this  time,  and  now  they  have  struck 
ore. 

Q.  They  have  struck  the  bonanza  there.  They  didn't 
know  that  they  would  when  you  were  there.  Are  they 
likely  to  strike  bonanzas  anywhere  on  the  Comstock  lode? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  anywhere. 

Q.  Do  you  think  they  are  likely  to  strike  it  at  very  low 
depth? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  I  found  it  so  from  different  evidence  that 
appeared. 

Q.  How  long  have  the  Bullion  company  worked  their 
mine  without  finding  any  ore? 

A.  I  do  not  know — a  long  time. 

Q.  How  long  do  you  think? 

A.  I  don't  recollect. 

Q.  They  started  when  the  other  mines  started.     Don't 


47 

you  think  it  is  ten  years  ?  Don't  you  think  they  have  been 
prospecting  ten  years? 

A.  I  don't  know  anything  about  it.  There  is  no  use  of 
my  guessing  at  it. 

*Q.  Well,  they  have  spent  $1,144,500.  That  is  what  they 
have  paid  in  assessments? 

A.  That  is  what  they  have  paid  in  the  Bullion? 

Q.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  Is  that  on  the  Comstock  lode  ?  . 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Yes,  £ir.  So  the  Bullion  company  would 
not  have  paid  the  tunnel  company  anything? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  Not  during  that  time;  jio,  sir. 

Q.  Now  comes  the  Chollar  Potosi  company.  Question 
No.  11: 

"How  long  a  time,  at  the  present  progress  of  working,  will  it  require  to 
exhaust  all  the  profitable  ore  in  the  mine  above  the  600-foot  level." 

Answer. 

"At  present  rate  of  working,  three  years  will  exhaust  all  the  ore  iu  the 
mine — that  is,  all  the  ore  that  is  known  to  exist." 

It  will  be  all  exhausted  by  the  time  the  tunnel  comes  in, 
will  it  not,  General? 

A.  According  to  that  statement. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  "All  that  is  known  to  exist,"  he  says: 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Yes,  sir.     Answer  to  question  12 : 

"Up  to  this  date  no  ore  worthy  of  mention  lias  been  found  below  the  600- 
foot  level." 

So  they  would  have  to  pay  nothing  there  until  they  found 
something.  Now,  let  us  take  the  next  one,  which  is  the 
statement  of  Mr.  R.  N  Graves,  of  the  Empire  company. 

Answer  to  question  11 : 

"All  the  available  ore  from  the  600-foot  level  to  the  surface  is  exhausted, 
unless  tine  cost  of  milling  be  reduced," 

or  transportation,  I  suppose,  also.  Answer  to  question 
No.  11: 

"From  the  600-foot  level  to  our  present  lowest,  or  1,300-foot  level, .the  vein 
in  Imperial  and.  Empire  mines,  has  been  comparatively  barren."" 

"Would  this  company  have  to  pay  any  royalty,  General? 

A.  A  roj^alty  on  what  ore  they  get  out. 

Q.  But,  then,  after  the  ore  is  exhausted  on  the  upper 


48 

level,   would  they,  while  they*  are  prospecting,  pay  any 
royalty  ? 

A.  Not  while  they  are  prospecting,  getting  out  no  ore. 

Q.  Now  let  us  take  the  next  one.  The  next  one  is  the 
Yellow  Jacket  company,  but  I  don't  find  the  statement; 
no  matter.  Now  let  us  "come  back  to  where  we  stopped, 
at  ventilation.  According  to  what  we  find  in  this  report, 
a  large  portion  of  the  Comstock  lode  is  unproductive. 
Then  we  have  not  included  yet  the  Sierra  Nevada  mine, 
the  Utah  mine,  the  Allen  mine,  the  Mexican  mine,  all  of 
them  unproductive:  the  Ophir  north  mine,  the  Central 
mine,  the  California  mine,  the  White  and  Murphy,  the 
Best  and  Belcher,  the  Gould  and  Curry. 

A.  Yes,  but  I  understand  they  were  getting  ore  out  of 
the  Utah  mine.  They  were  when  we  were  there,  I  think. 
They  were  sending  some  ore  out  of  the  Sierra  Nevada, 

'Q.  The  Sierra  Nevada  were  getting  some  ore  from  the 
surface.  They  were  not  mining  deep  at  all,  they  had  given 
that  up.  There  is  not  a  single  mine  got  any  ore  in  depth. 
Consequently,  all  these  gentlemen  here,  who  complain  about 
paying,  would  not  have  to  pay  a  single  dollar  to  the  tunnel 
company,  not  a  single  dollar.  But  I  am  diverging,  I  want 
to  go  back  to  ventilation. 

A.  Well,  these  mines,  which  are  quite  unproductive, 
would  of  course,  on  all  the  ore  they  would  get  out. 

Q.  Yes,  but  they  show  it  is  exhausted,  and  consequently 
they  would  have  to  pay  nothing,  the  work  is  only  for  pros- 
pecting; when  they  discover  new  bodies  of  ore,  they  have 
to  pay.  We  would  ventilate  the  mines,  and  then  they 
could  go  on  prospecting,  as  I  will  show.  You  state  that  it 
is  not  practicable  to  connect  two  shafts  at  a  great  distance 
apart,  say  three  thousand  feet  ?  • 

A.  I  said  it  was  practicable. 

Q.  You  said  it  is  feasible:    yes,  sir,  practical.     But   it 
wouldn't  be  advantageous  to  do  it? 
it  wouldn't  be  advantageous  to  do  it? 

A.  That  I  would  not  undertake  to  say. 

Q.  Would  you  say  it  would  be  so  to  connect  shafts  three 
thousand  feet  apart  every  one  hundred  feet  of  descent? 


49 

A.  I  wouldn't  like  to  make  any  statement  about  it.  It 
might  be  advantageous  under,  certain  circumstances. 

Q.  But  what  I  want  to  get  at  is,  is  there  any  extraordi- 
nary difficulty  in  going  three  thousand  feet  without  any 
ventilation?  If  you  will  permit  me,  I  will  read  a  statement 
-here  from  one  or  two  of  the  mines  in  regard  to  the  cost. 
Mr.  Graves  states  on  page  43 — 

"  The  size  of  our  drifts,  usually  6  by  9  outside  of  timber,  with  good  cool  air, 
can  be  rim  for  $7  per  foot  in  hard-blasting  ground.  The  same  ground,  with 
the  thermometer  110°,  will  cost  $32  per  running  foot,  or  59  cents  per  cubic 
foot." 

Now,  let  me  call  your  attention  to  another  place  here  in 
the  report  of  the  Yellow  Jacket  mine,  from  Captain  Taylor, 
on  page  44.  He  states : 

"The  cost  of  drifting,  like  cost  of  sinking  shafts,  depends  on  character  of 
ground  and  temperature  of  air.  Have  run  drifts  in  hard-blasting,  ground, 
(cool  air,  size  full,)  6  by  9,  for  $7  per  running  foot,  or  13  cents  per  cuoic  foot 
of  earth  removed.  Same  ground,  with  temperature  of  air  107°,  cost  $30  per 
running  foot,  or  55 J  cents  per  cubic  foot:  cost  of  labor  of  timbering  induced 
in  the  above.  With  cool  air  made  3£  feet  per  day,  with  air  at  107°,  20  feet 
per  month." 

Now,  I  want  to  ask  you,  General,  provided  they  get 
down,  over  1,000  feet,  and  would  have  to  drift  3,000  feet, 
would  you  consider  it  an  advantageous  thing  do,  to  make 
these  connections,  in  view  of  these  statements  ? 

A.  No. 

Q.  It  costs  five  times  as  much  nearly  to  make  those 
drifts.  Well,  to  go  back,  then,  to  this  question  of  shafts: 
how  many  shafts  do  you  consider,  General,  on  this  whole 
length  of  20,000  feet,  ought  to  be  sunk  to  make  mining 
thorough  and  advantageous  and  systematic  on  the  Corn- 
stock  lode — what  distance  apart? 

A.  That  is  very  hard  to  say. 

Q.  What  distance  apart  do  you  think  these  shafts  ought 
to  be,  in  order  to  make  mining  intelligible,  to  explore  that 
lode  down  to  the  tunnel  level,  to  bring  them  near  enough 
together,  that  they  can  make  these  connections  without 
difficulty,  say  like  the  connection  between  the  Crown  Point 
shaft  and  the  Yellow  Jacket? 

A.  I  wouldn't  undertake  to  say. 

Q.  Would  you  consider  that  a  reasonable  distance? 
4 


50 

A.  My  answer  would  be  a  mere  guess. 

Q.  Would  you  consider  that  a  reasonable  distance  be- 
tween the  Crown  Point  and  Yellow  Jacket? 

A.  Yes,  a  reasonable  distance. 

Mr.  SHOBER.  "What  is  that  distance  ? 

Mr.  SUTEO.  Six  hundred  feet  on  the  map.  "Now,  sup- 
posing, General,  thirty-three  shafts  were  down  from  the 
surface  connecting  with  the  tunnel,  would  you  think  that 
under  those  circumstances  there  would  be  any  difficulty  in 
making  these  connections? 

A.  None,  whatever. 

Q.  Supposing,  then,  that  thirty-three  shafts  were  sunk 
on  the  whole  lode,  which  are  quite  difficult  to  sink  now, 
as  we  have  seen  in  the  case  of  the  Ophir  company,  who 
have  been  four  and  a  half  years  getting  down  twelve  hun- 
dred feet — supposing  these  bore-holes  were  made  connect- 
ing with  the  tunnel,  and  after  the  bore-holes  were  made, 
the  shafts  were  made  from  below  and  also  from  above — 
don't  you  think  that  a  perfect  system  of  ventilation  might 
be  brought  about? 

A.  Certainly. 

*  Q.  Is  the  character  of  the  bodies  of  ore  in  the  Com- 
Btock  lode  continuous?  Do  they  find  continuous  bodies 
of  ore? 

A.  No.  They  find  them  separate,  in  different  places  in 
the  vein. 

Q.  The  drifts  which  have  been  made  in  order  to  reach 
this  ore  are  very  considerable,  are  they  not? 

A.  Certainly. 

Q.  I  have  a  statement  here  of  the  Gould  and  Curry  com- 
pany for  the  past  year,  which  has  just  been  published  and 
came  to  me  a  day  or  two  ago.  The  same  gentleman  who 
furnished  you  with  the  statement  says  here: 

"  12,256  feet  of  drift  have  been  run  during  the  year." 

ISTow,  looking  at  that  statement  of  a  single  mine  drifting 
12,256  feet,  and  the  statements  I  have  just  read  from  the 
superintendent  of  the  Yellow  Jacket  company  and  the  su- 
perintendent of  the  Empire  company,  that  it  costs  three, 


61 

four,  and  five  times  as  much  to  make  these  drifts  in  foul 
air  as  it  would  in  pure,  would  it  not  be  of  immense  ad- 
vantage to  the  Comstock  lode,  and  to  the  exploration  of  it, 
if  they  would  have  33  shafts  down  so  that  they  could  make 
connections? 

A.  "Well,  they  could  make  air  shafts  by  boring  down  to 
the  different  drifts. 

Q.  From  what  point? 

A.  From  the  surface. 

Q.  But  would  that  supply  ventilation  where  you  have  a 
bore  hole,  say  ten  inches  in  diameter;  would  that  supply 
ventilation  in  making  drifts  at  every  level  of  a  hundred  feet? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  I  should  think  it  would.  I  should  think 
ten  inches  ought  to  supply  it.  I  think  the  pipes  are  eight 
or  ten  that  now  carry  down  the  air. 

Q.  Supposing  you  had  these  bore  holes  down,  how  would 
you  prospect  your  mine  from  these  different  points?  Sup- 
posing you  had  shafts  down,  wouldn't  it  be  easier  to  pros- 
pect for  ores  and  find  where  these  bodies  are  than  by  hav- 
ing shafts  three  thousand  feet  apart? 

A.  Of  course  it  would  be  a1!  advantage  to  have  a  shaft, 
and  it  is  an  advantage  to  have  them  at  frequent  intervals. 
I  don't  want  to  make  any  estimate  upon  supposition.  It 
is  impossible  to  say  what  advantage  would  arise  one  way 
or  the  other,  I  think.  At  least  I  am  not  prepared  to  say. 
There  are  a  great  many  places  on  the  lode  where  they 
don't  want  to  prospect,  and  don't  want  a  shaft. 

Q.  Why  don't  they  want  to  prospect? 

A.  Because  they  know  it  is  barren.  They  know  it  is 
barren,  as  things  go,  in  the  Bullion  lode. 

Q.  How  did  they  find  it  out? 

A.  By  drifting  from  the  shaft. 

Q.  They  might  have  ore  below  it  ? 

A.  That  is  very  true. 

Q.  Supposing  they  had  the  Bullion  shaft  connecting 
with  the  tunnel,  wouldn't  it  facilitate  their  prospecting 
operations? 

A.  "Well,  I  don't  know.     It  is  entirely  hypothetical. 


52 

Q.  You  don't  know  whether  it  would  facilitate  prospect- 
ing operations? 

A.  Well,  there  are  certain  places  where  the  miner  un- 
derstands perfectly  well,  by  certain  signs,  whether  there 
is  a  fair  prospect  of  meeting  with  ore.  There  are  certain 
kinds  of  rock  they  would  not  think  of  going  into. 

Q.  When  you  went  over  there,  what  statements  did  they 
make  to  you  about  the  Savage  mine.  Did  they  think  they 
would  find  anything  below  ? 

A.  Yes;  I  think  their  impression  was  they  would  find 
ore  below. 

Q.  Did  they  think  they  would  find  ore  very  soon  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  What  did  you  think  about  the  Ophir  mine.  Did 
you  think  they  were  under  the  same  impression,  that  they 
would  find  ore? 

A.  Yes;  I  think  they  are  under  the  impression  that 
they  will  find  ore.  There  is  no  reason  why  they  should 
not. 

Q.   Mr.  Pay  states  as  follows,  on  page  28  : 

*  "But  the  most  important  question  of  all,  in  this  connection,  presents  itself, 
and  as  yet  is  unanswered,  Does  ore  in  paying  quantities  exist  in  the  Corn- 
stock  at  these  great  depths?  Taking  a  practical  and  most  hopeful  view  of 
this  question  that  the  facts  thus  far  developed  will  warrant,  -I  am  compelled 
to  say,  there  are  grave  doubts,  notwithstanding  Professor  Richthofen  came 
to  the  rescue,  and  assures  us  that  by  his  scientific  and  theoretical  vision  he 
sees  it,  and  there  is  no  doubt  but  ore  in  paying  quantities  exists  in  the  Corn- 
stock  fissure,  from  the  surface  to  untold  depths.  But  gentlemen  of  his  class 
have  deceived  us  so  often,  that  I  am  sorry  to  say,  we  miners  have  little  faith 
in  their  scientific  prognostications." 

Here  we  have  the  statement  of  Mr.  Day,  that  he  don't 
believe  that  there  is  any  ore  below;  and  yet  they  are  dig- 
ging away  at  that  shaft  ? 

A.  No;  he  does  not  say  that.  He  says  there  are  grave 
doubts. 

Q.  Yes ;  he  says  there  are  grave  doubts.  He  is  doubt- 
ful about  finding  ore.  At  that  time  they  had  not  discov- 
ered the  ore  in  the  Savage  mine.  They  may  have  better 
hopes  now;  I  think  it  probable;  but  at  that  time  they  did 
not  know  anything  about  that.  Mr.  Requa  states  this,  on 
page  39: 


53 

"  How  to  get  the  ore  from  these  deep  levels  is  not  the  important  question 
on  the  Comstock.  To  find  the  ore  to  hoist,  that  is  where  the  insurmountable 
difficulty  comes  in.  To  solve  that  prohlem  requires  more  brain,  muscle,  and 
money  than  all  other  operations  along  the  vein  put  together.  Show  us  the 
ore,  even  at  the  depth  of  3,000  feet,  and  I  will  give  you  a  pledge,  sir,  that 
we  will  never  ask  how  we  shall  get  this  ore  out." 

Then  he  goes  on  to  say,  immediately  after, 

"In  brief,  the  whole. tunnel  project  is  impracticable,  unnecessary,  and  total- 
ly uncalled  for,  except  as  a  drain." 

In  another  place  the  same  gentleman  says: 

"The  proposed  adit,  known  as  the  Sutro  tunnel,  is  not  now,  and  never  will 
be,  a  necessity  to  the  lode,  either  for  prospecting  purposes,  ventilation,  or  for 
the  economical  handling  of  metal-bearing  material,  waste,  or  debris,  or  as  a 
means  of  entry  or  exit  for  men  to  the  various  mines  located  on  the  Comstock." 

And  then  he  goes  on,  in  a  very  elaborate  way,  to  show  why 
it  is  not.  Why  do  these  men  pronounce  the  tunnel  as  en- 
tirely useless  and  impracticable,  when  they  in  the  same 
breath  tell  us  that  there  is  no  ore  below?  They  say  they 
haven't  got  any  ore,  and  at  the  same  time  they  tell  us  they 
have  to  pay  a  royalty.  At  the  same  time  they  tell  us, 
also,  they  are  not  going  to  use  the  tunnel,  but  are  going 
to  hoist  out  the  ore;  then  why  do  they  object  to  having 
the  tunnel  made?  Do  you  think,  General  Foster,  the  tun- 
nel would  be  useful  for  prospecting  the  Comstock  lode? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  I  want  to  go  back  again  to  this  method. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  would  like  to  have  the  General  an- 
swer these  questions  as  we  go  along. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  think  he  has  had  time  to  answer. 

Mr.  FOSTER.  I  think  you  said  the  superintendents  there 
pretend  that  the  tunnel  would  be  of  no  benefit  to  the  Com- 
stock lode. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Will  you  answer  that  question,  General? 

A.  I  saw  these  men  a  great  deal,  and  talked  with  them 
a  great  deal,  and  they  were  men  of  capacity,  great  intelli- 
gence, and  experience,  and  I  gave  them  credit  for  being 
entirely  honest;  and  I  am  convinced  that  they  really  thought 
they  were  writing  the  truth  in  what  they  wrote  to  us.  Mr. 
Requa,  in  particular,  struck  me  as  being  a  man  of  large 
experience  and  very  reliable — of  excellent  judgment.  He 
certainly  would  not  put  his  name  to  paper  to  anything  that 


54 

he  would  not  believe  himself.  I  give  him  credit  for  that. 
As  to  Captain  Day,  I  think  he  also  is  an  excellent  man,  of 
a  great  deal  of  experience,  and  he  struck  me,  as  he  will 
strike  any  body,  as  being  a  very  reliable  man.  I  think 
that  he  is  perfectly  honest  in  what  he  says.  He  believes 
what  he  says. 

Q.  Well,  do  you  think  he  left  anything  out? 

A.  There  are  a  great  many  things  he  might  have  put  in. 
He  answered  our  questions.  We  asked  them  certain  ques- 
tions, and  they  answered  them. 

Q.  Do  you  think  these  people  are  mechanics,  who  say  it 
is  cheaper  to  pump  out  water  than  to  let  it  run  out  itself? 

A.  That  is  a  different  thing.     That  is  another  question. 

Q.  They  may  be  perfectly  honest,  and  they  may  not  be 
good  miners.  They  may  not  understand  anything  about  it  ? 

A.  That  is  very  true;  but  the  impression  those  men  gave 
me  was,  that  they  were  reliable  in  their  own  sphere  of  busi- 
ness. "What  they  state  here  is  borne  out  mostly  by  the 
notes  that  I  took  at  the  time.  I  asked  the  question  repeat- 
edly about  the  hoisting  up.  They  went  through  what  it 
would  cost  them  per  ton.  They  were  working  about  1,200 
feet  down,  and  the  almost  universal  reply  was,  "fifty  cents 
a  ton."  I  suppose  it  will  cost  more  as  they  go  down.  The 
general  statement  made,  as  we. went  through  the  mines  and 
talked  with  them  confidentially,  tallies  very  closely  with 
what  we  have  written  here,  when  we  wrote  them  after- 
wards, asking  for  their  written  statements  upon  general 
points. 

Q.  Do  you  think  these  people  would  have  any  fears  of 
losing  their  situations  if  they  would  do  anything  contrary 
to  the  wishes  of  Mr.  Sharon,  the  agent  of  the  Bank  of  Cal- 
ifornia ? 

A.  Well,  I  would  be  very  sorry  to  suppose  that  they 
were  so  utterly  dependent  upon  employment  as  to  do  that, 
because  some  of  those  men  are  men  of  decided  character. 
One  of  the  owners  of  the  mines  that  I  talked  with  a  great 
deal,  I  believe,  has  aspirations  for  the  United  States  Senate, 
and  I  take  it  for  granted  he  is  a  man  of  character. 


55 

Q.  Well,  people  might  have  aspirations  for  the  United 
States  Senate,  and  still  not  be — 

A.  No;  I  give  them  credit  for  being  fair  men. 

Q.  Who  is  that  gentleman  you  refer,  to,  General? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Mr.  Jones,  I  believe.  He  is  a  man 
who  is  very  antagonistic  to  both  the  Bank  of  California 
and  Mr.  Sharon. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Well,  do  you  think,  General,  if  any  one  of 
those  superintendents  favored  the  tunnel  he  would  be  dis- 
charged? if  they  would  come  out  and  advocate  the  tunnel  ? 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  think,  Mr.  Sutro,  that  is  simply  a 
question  of  opinion.  It  has  .no  relevancy  whatever  to  the 
laws  of  investigation. 

Mr.  FOSTER.  I  can  answer  it,  if  you  wish.  I  asked  some 
of  them  if  they  were  hostile  to  the  tunnel,  and  I  was  told 
by  one — I  think  by  more  than  one — that,  as  far  as  they 
were  concerned,  they  were  not  hostile  to  it. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  To  whom  do  you  now  refer? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  I  refer  both  to  Colonel  Requa  and  Captain 
Taylor,  of  the  Yellow  Jacket. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  That  they  are  not  hostile  to  the  tunnel? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  I  understood  them  to  say  distinctly,  that 
they  did  not  put  themselves  in  antagonism  to  the  tunnel 
at  all;  that  they  understood  us  to  come  there  to  seek  in- 
formation, and  to  get  their  opinions  honestly,  and  they 
were  pledged  to  give  them,  just  as  they  did  give  them. 
They  did  not  wish  us  to  consider  them  of  the  party  that 
were  hostile  to  the  tunnel  at  all;  and  Jones  was  the  same 
way.  I  think  Jones  was  a  little  more  favorable,  perhaps, 
than  either  of  the  others.  He  carefully  considered  and 
weighed  the  chances  of  the  tunnel  being  a  benefit  to  the 
country. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Do  you  know  why  Mr.  Jones  did  not  send 
his  statement  to  you  ? 

A.  ~No.  We  expected  an  elaborate  statement  from  him, 
but  we  did  not  get  it. 

Q.  He  had  written  one,  in  fact? 

A.  I  don't  know. 


56 

Q.  He  told  me  so.   "Why  didn't  he  forward  it? 

A.  I  don't  know. 

Q.  It  was  reported  out  there  that  his  chance  for  the 
United  States  Senate  would  be  slim  if  he  did? 

A.  Well,  I  hope  not.    He  is  a  very  clever  gentleman. 

Q.  I  believe  he  is.  We  have  never  differed  at  all  per- 
sonally. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Bear  this  in  mind,  gentlemen,  in_this 
investigation,  that  we  shall  be  a  number  of  evenings  in 
hearing  it,  and  a  still  greater  number  in  reading  it,  and  a 
still  greater  number  in  digesting  it;  and,  if  we  are  to  arrive 
at  conclusions,  I  think  we  want  very  direct  interroga- 
tories. I  know  it  is  an  interesting  subject  to  the  gentle- 
men appearing,  but  I  don't  know  how  the  committee  feel 
about  it. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  General,  I  would  like  to  ask  you,  after  hav- 
ing shown  at  what  rate  ore  can  be  lowered  down  to  the 
tunnel  level  and  delivered  to  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  what 
facilities  would  exist  there  for  getting  water,  first  from  the 
tunnel  itself,  and  secondly  from  the  Carson  river? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  Do  you  mean  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Yes,  sir.  What  facilities  exist  there  for 
procuring  water  for  the  purposes  of  giving  power  for  mill- 
ing ores  ? 

A.  Well,  the  only  facility  for  power — the  cheap  facility — 
is  the  Carson  river  itself,  which  might  be  turned  from  its 
course  and  brought  down  to  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  giv- 
ing a  very  considerable  fall  from  that  point  down  to  the 
river.  I  have  forgotten  the  exact  distance,  but  it  is  given 
here. 

Mr.  SHOBER.  What  is  the  distance  from  the  mouth  of  the 
tunnel  to  the  river,  General? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  The  distance  is  slight,  in  a  direct  line.  It 
runs  very  near  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel.  I  should  think  it 
is  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  down. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Probably  a  little  over  that,  General? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  It  may  be  more  than  that.  It  may  be  a 
half. 


57 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Nearly  a  mile. 

Mr.  FOSTER.  Is  it? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  About  a  mile;  yes,  sir. 

Mr.  FOSTER.  It  is  a  gradual  descending  line  all  the  way. 
About  four  miles  above  the  tunnel  is  a  rocky  gorge,  where 
the  water  might  be  dammed,  so  as  to  retain  all  the  water 
that  comes  down  from  the  snows  in  the  spring,  all  that  falls 
into  the  basin  of  the  Carson.  It  was  supposed  another 
dam  could  be  constructed  farther  back,  and  above  Carson, 
to  aid  this,  and  prevent  a  larger  overflow  of  the  valley;  but 
to  carry  out  these  schemes  involves  the  construction  of  these 
dams,  and  the  construction  of  a  sluice  from  these  dams  to 
the  mouth  of  the  tunnel.  It>also  involves  the  extinguish- 
ment of  the  titles  of  the  mill-owners  to  their  water  privi- 
leges, and  that  is  an  objection  in  the  way.  But  there  is  no 
practical  obstacle  in  the  way  other  than  that  of  the  extin- 
guishment of  the  rights  that  the  mill  owners  have  to  the 
water  power.  In  point  of  engineering,  it  can  be  done. 
There  is  no  doubt  about  that  in  my  mind.  We  did  not 
make  surveys  so  much  as  we  would  have  made  them,  if  this 
thing  had  come  up  prominently  while  we  were  there. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  General,  could  that  power  be  brought  right 
to  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel? 

A.  The  water  power? 

Q.  Yes,  sir;  the  water  power.  Could  those  mills  be 
erected  right  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  And  do  you  see  any  difficulty  of  dumping  the  ore, 
which  I  believe  we  figure  it  costs  twenty-five  cents  per  ton 
to  take  from  the  mine  and  deliver  at  the  mouth  of  the 
tunnel,  directly  into  the  mill? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Well,  according  to  the  present  mode,  even  under  the 
figures  given  by  these  superintendents,  it  costs  fifty-one 
cents  to  hoist  the  ore,  and  $1.50  to  transport  it.  The  ore 
could  be  dropped  right  into  the  mills? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Have  you  any  idea  how  much  it  would  cost  to  mill 


58 

ore  down  there,  with  big  water  power  and  extensive 
works  ? 

A.  No,  sir.  I  could  not  say  how  much  it  might  be 
cheapened. 

Q.  The  Imperial  company  has  given  $4.50.  They  have 
a  water  power.  They  charge  now  how  much  ? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  The  Imperial  company  has  no  water 
power. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  They  used  to  have.  The  Mill  company  have 
got  their  mill  now.  They  used  to  have  a  water  power — 
the  Union  Mill  and  Mining  company  has  it  now.  Then  it 
would  be  great  economy,  would  it,  General 

Mr.  FOSTER.  It  costs  now,  according  to  their  statements, 
$12  a  ton,  including  hauling. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  That  is'  what  they  pay  for  crushing? 

A.  For  milling. 

Q.  That  is  what  they  pay  for  milling  to  these  people 
who  own  those  mills? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Well,  who  own  those  mills? 

A.  Of  course  I  cannot  give  the  names.  They  are  owned 
by  different  parties. 

Q.  Don't  you  think  they  charge  as  much  as  they  can 
get? 

A.  They  charge  all  they  can  get,  of  course. 

Q.  They  get  about  $12  a  ton? 

A.  Twelve  dollars  a  ton  for  milling  and  transporting. 

Q.  Well,  would  you  consider  it  a  great  economy  to  have 
these  mills  constructed  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  and 
have  the  ore  dumped  right  into  the  mills,  without  further 
transportation  ? 

A.  It  would  be  apt  to  cheapen  it  very  much. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  would  close  with  General  Foster  if  Mr. 
Sunderland  would  want  to  proceed,  or  shall  I  keep  on  now? 

Mr.  CHAIRMAN.  I  should  be  glad,  while  I  have  in  my 
mind  the  current  of  the  examination,  to  ask  some  ques- 
tions. General  Foster,  while  listening  to  your  replies,  sev- 
,  eral  questions,  which  I  desire  to  propound,  originated  in 


59 

ray  mind.  One  is  in  regard  to  the  matter  of  ventilation, 
Is  not  ventilation  effected  upon  a  horizontal  plane,  provid- 
ing you  have  two  adits  or  shafts,  with  a  motive  power,  pass- 
ing in  one  way  and  out  another? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  On  a  horizontal  plane?  \ 

Q.  On  a  horizontal  plane;  yes,  sir? 

A.  You  mean  to  sink  two  shafts. 

Q.  Supposing  you  had  two  parallel  shafts,  or  one  shaft 
divided  by  any  partition  whatever,  and  (in  order  to  illus- 
trate) a  train  entering  and  passing  out,  making  a  circuit, 
if  you  please,  through  two  shafts,  or  through  one  divided 
by  a  partition  in  its  center,  would  that  not  create  a  current, 
and  consequent  ventilation? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  any  two  shafts  that  are  close  together,  and 
that  can  be  connected  below,  will  produce  a  current.  It 
will  go  down  one  shaft  and  up  the  other. 

Q.  And  although  they  may  be  upon  a  horizontal  plane, 
the  circulation  is  effected? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  And  after  all  ventilation  is  the  result  of  friction,  just 
as  light  is  ? 

A.  Is  the  result  of  the  motion  of  the  air. 

Q.  Yes,  as  I  say,  the  result  of  friction.  Therefore,  the 
comments  made  in  the  different  reports  relative  to  ventila- 
tion are  not  correct,  so  far  as  they  theorize  that  ventilation 
may  be  effected  mechanically,  as  required?  In  other 
words,  you  can  determine  the  ventilation  to  any  point  in 
this  shaft  by  obeying  a  certain  organic  law  of  nature? 

A.  Yes;  but  here  is  one  thing  to  which  I  wish  to  call 
^our  attention:  If  you  have  two  shafts,  and  connect  them 
below,  that  produces  a  current  of  air  in  the  most  direct 
way,  coming  down  one  and  up  the  other;  but  in  drifting 
off  in  different  directions  to  seek  the  ore,  they  have  no 
currents  of  air  at  the  ends  of  those  drifts,  which  they  call 
headings.  "When  you  get  down  there  twelve,  or  thirteen, 
or  fourteen  hundred  feet,  the  air  gets  to  be  up  to  110°  or 
112°.  At  those  headings  you  have  to  force  air  in  by  tubes, 


so  as  to  blow  on  the  men  at  work  there.  That  has  to  be 
forced  in  by  machinery. 

Q.  You  direct  me  to  another  inquiry,  which  I  propose 
to  make.  Taking  the  example  which  you  have  given,  if 
the  shaft  or  hole  you  might  bore  from  above  into  these 
drifts  were  connected  with  a  pipe,  or  a  series  of  pipes,  in 
these  recesses,  and  terminated  there,  would  there  not  be 
ventilation? 

A.  No,  sir,  not  a  bit.  There  must  be  a  down-cast  and 
an  up-cast  to  produce  the  current  of  air.  It  don't  go  to 
the  headings  at  all.  It  has  to  be  forced  there  by  ma- 
chinery— that  is,  a  regular  blower. 

Q.  I  think,  General,  I  have  not  made  myself  intelligi- 
ble. If  those  pipes  were  connected  and  hermetically  sealed 
with  the  bore,  and  carried  to  a  point  a  variation  from  the 
perpendicular  in  the  most  remote  recesses,  and  there  have 
its  opening,  it  would  be  precisely  as  though  the  opening 
were  just  beneath  the  perpendicular  shaft,  would  it  not? 
In  other  words,  the  curvature  of  the  shaft  would  not  affect 
the  expansion  of  the  air  and  the  draft  you  might  create,  so 
long  as  there  was  no  fault  in  it? 

A.  And  you  think  the  air  would  come  down  this  pipe 

Q.  ~No.  I  am  imagining  an  opening  from  below.  I  am 
contemplating  now  that  you  are  reaching  the  current  of 
air  that  is  introduced  from  this  adit. 

A.  'No.  I  don't  think  it  would.  The  air  don't  suck 
into  the  drifts  at  all.  I  couldn't  say  in  regard  to  that,  be- 
cause I  had  never  tried  the  experiment;  but  I  believe  they 
told  me  invariably  that  they  could  not  get  any  air  with 
any  of  the  connections  they  had  made  at  the  headings. 
They  have  winzes,  connecting  shafts,  and  everything  of 
that  kind.  They  have  never  been  able  to  get  the  air  out 
to  the  headings  except  by  blowing. 

Q.  That  is  very  true,  because  both  their  shafts  are  pre- 
cisely the  same  thing.  But  supposing  you  had  a  hori- 
zontal adit,  reaching  to  a  given  point,  that  was,  say,  200 
feet  remote,  or  500  feet  from  the  perpendicular  air-vent, 


61 

and  connected  by  a  tube  or  pipes,  would  not  that  effect  a 
perfect  ventilation  in  the  recess,  a  tunnel  in  or  not? 

A.  Yes.  The  circumstances  would  not  change  with  the 
tunnel.  The  draught  is  down  and  upward. 

Q.  It  would  accomplish  precisely  the  same  result,  would 
it  not? 

A.  I  could  not  say  with  regard  to  that.  We  went  into 
two  tunnels,  where  we  went  in  below  and  it  was  connected 
above.  When  we  are  in  the  direct  line  of  a  drift  the 
draught  is  so  strong  that  it  will  blow  our  candles  out,  but 
when  we  come  to  go  into  drifts,  off  from  the  main  line  of 
those  draughts,  we  find  it  excessively  hot  and  not  a  breath 
air — stifling,  absolutely — a  little  ways  off  from  the  line  of 
draught;  I  do  not  think  in  some  cases  it  was  twenty  feet 
off'  where  we  went,  and  there  was  not  a  breath  of  air,  not 
a  motion  of  wind — absolutely  stifling  with  heat  and  want 
of  motion.  And  I  was  told  it  was  invariably  the  case,  that 
the  air  sought  the  shortest  and  most  direct  channel,  and 
that  it  did  not  effect  a  motion  of  the  air  in  the  confined 
spaces  off  to  the  right  or  left,  spaces  which  are  five  feet 
wide  and  six  or  seven  feet  high; .  and  in  all  mines  they  have 
blowers  driven  by  machinery,  which  cost  ten  or  twelve 
dollars  a  day,  in  addition  to  all  their  connections,  just  to 
carry  air  to  the  headings  where  the  men  work. 

Q.  Another  point  in  connection  with  the  matter  of  ven- 
tilation :  Would  not  the  precipitation  of  water  down  this 
drain  from  the  upper  water  levels,  if  carried  by  pipes  into 
the  recesses  and  out,  lower  the  temperature  and  add  moist- 
ure to  the  air  ? 

A.  Water  tanks  to  aid  a  current  of  air?  It  certainly 
would  have  a  decided  effect. 

Q.  We  will  imagine  now  that  we  have  a  tube  connected 
with  the  bore.  The  water  of  the  upper  level  is  precipitat- 
ed down  this  bore  of  drainage,  and  it  is  carried  perpen- 
dicularly and  horizontally  and  on  an  incline,  as  the  drifts 
may  require,  and  when  it  reaches  a  certain  point  it  is  al- 
lowed an  opening:  Would  not  the  precipitation  of  the 


62 

water  in  there  completely  drain  the  mine  and  produce  the 
same  effect  that  a  blower  produces  ? 

A.  Where  it  completely  fills  the  tube,  it  wouldn't. 

Q.  Wouldn't  it  create  a  large  current  of  air  ? 

A.  Not  unless  you  have  an  arrangement  called  a  water- 
blast. 

Q.  Would  not  that  be  practicable  ? 

A.  I  believe  they  tried  it  upon  the  mines  and  didn't  find 
it  succeed;  they  didn't  find  it  economical.  And  I  think 
that  this  blower  which  they  get  made  in  San  Francisco, 
and  almost  all  the  mines  gel  those  blowers,  is  the  most 
economical  and  the  most  effective.  Of  course  it  is  matter 
of  experience. 

Q.  My  mind  is  not  clear  on  that  subject. 

A.  I  don't  think  it  would  work  quite  as  well  as  you 
think. 

Q.  General,  what  enters  into  the  computation  of  the 
cost  of  reducing  the  low-grade  ores?  What  enters  into 
the  sum  total? 

A.  First,  there  is  transportation  to  the  mill,  which  aver- 
ages all  the  way  from  zero  to  two  or  three  or  four  dollars. 
It  will  average  about  $1  50.  Then  there  is  the  handling 
and  throwing  it  into  the  stampers,  and  the  general  course 
of  the  milling.  The  ore  goes  through  the  stampers  and 
the  settlers,  and  then  it  is  united  with  quicksilver,  and 
then  it  is  removed  from  the  settlers  and  squeezed,  and  then 
it  is  refined,  to  drive  off'  the  quicksilver,  which  is  afterwards 
saved.  Then  they  get  their  ingot,  which  they  send  to  the 
mint  or  sell.  That  is  all  the  milling  process.  The  ore 
runs  from  one  machine  to  the  other,  and  goes' through  this 
whole  process  in  the  same  mill,  which  requires  water,  and 
water  is  a  considerable  item  of  expense  out  there,  on  ac- 
count of  its  scarcity.  They  have  to  pay  pretty  high  for  it — 
water  for  the  milling  and  water  for  the  boilers  of  the 
engines,  in  case  you  use  steam. 

Q.  They  have  to  pay  a  royalty  for  the  water? 

A.  O,  yes,  sir;  they  pay  very  high  for  water;  they  pay 
•  so  much  an  inch. 


63 

Mr.  SUTRO.  How  much  do  they  pay  for  water? 

A.  I  don't  know,  sir.  The  Crown  Point some  of  the 

mines  sell  the  water  that  they  pump  out  for  $500  a  month. 
It  is  used  in  the  boilers  of  other  companies  and  in  the 
mills  too. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Then  the  cost  of  milling  and  the  cost 
of  water  make  up  the  chief  expense? 

A.  With  the  wear  and  tear  of  machinery — yes,  sir. 

Q.  And  therefore  it  prevents  ores  of  a  lower  grade  than 
those  which  yield  $20  a  ton  being  made  profitable? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  What  proportion  do  the  low-grade  ores  bear  to  the 
richer  ones  in  the  excavations  which  you  have  examined? 

A.  I  could  not  give  the  exact  figures  without  some 
thought,  but  the  quantity  is  very  small,  compared  with  the 
quantity  of  refuse  rock — very  small. 

Q.  That  is  in  ores  which  would  range  from  what  ? 

A.  From  $20  up.  There  are  millions  of  tons  of  low- 
grade  ores  in  there  now,  which  could  be  taken  out  and 
worked  with  advantage,  if  they  could  work  them  cheaper. 

Q.  Then  the  chief  value  of  the  greater  portion  of  the 
mineral  wealth  is  not  now  utilized? 

A.  Yes,  sir,  I  should  say  so. 

Q.  That  is,  the  larger  proportion  of  low-grade  ores  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Is  it  possible  for  any  human  mind  to  contemplate  the 
extent  of  that  wealth? 

A.  No,  sir;  it  is  not. 

Q.  Even  from  the  explorations  already  made  ? 

A.  There  is  an  immense  fissure-vein  extending  for  miles, 
varying  in  width  from  22  or  23  feet\ip  to  500,  and  extend- 
ing down  to  unknown  depths.  It  may  extend  for  miles  in 
either  direction  from  where  it  has  been  explored. 

Q.  From  where  it  crops  out  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  there  may  be  parallel  veins  which  may 
prove  very  rich.  The  workings  thus  far  have  only  extended 
down  to  about  1,500  feet. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  It  is  more  than  that.     When  you  say 


64 

1,500  feet,  do  you  measure  from  the  Gould  aud  Curry  crop- 
pings  down? 

A.  From  the  top  of  the  shaft.  They  are  deeper  than 
that  in  the  Gould  and  Curry.  They  can  work  down  as  far 
as  4,000  feet;  that  is,  it  is  supposed  that  they  can,  with  the 
increase  in  temperature,  as  you  go  down,  of  about  1°  in  55 
feet.  That,  however,  becomes  a  little  less  as  you  go  very 
far  down,  one  degree  in  51  or  53.  When  you  get  to  4,000 
feet  it  will  become  too  hot  to  work;  so  they  estimate  that 
they  can  go  down  4,000  feet.  At  that  depth  you  get  un- 
known values  of  ore. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  They  have  not  penetrated  the  earth  to 
the  depth  of  4,000  feet  in  the  Comstock  lode? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Therefore,  it  is  merely  by  comparison  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q,  Then  it  is  your  opinion  that  the  richness  of  the  lode 
may  continue  and  perhaps  increase  at  the  greater  depth  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Resulting  from  a  dynamical  disturbance;  and  the 
lode  becoming  more  fixed  and  compact  as  you  descend,  and 
less  liable  to  any  solution,  or  action  by  the  acids  upon  the 
surface,  or  the  water,  of  course  it  would  have  greater 
solidity,  would  it  not? 

A.  Well,  there^  are  a  great  many  different  views  about 
that,  whether  this  ore  has  been  deposited  by  chemical 
agency,  or  by  being  thrust  up,  violently  ejected,  from 
below,  or  sublimated.  You  cannot  tell  exactly  how  that 
is.  We  only  know  that  it  is  there.  We  only  know  that 
three  of  the  richest  bonanzas  have  been  discovered  very 
low  down ;  one  while  we  were  there,  one  afterwards,  and 
one  now.  Crown  Point  was  discovered,  which  they  esti- 
mate to  be  worth  $15,000,000,  the  rich  body  which  they 
call  bonanza.  The  Belcher  has  since  discovered  the  same 
body  running  into  their  mine,  which,  I  believe,  they  esti- 
mate worth  about  as  much.  And  now  the  Savage,  which 
at  that  time  was  working  under  difficulties,  and  was  sup- 
posed to  contain  no  ore,  have  discovered  a  rich  body,  so 


65 

that  all  the  indications  point  to  the  opinion  which  I  enter- 
tain. 

Q.  Then,  in  a  geological  point  of  view,  as  a  question  of 
national  importance,  to  determine  the  richness  of  the  mines? 
and  to  pursue  a  systematic  method  by  which  that^can  be 
attained,  and  cut  oft' those  experiments  that  are  making  in 
a  fugitive  manner,  owing  to  limited  capital,  lack  of  experi- 
ence, organizations  fraught  with  jealousies,  and  perhaps  a 
lack  of  skilled  labor,  would  it  not  be  of  very  great  advan- 
tage to  the  country  and  to  the  world,  as  a  scientific  ques- 
tion, to  determine  the  richness  of  those  lodes  at  a  great 
depth  at  the  national  expense? 

A.  Well,  our  opinion  was  unanimous  that  the  value  of 
this  work  as  a  prospecting  work  was  beyond  question,  as 
far  as  we  were  concerned.  Whether  it  is  of  sufficient 
national  importance  to  justify  its  being  carried  on  for  that 
purpose  alone  we  did  not  pretend  to  judge. 

Q.  As,  a  national  question,  a  geological  stand-point,  to 
determine  the  wealth  of  the  country  in  that  mineral  de- 
posit, whether  it  wouldn't  justify  a  very  large  expendi- 
ture on  the  part  of  the  Government  ? 

A.  I  think  it  would  in  a  certain  way,  in  the  best  way ; 
but  what  that  best  way  is,  perhaps,  would  be  the  source  of 
a  great  deal  of  controversy.  I  think  the  interests  out  there 
could  be  very  well  protected  and  furthered  by  the  General 
Government,  as  it  is  the  national  interest.  Whether  this 
work,  as  a  prospecting  work,  could  be  carried  on  at  the 
expense  to  be  involved,  is  a  very  serious  question.  There 
are  some  things  that  the  Government  could  do,  and  could 
do  well  properly:  as,  for  instance,  the  establishment  of 
large  reduction  works  for  the  reducing  of  ores  at  a  cheap 
rate,  so  that  the  different  mines  all  along  the  national  transit 
can  send  their  ores  to  them,  instead  of  having  to  send  them 
to  England  to  be  reduced.  They  send  now  from  Utah  to 
Swansea.  !N"ow,  if  the  Government  could  construct  gov- 
ernment works  to  enable  the  miners  to  have  ores  reduced 
as  cheaply  as  they  can  abroad,  (might  not  be  as  cheap,  be- 
cause labor  would  be  higher,  but  cheaper  than  now) 

5 


66 

Q.  Well,  they  would  have  transportation  in  their  favor? 

A.  Yes,  that  would  advance  the  national  interest  of 
mining  very  much. 

Q.  Isn't  water  the  cheapest  power? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Used  in  connection  with  this  reduction? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Is  there  not  in  the  volume  of  the  Carson  river,  with 
the  artificial  improvements  suggested  by  you  in  your  for- 
mer remarks,,  sufficient  to  justify  the  establishment  of 
works  there  upon  a  large  scale,  that  might  economically 
effect  the  reduction  of  those  low-grade  ores  ? 

A.  I  think  there  is  water  enough  there  to  reduce  the  ores 
of  the  Comstock.  I  wouldn't  undertake  to  say  that  there 
would  be  enough  there  to  run  a  large  establishment  for  a 
national  work,  although  one  might  be  established  there, 
and,  if  necessary,  branches  might  be  established  upon 
other  streams  where  there  was  sufficient  power,  and  still 
be  on  the  line  of  the  railroad.  This  one  might  be  made 
the  parent  and  the  others  might  be  made  the  branches. 
But  there  is  water  enough  on  the  line  of  the  railroads  to 
answer  all  the  purposes. 

Q.  Well,  now,  General,  supposing  it  were  possible, 
through  economical  arrangements  and  appliances,  for  the 
reduction  of  the  low-grade  ores,  to  work  both  the  low- 
grade  ores  and  high-grade  ores,  would  it  be  possible,  with 
the  present  conveniences  of  those  shafts,  to  elevate  both 
those  ores  at  the  same  time  economically?  In  other  words, 
if  they  removed  both  the  low-grade  and  high-grade  ores 
with  their  present  means  of  access  to  the  drifts? 

A.  It  would  cost  nearly  as  much  to  get  out  the  low- 
grade  ores  as  it  would  the  high-grade  ores. 

Q.  Then,  might  there  not  be  an  economy  in  removing 
those  by  a  cheaper  mode  of  exit,  even  supposing  it  profit- 
able to  raise  the  high-grade  ores  by  the  present  method, 
even  with  the  supposition  that  they  might  raise  the  high- 
grade  ores  by  the  present  means,  presuming  they  have  the 
works  established,  and  all  the  appliances  and  facilities  for 


67 

* 

their  reduction,  but  without  the  ability  to  reduce  the  low- 
grade  ores? 

A.  Well,  I  hardly  know  how  to  reply.  The  great  mass 
of  the  low-grade  ores  is  near  the  surface,  comparatively 
speaking.  They  can  get  them  out  a  little  cheaper  than 
they  can  those  lower  down  in  these  richer  deposits.  It 
would  cost  just  about  as  much,  though,  to  get  them  out — $8  a 
ton — at  the  present  prices.  Whether  that  can  be  cheapened 
or  not,  I  wouldn't  undertake  to  say.  The  price  of  labor  is 
kept  up,  as  you  know,  by  miners'  unions,  to  four  dollars  a 
day  in  gold,  and  probably  would  not  be  reduced,  and  any 
effort  to  reduce  it  would  meet  with  sturdy  opposition. 
The  only  reduction  in  cost  can  be  made  by  different  modes 
of  getting  the  ore  out,  and  different  machinery.  I  do  not 
see  the  way  clear  for  much  reduction  there. 

Q.  In  putting  my  question,  General,  I  had  that  in  view. 
I  took  the  basis  of  your  calculation  as  to  the  means  of  re- 
moving the  ore  from  the  mines  through  this  adit  and  the 
mouth  of  the  tunnel.  I  had  also  in  view  your  opinion  as 
to  the  facility  with  which  it  could  be  reduced  by  water- 
power,  and  the  economy  with  which  it  could  be  reduced. 
It  appeared  to  me  there  was  a  very  large  reduction. 

A.  I  think  there  could  be  a  very  large  reduction  made 
in  reducing  the  ores. 

Q.  In  the  mechanical  process? 

A.  After  they  are  mined  and  got  out.  But  I  do  not  see, 
candidly,  that  the  tunnel  will  much  cheapen  the  getting  of 
the  ores  out;  that  is  to  say,  I  think  it  will  cost  just  about 
as  much,  and  perhaps  a  trifle  more,  to  run  them  out  to  the 
mouth  of  the  tunnel  by  the  method  proposed;  just  as  much, 
if  not  a  little  more,  than  to  hoist  up  to  the  surface  by  the 
present  machinery.  Then  you  have  got  the  comparison 
to  be  made,  that  from  your  shafts  you  have  got  to  carry 
the  ores  to  the  mills,  but  you  must  recollect  that  that  is 
down  hill.  In  the  other  case  you  have  got  to  pay  a  royalty, 
which  just  about  onsets  the  advantage.  As  far  as  the 
mine-owners  are  concerned,  they  have  got  to  pay  so  much 
money;  then,  unless  you  can  very  much  cheapen  the  re- 


68 

» 

duction  of  the  ore  and  the  getting  it  to  the  mill,  you  would 
have  no  profit  whatever.  You  must  do  that  largely  or 
make  no  money.  We  were  not  able  to  report  upon  that, 
because  we  could  not  find  the  proper  reduction  machinery 
suitable  to  the  locality. 

Q.  Supposing  that  no  other  result  was  attained  in  the 
penetration  of  the  mountain,  the  investigation  of  the  lode 
in  a  geological  point  of  view,  than  to  determine  the  rich- 
ness of  the  ore  at  that  depth,  and  afford  facilities  for  getting 
S(t  a  greater  depth,  equal  perhaps  to  5,000  feet,  would  that 
not  justify  an  expenditure  on  the  part  of  the  Government  of 
an  amount  equal  to  that  that  would  be  required  to  con- 
struct this  tunnel,  having  in  view  the  immense  mineral 
wealth  supposed  to  exist  ill  that  region? 

A.  I  could  hardly  answer  that.  That  is  a  thing  that  I 
think  you  will  have  to  judge  of.  I  could  hardly  say  that. 
I  haven't  the  slightest  doubt  that  it  would  be  of  very  great 
value  as  an  exploring  work,  and  on  all  those  points  you 
refer  to.  This  tunnel  will  strike  all  the  different  lodes  in 
succession  as  they  go  out,  and  the  drifting  off  will  be  easy, 
the.  prospecting  will  be  easy.  It  will  be  of  great  value,  but 
with  me  the  estimation  that  must  be  put  upon  it  is  a  diffi- 
cult one  to  make.  I  could  hardly  attempt  to  do  it;  and  as 
for  going  down  below  the  tunnel  level,  when  the  tunnel 
shall  have  been  completed,  the  going  below  that  level  will 
cost  just  as  much,  in  my  opinion,  with  our  means  of  get- 
ting ore  out,  as  the  other;  that  is  to  say,  in  either  case  you 
have  got  to  establish,  on  that  basis,  a  new  hoisting  arrange- 
ment, and  the  going  down  below,  in  either  case,  will  be  by 
new  hoisting  apparatus,  extending  all  about  that  level.  If 
the  tunnel  is  there,  all  the  engines  will  be  placed  on  that 
level  of  course.  If  the  tunnel  is  not  there,  a  good  many  of 
the  mines  will  go  down  a  thousand  feet  farther  before  they 
establish  their  new  hoisting  station.  Some  of  them  intend 
to  go  2,500  feet,  and  some  3,000  feet — the  most  of  them 
2,500  feet.  But  if  the  tunnel  is  to  go  on,  they  will  all  have 
to  establish  their  new  basis  on  the  level  of  the  tunnel,  which 


09 

will  be  two  or  three  hundred  feet  farther  than  the  deepest 
mines  they  have  got  down  now. 

Q.  But,  of  course,  every  additional  hundred  feet  involves 
a  loss  of  time  and  increased  wear  and  tear  of  the  machinery. 
It  would  double  the  loss  of  time,  of  course,  in  going  2,000 
feet  farther,  and  increase  the  expense  of  ventilation? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  As  well  as  increase  the  expense  of  raising  the  mate- 
rial ? 

A.  Well,  I  think,  going  from  the  tunnel  level  down, 
every  item  will  about  offset  the  one  case  with  the  other. 
If  you  hoist  up  to  the  tunnel  level,  you  deliver  it  into  the 
cars;  in  the  other  case  you  deliver  it  into  a  dump.  Which 
is  cheaper,  to  send  it  up  the  shaft  or  send  it  out  the  tun- 
nel? The  ventilation  below  will  have  to  be  forced;  you 
will  have  to  force  the  air  down  from  that  point  just  the 
same  as  though  you  were  working  from  a  new  surface. 
The  hoisting  up  will  be  just  the  same;  the  pumping  will 
be  just  the  same;  everything  will  be  precisely  the  same. 
The  comparison  can  only  be  made,  then,  for  the  ore  which 
is  above  the  tunnel  level;  there  is  where  the  economy  is 
to  be  obtained,  if  anywhere.  I  think,  in  going  below,  the 
expense  in  either  case  would  be  about  the  same.  The 
difference  in  pumping  would  be  merely  to  raise  the  water 
from  the  tunnel  level  up;  in  case  of  the  tunnel,  to  dis- 
charge it  out  through  the  tunnel. 

Q.  You  are  impressed,  from  the  statements  made  to  you 
by  the  experienced  miners  and  practical  operators,  that  it 
is  a  true  fissure  vein,  and  that  it  is  possible  to  continue  to 
great  depths? 

A.  Well,  a  good  many  of  these  mining  superintendents 
had  very  little  fixed  opinion  about  the  matter.  They  didn't 
reason  about  it  much.  When  they  came  to  an  ore  bon- 
anza, they  knew  it  was  a  true  fissure  down  as  far  as  that. 
They  didn't  speculate  upon  it  much.  I  do  not  think  they 
have  the  highest  estimation  of  scientific  men  as  a  general 
thing,  because  they  have  been  deceived  out  there,  and  they 
have  had  scientific  men  testifying  before  courts  in  direct 


70 

opposition  to  each  other,  and  all  that  sort  of  thing.  They 
are  rather  practical  in  their  ideas.  Some  believe  that  it  is 
a  true  fissure  vein,  and  others  do  not.  I  do  not  think  they 
have  very  fixed  opinions  upon  it  one  way  or  the  other, 
and  we  made  up  our  opinion  from  what  we  saw  and  what 
we  could  see,  and  from  what  we  could  get  from  them,  look- 
ing^at  the  whole  subject  in  its  broadest  bearings,  with  all 
the  light  before  us;  and  we  one  and  all  thought  the  same 
way  precisely. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  There  are  two  or  three  questions  I 
would  like  to  ask,  in  order  to  remove  some  impressions 
tbat  may  have  been  made  here. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  If  I  ask  two  or  three  questions  more,  how 
much  time  do  you  think  you  will  require  ? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  If  it  is  desirable  for  the  committee 
to  adjourn  now,  and  wait  until  the  next  meeting,  I  am  wil- 
ling. I  think  the  chairman  seems  to  be  under  some  erro- 
neous impressions  about  the  manner  of  working  the  mines. 
That  is  all  I  want  to  show  just  now.  Or,  I  can  do  it  at 
another  time. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  want  to  ask  you,  General  Foster,  whether 
you  know  how  much  timber  there  is  consumed  in  the 
Comstock  lode  in  a  year? 

Mr.  FOSTER.     No,  sir;  except  by  the  reports. 

Q.  I  find  a  statement  here,  in  1867,  in  J.  Koss  Browne's 
Report,  who  was  commissioner  on  mineral  statistics  then, 
that  they  consumed  17,910,000  feet  per  annum ;  and  it  has 
been  stated  in  other  places  at  16,000,000  feet,  which  would 
be  a  pretty  safe  figure  to  take. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  The  consumption  of  timber  depends 
upon  the  ore — bodies  found.  In  some  cases  there  is  very 
little  timber;  in  large  bodies  they  use  whole  forests. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  That  is  the  general  estimate;  but  taking 
that  16,000,000  of  feet,  which  would  make  in  ten  years 
160,000,000,  and  at  $22  a  thousand  it  would  be  $354,000  a 
year  spent  for  timbers  that  go  down  in  the  mines.  That 
would  be  in  ten  years  $3,400,000,  that  they  have  expended 
for  timbers  that  are  now  in  the  mines.  How  long  do  these 


71 

timbers  last,  with  poor  ventilation  ?  Do  you  know,  Gen- 
eral? 

Mr.  FOOTER.  No,  sir,  I  do  not. 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  there  is, a  difference  between 
having  good  ventilation  and  poor  ventilation  as  to  the  du- 
rability of  timbers? 

A.  Oh,  yes;  there  is  a  very  great  difference. 

Q.  What  do  you  think  is  the  difference,  supposing  the 
poor  ventilation  timbers  last  two  years?  With  thoroughly 
good  ventilation,  how  long  do  you  think  they  might  last? 

A.  They  ought  to  last  thirty. 

Q.  And  supposing  those  mines  in  the  Comstock  lode 
were  thoroughly  ventilated,  would  it  be  an  immense  sav- 
ing in  replacing  these  rotten  timbers? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Supposing^we  take  three  years'  timbers,  leaving  out 
what  was  put  in  previous  to  that.  Three  years'  timbers 
would  amount  to  a  million  of  dollars? 

A.  Yes,  sir.  . 

Q.  And  supposing,  instead  of  lasting  two  years,  they 
could  be  made  to  last  three  or  four  times  as  long — anyhow 
it  would  be  a  saving  of  some  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
dollars  a  year,  would  it  not? 

A.  It  would,  upon  your  supposition;  yes. 

Q.  Yes;  upon  the  supposition  that  you  ventilate  the 
mines  thoroughly.  It  is  said  here  there  are  3,000  miners 
there:  I  don't  know  whether  that  is  correct  or  not.  But 
supposing  there  are  3,000  miners  there,  employed  at  the 
rate  of  §4  each  a  day,  that  is  $12,000  a  day  in  wages? 

A.  Yes.     There  are  not  as  many  miners  as  that. 

Q.  I  don't  suppose  there  are. 

A.  There  are  not  over  2,000  of  them. 

Q.  Probably  not  over  2,000.  But  they  have  all  been 
figuring  upon  3,000,  and  I  take  that  as  the  basis  of  my  cal- 
culations. I  find  rt  stated  here  that  it  costs  from  four  to 
five  times  as  much  to  make  drifts  with  the  thermometer  as 
high  as  110°  as  it  would  with  an  ordinary  atmosphere,  say 
of  75°  or  80°.  According  to  that,  a  man  only  does  about 


72 

from  20  to  25  per  cent,  of  the  work  he  could  do  in  a  cool 
atmosphere? 

A.  It  would  appear  so  from  that.  , 

Q.  Taking  all  the  mines  together,  the  drifts,  etc.,  right 
through,  what  do  you  think  would  be  the  average  increase 
in  the  capacity  of  the  men  for  doing  their  work  if  the  ven- 
tilation were  perfect  ? 

A.  As  compared  with  a  temperature  of  110°? 

Q.  No,  sir;  not  with  a  temperature  of  110°,  but  as  it 
exists  now,  which  is  stated  to  be  from  90°  to  110°  ? 

A.  Between  the  present  condition  and  perfect  ventila- 
tion ? 

Q.  Or,  to  put  my  question  more  clearly,  supposing  the 
thermometer  were  reduced  to  75°  instead  of  being  from 
90°  to  110°  as  it  is  now,  how  much  percentage  additional 
would  you  get  in  labor  out  of  the  men?  Give  us  your 
opinion — a  general  idea? 

A.  Well,  it  would  be  merely  a  guess. 

Q.  Should  you  think  they  would  do  two-thirds  as  much 
work  at  this  high  temperature  as  they  would  with  a  low 
one? 

A.  I  don't  think  they  would  do  half  as  much. 

Q.  You  don't  think  they  would  do  half? 

A.  No. 

Q.  "Well,  suppose  it  is  50  per  cent. 

A.  But  I  don't  think  it  is  possible  to  get  perfect  ventila- 
tion in  the  mines  at  all. 

Q.  But  suppose  they  are  pretty  thoroughly  ventilated. 
Suppose,  for  instance,  there  were  25  or  30  shafts  down  the 
Comstock  lode,  and  all  connected,  don't  you  think  the 
heat  would  be  very  much  reduced? 

A.  I  do  not  see  how  it  could  be.  There  is  a  certain  law 
governing  the  heat,  as  you  go  down  into  the  earth. 

Q.  Yes.  But  would  not  a  current  of  air  -going  con- 
stantly through  25  or  30  shafts  gradually  reduce  the  atmos- 
phere to  an  ordinary  temperature? 

A.  No,  sir;  it  would  not  be  possible.  The  heat  would 
be  higher  down  in  the  earth  than  it  is  on  the  surface. 


73 

Q.  Supposing,  however,  that  these  drifts  were  open,  and 
would  remain  open,  and  .were  ventilated  as  thoroughly  as 
I  stated,  wouldn't  the.  temperature  gradually  become  re- 
duced above  the  tunnel  level,  supposing  each  one  of  these 
25  or  30  shafts  to  be  connected  with  the  tunnel? 

A.  It  would  not  be. 

Q.  But  that  is  the  experience  in  other  mines? 

A.  Take  two  shafts,  going  down  side  by  side,  and  the 
up-cast  air  in  one  comes  up  as  hot  as  steam. 

Q.  Yes,  it  does  now.  But  supposing  the  connections 
made  between  all  the  different  mines,  and  remaining  open 
some  time,  say  a  whole  year,  with  perfect  currents,  of  air 
going  through?  , 

A.  I  don't  think  you  could  ever  get  over  the  effect  of 
the  heat. 

Q.  You  don't  think  the  heat  would  be  reduced  at  all? 

A.  Unless  you  upset  the  law  of  nature,  in  regard  to  the 
increase  of  the  heat  as  you  go  towards  the  center  of  the 
earth. 

Q.  I  am  not  speaking  of  getting  below  the  tunnel  level. 
I  mean  if  you  connect  these  shafts  above  the  tunnel  with 
the  tunnel,  and  leave  them  open,  with  perfect  currents  of 
air  passing  through  them  all  the  time,  do  you  think  the 
temperature  would  be  reduced. 

A.  It  might  be  reduced. 

Q.  That  is  exactly  what  I  wanted  to  get  at. 

A.  I  understood  you  to  want  me  to  admit  that  it  would 
be  reduced  to  that  on  the  surface. 

Q.  No,  sir.  If  the  temperature  were  110°,  as  it  stands 
now,  and  currents  of  air  were  going  up  one  shaft  and 
down  another,  and  through  the  tunnel  and  out  the  shafts, 
do  you  think  that  that  temperature  of  110°  would  be  re- 
duced to  some  extent? 

A.  It  would  be,  to  some  extent. 

Q.  Well,  to  what  extent,  do  you  think? 

A.  That  is  impossible  for  me  to  say. 

Q.  "What  is  your  idea  of  it,  after  twelve  months  of  this 
perfect  connection? 


74 

A.  Well,  I  am  a  Yankee,  but  I  am  not  very  good  at 
guessing. 

Q.  Have  you  any  opinion  about  it  at  all;  do  you  think 
it  would  go  down  to  80°  from  110°? 

A.  It  is  no  use  for  me  to  hazard  a  conjecture. 

Q.  Let  us  suppose,  without  your  answering  the  ques- 
tion, that  it  would  go  down  to  80°,  and  the  capacity  of  the 
men  would  be  increased  25  per  cent,  do  you  think  that  is 
within  the  scope  of  possibility? 

A.  Oh,  yes;  certainly. 

Q.  "Well,  then,  that  would  give  an  additional  capacity 
of  men  of  $3,000  a  day.  Three  thousand  miners,  at  $4 
each  a  day,  is  $12,000  a  day,  and  if  we  get  25  per  cent, 
additional  labor,  we  get  $3,000  a  day.  You  get  now  but 
75  per  cent,  of  the  labor  capacity;  with  this  ventilation 
perfect  you  would  save  25  per  cent.,  or  $3,000  a  day. 
That's  an  enormous  item — a  very  large  item.  That  is  all 
I  wanted  to  call  your  attention  to. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  General,  I  would  like  to  ask  you  a 
single  question,  and  I  won't  ask  but  one.  At  the  present 
rate  of  sinking  the  shafts  upon  the  Comstock,  keeping  in 
view  the  difference  between  the  level  of  the  top  of  the  shafts 
and  the  Gould  and  Curry  croppings,  from  which  point 
down  to  the  tunnel  it  measures  so  man}^  feet,  won't  all  the 
principal  shafts  be  below  the  level  of  the  tunnel  before  the 
tunnel  can  be  constructed? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  That  is  all  I  will  ask  now. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  May  I  be  permitted  to  ask  another  question? 
Won't  a  tunnel  open  a  new  basis  of  operations  at  a  depth 
of  2,000  feet? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Is  there  anything  known  about  the  Comstock  lode 
below  that  depth  of  2,000  feet?  Has  any  body  ever  seen 
anything  below  it? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Is  it  not  a  virgin  vein?  -Nobody  has  ever  known 
anything  about  it  below  there. 


75 

Mr.  SuNDEfcLAND.  Well,  everybody  knows  that. 

Mr.  FOSTER.  I  don't  know  about  its  being  a  virgin  vein. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Well,  it  would  open  a  new  basis  of  opera- 
tions at  2,000  feet  ? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  simply  wish  to  sho%  Mr.  Chair- 
man, that  this  speculation  of  drainage  and  ventilation 
above  the  level  of  the  tunnel  is  wholly  unnecessary,  because, 
before  the  tunnel  can  get  to  these  shafts,  they  will  all  be 
down,  and  the  mines  all  worked  out  below  the  level  of  the 
tunnel. 


HEARING  ON  TUESDAY  EVENING,  FEB.  20. 

Mr  SUNDERLAND.  Mr.  Sutro,  I  believe  you  are  through 
with  Gen.  Foster,  are  you  not? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  would  say  that  I  would 
like  to  ask  a  few  more  questions  of  Gen.  Foster  when  Mr. 
Sunderland  shall  have  finished.  There  are  some  points 
that  I  skipped  over.  I  will  reserve  my  questions. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  If  any  questions  have  been  omitted 
I  would  prefer  having  them  asked  now,  so  as  to  make 
mine  a  cross-examination. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  suppose,  Mr.  Sutro,  you  had  better 
go  on. 

Mr.  KENDALL.  I  suppose  Mr.  Sutro  has  got  a  right  to 
make  a  re-cross-examination  ? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  No,  sir;  I  think  not.  If  he  has 
omitted  any  questions,  let  him  ask  them  now,  with  refer- 
ence to  those  points  which  he  forgot. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Very  well.  I  find  here,  Gen.  Foster,  in 
the  statement  made  by  Mr.  Graves,  the  superintendent  of 
the  Imperial  mine,  in  answer  to  question  number  7,  on 
page  43,  he  says: 

"  The  cost  of  raising  the  water  for  the  past  year  is  difficult  to  get  at.  Not 
having  any  pumps,  it  was  raised  to  the  surface  with  a  tank,  which  we  run 
only  when  absolutely  necessary." 

When  you  were  over  there,  General  Foster,  did  you 
visit  the  Imperial  mine? 

Mr.  FOSTER.     Yes. 

Q.  Did  you  see  them  hoist  water  there  ? 

A.  I  did  not. 

Q.  Did  you  see  them  raise  water  in  a  tank  anywhere? 

A.  £To;  they  were  not  raising  water  when  I  was  there. 

Q.  Do  you  know  that  there  is  any  difference  between 
the  raising  of  water  by  a  tank  and  by  a  pump? 

A.  I  should  think  it  was  a  slower  process. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.     I  did  not  understand  the  answer. 

Mr.  FOSTER.  It  is  a  slower  process.  They  lower  a  tank, 

76 


77 

jast  as  you  would  lower  a  bucket  into  the  well,  and  then 
raise  it  up  by  means  of  machinery,  the  same  as  you  would 
raise  a_bucket  out  of  a  well. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  If  you  have  a  given  quantity  of  water  to 
raise  out  of  a  mine,  you  have  to  exert  a  certain  force. 
Does  it  make  any  material  difference  whether  you  pump 
it  by  a  pump  or  hoist  it  out  by  a  tank? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  Well,  of  course  it  makes  a  material  dif- 
ference. One  process  is  much  slower  than  the  other,  and 
requires  a  greater- expenditure  of  power. 

Q.  How  much  do  you  think  is  the  difference  in  power? 

A.  Just  one-half. 

Q.  One-half? 

A.  I  believe  that's  it.  In  pumping,  the  pump-rod  is 
made  to  act  as  an  aid  in  forcing  the  water  up.  The  whole 
weight  of  the  pump-rod  is  exerted  to  force  the  water  up- 
ward; and  then  to  move  the  rod  in  the  opposite  direction 
they  have  a  balance-bob;  so  that  the  total  expenditure  of 
power  is  much  less  than  would  be  required  if  the  water 
were  raised  directly  by  the  power  that  is  applied. 

Q.  How  much  friction  is  there  in  the  pipes — say,  for 
instance,  if  you  raise  water  a  thousand  feet.  There  is 
a  certain  friction  takes  place  of  the  water  against  the  sides 
of  the  pipe;  do  you  know  how  much  that  amounts  to  in 
pumping? 

A.  I  haven't  my  books  of  reference,  and  I  do  not  recol- 
lect. 

Q.  In  hoisting  water  in  tanks  there  is  no  friction.  You 
simply  hoist.  There  is  no  such  friction  as  I  have  described 
in  the  pipes.  There  is  no^friction  as  in  the  pipes  ? 

A.  jSTo  friction  as  in  pipes. 

Q.  Wouldn't  that  nearly  counterbalance  the  difference 
in  the  power  expended  ? 

A.  I  cannot  say  with  regard  to  that. 

Q.  Well,  to  lift  a  given  quantity  of  water,  for  every  foot 
it  takes  so  much  hoisting-power.  I  believe  the  rule  is 
that  a  power  that  will  hoist  33,000  pounds  a  foot  high  in 
one  minute  is  accounted  one-horse  power? 


78 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  Well,  that  power  you  get  at  the  engine.  Now,  if  you 
pump  water  in  pipes,  certain  friction  takes  place,  and  you 
lose  a  certain  amount  of  power.  You  don't  get  that  horse- 
power which  you  apply,  under  the  rule  I  have  just  given, 
at  the  engine.  You  do  not  get  that  full  power  in  raising 
water,  while  if  you  raise  water  in  a  tank  no  such  friction 
takes  place  at  all.  You  couldn't  give  us  any  figure  on 
making  a  fair  comparison  between  the  two? 

A.  Not  immediately.     I  could  in  a  short  time. 

Q.  Yes,.  I  suppose  so.  It  is  one  of  those  questions, 
merely,  where  you  take  certain  established  rules  into  con- 
sideration ? 

A.  I  should  look  to  the  force  required  by  a  given  de- 
scription of  machinery. 

Q.  I  find  that  Captain  Day  states,  on  page  30,  (I  have 
before  touched  upon  that  subject,  but  was  interrupted  by 
General  BANKS,)  that  the 

"present  flow  of  water,  September  10, 1871,  is  5  inches.  Decrease  in  amount 
of  water  at  700-foot  level,  from  Jane,  1870,  to  date,  72.23  per  cent." 

Do  they  find  as  much  water  when  they  suik  down  outside 
of  the  lode  as  when  they  cut  the  lode,  General  ? 

A".  Well,  I  don't  know  that  I  can  answer  that  from  my 
acquaintance  with  the  history  of  mining  in  the  Comstock 
lode.  It  depends  upon  which  side  of  the  lode  you  sink  your 
shaft.  If  you  sink  it  in  the  east-country  rock,  I  should  think 
you  would  be  nearly  as  liable  to  meet  with  water  as  in  the 
lode  itself,  although  I  cannot  say  absolutely  whether  that 
is  so.  The  east-country  rock  is  porphyritic  and  is  seamy ; 
but  in  the  west-country  rock,  being  of  a  hard,  granitic  for- 
mation, very  little  water  would  be  encountered. 

Q.  How  do  you  account  for  the  fact,  General,  that  when 
they  make  drifts  from  these  shafts  and  cut  a  vein,  they 
strike  large  bodies  of  water  after  cutting  the  clay  which 
encases  the  vein? 

A.  Well,  that  has  been  explained  in  this  way :  the  clay 
seems,  as  it  were,  to  form  bowls  or  reservoirs  of  water,  and 
when  these  reservoirs  are  tapped  or  penetrated,  of  course 


79 

the  water  all  runs  out;  the  bowl  empties  itself.  When 
that  is  pumped  out,  there  is  no  more  water  in  the  mine  un- 
til you  reach  another  reservoir. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  any  such  reservoirs  of  note  in  the 
east-country  rock  ? 

A.  "Well,  as  I  said  before,  my  acquaintance  with  the 
mining  of  shafts  in  the  east-country  rock  is  very  limited, 
but  I  can  see  no  reason  why  it  should  not  occur  there  in  a 
similar  way.  I  believe  in  one  shaft  that  was  sunk  in  the 
Monte  Christo  lode  they  were  obliged  to  abandon  work  in 
consequence  of  the  large  amount  of  water  they  met  with 
pretty  near  the  surface.  That  is  east  of  the  Comstock. 
You  might  call  that  the  east-country  rock. 

Q.  Is  it  as  likely  that  they  will  cut  into  large  bodies  of 
water  in  the  east-country  rock  as  it  is  that  they  would  in 
cutting  the  lode? 

A.  Well,  I  am  hardly  prepared,  as  I  said,  to  give  a  defi- 
nite answer  to  that  question ;  but  I  should  think  they  would 
be  nearly  as  likely  to  meet  with  it — not  quite  so  much  so, 
perhaps,  on  account  of  the  looser  character  of  the  rock  in 
the  vein. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  the  history  of  mining 
down  the  Comstock  lode  during  the  last  six  or  eight  years: 
about  the  quantities  of  water  they  strike  in  cutting  the 
vein? 

A.  Nothing  except  what  was  related  to  us. 

Q.  Who  related  to  you  what  you  know? 

A.  Well,  it  is  very  hard  to  tell  that. 

Q.  What  is  the  principal  source  of  information  that  yon 
had  about  this  water? 

A.  We  sought  information  from  everybody  at  Virginia 
City.  We  sought  it  from  the  mining  superintendents  and 
from  the  mine  owners.  We  sought  it  from  the  miners 
themselves  always. 

Q.  Do  you  mean  the  laboring  miners? 

A.  Yes,  the  laboring  miners  in  the  mines.  We  sought 
it  also  from  the  inhabitants  of  Virginia  City.  We  sought 


80 

it  from  every  person,  in  fact,  so  that  we  might  be  sure  AVO 
were  getting  pretty  near  the  truth. 

Q.  Do  you  think  there  is  likely  to  be  as  much  water 
found  outside  of  a  lode  as  in  cutting  into  the  vein? 

A.  I  don't  say  that.  I  say  that  you  may  meet  with  it 
outside  as  well  as  in  the  vein. 

Q.  In  what  proportion  would  that  probably  be? 

A.  "Well,  it  would  be  a  mere  guess  for  me  to  answer  that 
question.  I  don't  see  that  you  could  expect  me  to  answer 
a  question  of  that  kind. 

Q.  Mr.  Day  states  that  the  water  has  decreased  from  18 
inches  to  5  inches,  when  they  had  18  inches  the  year  be- 
fore. Do  you  know  what  they  were  doing  then  at  that 
shaft? 

A.  They  were  sinking  the  shaft. 

Q.  The  year  previous? 

A.  Let  me  see.     I  don't  know.     They  were  sinking  the 
shaft;  yes,  sir. 
•    Q.  But  were  they  not  drifting  the  year  before? 

A.  "Well,  I  can't  say  whether  they  were  or  not. 

Q.  He  speaks  about  the  700-foot  level  in  here,  where 
they  have  been  drifting  from? 

A.  Yes,  he  speaks  of  it.  Yes,  I  know.  But  you  asked 
me  the  question,  and  I  couldn't  answer  it  myself,  from  my 
own  knowledge. 

Q.  Well,  supposing  we  take  this  five  inches  of  water; 
do  you  know  how  much  that  is? 

A.  Five  inches  is  five-inches  flow,  in  a  certain  head, 
miner's  measurement. 

Q.  Six-inch  head? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  and  6  inches  pressure;  that's  the  miner's 
measurement. 

Q.  Mr.  Day  states,  on  page  27 : 

"  This  is  a  dry  country,  and  all  who  have  looked  upon  it  know  it." 

Well,  he  gives  five  inches  here,  on  September  10,  1871. 
That's  after  they  had  been  pumping  for  several  years,  and 
it  had  decreased  from  18  inches  to  5  ? 

A.  Do  you  mean  to  refer  back 


81 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Not  several  years,  Mr.  Sutro;  just  one 
year.  That's  the  statement 

Mr.  SUTRO.  They  had  been  pumping,  I  say,  for  several 
years. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  The  statement  he  gives  is  only  one 
year. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  He  only  gives  the  statement  for  that  one 
year. 

Mr.  FOSTER.  Is  it  from  June,  1870,  to  June,  1871? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Do  you  know  how  much  a  gallon  of  water 
weighs,  General? 

A.  2s"o;  I  cannot  tell. 

Q.  Well,  it  weighs  S^-fa  pounds,  an  imperial  gallon? 

A.  I  say  I  don't  know.  I  am  not  prepared  at  this  mo- 
ment to  give  it.  I  have,  of  course,  the  tables  of  all  those 
things. 

Q.  Do  you  know  how  much  a  miner's  inch  will  dis- 
charge in  a  minute  ? 

A.  lN"o,  sir. 

Q.  Well,  the  rule  is  17^  gallons? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  object  to  the  testimony  given  by 
Mr.  Sutro,  if  the  chairman  please.  I  don't  know  any- 
thing about  these  tables.  They  may  be  right,  and  they  may 
be  wrong. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  This  is  a  matter  of  statistics.  It  is  a  well- 
known  fact.  Every  book  on  mining  will  show  it — how 
much  water  will  be  discharged  under  a  six-inch  pressure. 
It  is  a  rule  well-known  to  all  miners. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  It  will  appear  in  the  minutes  of  the  re- 
marks of  Mr.  Sutro. 

Mr.  KENDALL.  As  I  understand  it,  Mr.  Chairman,  these 
preliminary  observations  of  Mr.  Sutro  are  made  as  the 
basis  of  further  questions  ?  » 

Mr.  SUTRO.  That  is  the  idea.  I  want  to  arrive  at  a  ques- 
tion here,  and,  in  order  to  do  that,  I  have  to  define  what 
I  am  going  to  ask. 

Mr.  CHAIRMAN.  The  committee  are  not  obliged  to  be  too 
particular. 
6 


82 

Mr.  SUTRO.  It  is  stated  that  ITy4^  gallons  are  discharged 
— the  miner's  inch — per  minute.  There  are  17^  gallons 
per  minute  discharged  to  a  miner's  inch.  Mr.  Day  gives 
us  five  inches.  That  gives  us  87  gallons  per  minute,  under 
Ms  statement,  or  5,220  gallons  per  hour,  or  in  24  hours 
125,280  gallons,  of  8  y3^-  pounds  each,  which  gives  ua 
944,835  pounds  of  water  raised  in  24  hours,  or  472  T4^ 
tons.  We  have  previously  shown  that  they  are  hoisting 
12  tons  of  rock  out  of  the  Ophir  mine  in  every  24  hours; 
and  these  figures  show,  taking  it  for  granted  that  it  has 
been  reduced  to  five  inches,  that,  in  order  to  get  out  that 
12  tons  of  rock,  they  have  to  hoist  out  472  tons  of  water. 
Do  you  think  that  is  a  considerable  proportion,  as  com- 
pared to  the  quantity  of  rock  they  take  out,  General  Fos- 
ter? 

A.  Well,  I  am  not  prepared  to  say,  in  regard  to  that; 

Q.  Do  you  think,  General  Foster,  that  it  is  easy  min- 
ing where  you  have  to  take  out  472  tons  of  water  from  a 
depth  of  1,200  feet,  as  it  is  stated  here,  in  24  hours,  to  get 
out  twelve  tons  of  rock.  Do  you  think  that  is  compara- 
tively easy  mining? 

A.  Well,  I  only  know  that  they  go  through  with  it  pretty 
easily.  They  conduct  operations  there  with  tolerable 
facility. 

Q.  Well,  do  you  think  they  could  mine  much  easier  if 
that  472  tons  of  water  was  let  out  below,  and  they  had 
simply  to  hoist  twelve  tons  of  rock? 

A.  Yes;  undoubtedly. 

Q.  Do  you  think  it  would  be  any  saving  to  the  mine  ? 

A.  If  the  water  were  let  out  below  free  of  expense,  or 
for  a  less  sum  of  money  than  it  would  cost  them  to  pump, 
I  think  it  would  be  a  saving  to  the  mine. 

Q.  Would  the  Ophir  company  have  had  anything  to  pay 
while  they  were  taking  out  no  ore? 

A.  Under  what  circumstances  ? 

Q.  During  the  time  they  had  been  sinking  this  shaft? 

A.  You  mean  under  your  contract  under  the  law. 

Q.  I  simply  ask  whether  the  Ophir  company  would  have 


83 

been  placed  in  advantageous  circumstances  concerning 
this  water,  if  they  had  been  allowed  to  run  that  water  out 
through  the  tunnel  for  nothing? 

A.  Of  course  they  would  have  been  under  very  advan- 
tageous circumstances. 

Q.  What  percentage  do  yon  think  they  would  have  saved 
in  mining  if  they  had  saved  the  hoisting  of  472  tons  of 
water,  in  order  to  get  out  12  tons  of  rock  ? 

A.  "Well,  they  would  have  saved  just  what  it  cost  to 
pump  it. 

Q.  Well,  you  think  it  costs  about  as  much  to  pump  a 
ton  of  water  as  it  would  to  hoist  a  ton? 

A.  Well,  we  know  what  they  state  to  be  the  exact  ex- 
pense of  pumping.  We  know  what  it  costs  other  mines 
to  pump. 

Q.  Mr.  Day  states  it  cost  $29,317,  for  the  year  previous, 
to  pump  ? 

A.  What  page  is  that  on  ? 

Q.  Page  30. 

A.  What,  is  the  question  ? 

Q.  I  have  stated  that  Mr.  Day  says  it  has  cost  them 
$29,317  04  to  pump  for  the  year  previous? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  And  I  have  heretofore  shown  that  they  have  taken 
out  on  an  average  twelve  tons  of  rock  a  day.  Now,  if  you 
figure  472  tons  of  water  a  day  at  hoisting  prices,  how  much 
would  that  come  to  ? 

A.  Do  you  want  me  to  make  the  figures. 

Q.  Could  you  give  us  an  approximate  idea? 

A.  No,  sir;  not  without  figures.    What  is  the  problem  ? 

Q.  It  costs  $283  a  day,  at  your  estimate  of  51  cents  a  ton. 

A.  How  many  tons  are  there? 

Q.  Four  hundred  and  seventy-two  tons  of  water. 

A.  How  much  do  you  say  it  costs? 

Q.  I  say  it  is  $283. 

A.  I  make  it  $240.  taking  51  cents  as  the  cost  per  ton. 

Q.  I  make  it  $283,  at  51  cents. 


84 

A.  I  left  off  the  decimals,  taking  51  cents.  I  make  it 
$240  72. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  That  is  the  cost  if  hoisted  on  a  cage? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  Hoisted  in  the  way  they  raise  the  ore;  yes, 
sir. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  They  don't  raise  it  that  way,  I  believe. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Two  hundred  and  forty  dollars.  Yes,  sir, 
you  are  right.  That  makes  $7,200  a  month,  at  that  rate. 

Mr.  FOSTER.  That  would  be  the  cost  of  hoisting,  in  the 
same  way  that  you  hoist  ore. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Or  $86,400  per  annum. 

Mr.  FOSTER.  Which  explains  more  fully  what  I  was  en- 
deavoring to  explain  a  little  while  ago,  in  answer  to  your 
question.  It  would  cost  more  to  raise  it  in  that  way. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  How  do  you  arrive  at  that?  Do  you  arrive 
at  it  by  reason  of  these  figures  given  by  Captain  Day? 

A.  These  figures  show  what  I  was  endeavoring  to  ex- 
plain in  regard  to  hoisting  by  the 

Q.  Provided  his  figures  are  correct.  You  take  it  for 
granted  that  all  these  things  are  correct  as  they  were  given 
you? 

A.  Comparing  these  figures  with  what  was  given  in  his 
report 

Q.  Yes,  but  then  they  don't  make  the  right  figures, 
General,  you  see.  We  have  figured  on  five  inches,  which 
lie  says  it  had  decreased  to  on  September  10.  But  he  says 
in  June  it  was  eighteen  inches,  and  July  sixteen  inches, 
and  so  on  down  to  ten  inches;  consequently,  we  have  not 
given  the  right  figures  quite  yet. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  ,He  states  what  the  actual  cost  is. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Well,  I  don't  take  the  statements  of  these 
gentlemen  for  granted  at  all. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Well,  I  do. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  The  average  is  10  y6^  inches.  That  is  more 
than  double  what  we  have  been  figuring  on;  consequently 
it  costs  about  $200,000  a  year  to  hoist  out  that  water. 

Mr.  KENDALL.  Five  inches? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  No/  The  cost  of  hoisting  out  the  year  pre- 


85 

vious  amounts  to  almost  $200,000.  How  does  that  tally 
with  his  $29,000,  General  Foster? 

A.  Ah,  but  you  are  supposing  it  to  be  hoisted  out  now. 

Q.  Yes,  sir. 

A.  Well,  hoisting  would  cost  much  more  than  pumping. 

Q.  How  do  you  make  that  out?  You  have  got  to  lift  a 
given  number  of  pounds;  there  are  so  many  pounds  to  be 
lifted.  I  have  shown  here  that  there  are  940,835  pounds 
to  be  lifted  out  every  twenty-four  hours,  out  of  a  depth, 
say  of  2,000  feet,  down  to  the  tunnel  level,  or  say  1,700  feet, 
to  be  more  accurate.  Allow  1,700  feet  you  have  to  lift 
that  number  of  pounds,  and  every  engineer  knows  that  for 
every  foot^of  raising  33,000  pounds  per  minute  you  have 
got  to  have  a  horse-power.  If  you  get  that  out,  you  have 
got  to  have  so  many  horse-powers. 

A.  It  is  a  very  different  thing.  One  is  hoisted  altogether 
by  machinery;  the  other  takes  the  aid  of  men,  and  it  is 
slow  and  intermittent;  the  pumping  is  constant. 

Q.  You  have  no  friction  in  pumping,  have  you?  The 
friction  is  given  at  33  per  cent,  which  is  enormous. 

A.  You  have  the  friction  of  the  cage  on  its  gauge,  of 
course. 

Q.  Well,  is  there  no  friction  of  water? 

A.  I  don't  want  to  argue  the  question,  but  I  .believe  it 
is  an  established  fact,  that  you  can  pump  much  easier  than 
you  can  raise  water  in  vessels. 

Q.  Do  you  think,  General  Foster,  that  you  can  pump  the 
same  quantity  of  water  for  $29,000  that  it  would  cost  $200,- 
000  to  hoist  out? 

A.  Well,  if  I  should  state  that,  you  would  make  me  re- 
sponsible for  these  figures.  I  don't  state  that,  I  simply 
state  that  one  process  of  raising  water  would  be  more  ex- 
pensive than  the  other. 

Q.  I  will  presume  a  case  now.  Supposing  it  costs  $29,- 
000  to  pump  out  a  given  quantity  of  water,  will  it  cost 
$200,000  to  hoist  out  the  same  water  from  the  same  depth? 

A.  lam  not  prepared  to  say  whether  it  would  or  not. 

Mr.  KENDALL.  Mr.  Chairman,  let  me  ask  General  Foster, 


86 

directly,  what  is  the  difference  of  cost  between  hoisting 
water  at  that  depth,  say  2,000  or  1,700  feet,  and  pumping 
the  same  quantity  ? 

A.  Well,  I  can  hardly  give  you  the  figures  for  that  with- 
out calculation. 

Q.  "Well,  approximately? 

A.  I  could  not  give  it  to  you  approximately.  I  can  give 
you  the  figures  in  a  very  short  time  of  what  it  would  cost 
by  both  processes,  let  me  take  my  tables  and  take  the 
known  capacity  of  pumps;  but  I  would  not  like  to  answer 
a  question  of  that  kind  by  a  mere  guess.  I  can,  by  the 
next  meeting,  prepare  a  statement  which  will  show  you 
exactly  what  the  difference  would  be.  If  you  like,  I  will 
bring  it  and  put  it  in  as  an  answer. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Mr.  Day  states  that,  in  June,  1870,  they 
were  pumping  18  miner's  engines  of  water.  This  is  equal, 
under  our  rule  here,  to  1,700  tons  in  24  hours. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  If  the  General  is  going  to  examine  his 
tables,  I  would  like  to  have  him  answer  that  question,  as 
to  what  it  would  weigh.  I  don't  know  whether  Mr.  Sutro 
is  right  about  that. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  What  what  would  weigh? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  The  five  inches. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Well,  if  there  is  anything  incorrect  about 
that,  it  could  be  very  easily  established.  There  is  nothing 
difficult  about  that  at  all. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  General  Foster  can  do  it. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  will  read^ou  the  rule,  if  you  want  it. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  No,  I  want  General  Foster 'to  examine 
it. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  It  is  the  rule  taken  from  the  Mining  Journal 
of  California. 

"MINER'S  INCH.  A  body  of  water ^36  feet  long  and  one  inch  square  will 
pass  through  an  orifice  one  inch  square  under  a  pressure  of  six  inches,  meas- 
ured from  the  center  of  the  orifice,  per  minute,  or  148TY7  Ibs.,  or  17.4054 
United  States  standard  gallons,  or  2,333  cubic  feet." 

That  is  the  rule,  sir,  that  every  mining  engineer  will 
indorse.  You  have  it  then  here,  that,  in  June,  1870,  Mr. 
Day  states  that  he  had  18  miner's  inches  of  water,  which 


87 

is  equal  to  1,700  tons  and  a  fraction  of  over  24  Ibs.,  and  he 
calls  that  a  dry  country.  Do  you  think,  General  Foster, 
that  if  that  1,700  tons  of  water  had  been  let  out  by  means 
of  that  tunnel,  if  that  tunnel  had  been  made,  it  would  have 
saved  any  money  to  that  company? 

A.  Certainly. 

Q.  They  were  hoisting  at  that  time  12  tons  of  rock, 
and  supposing  that  they  could  have  hoisted  that  12  tons  of 
rock  without  being  impeded  with  any  water  at  all,  don't 
you  think  that  the  cost  of  working  that  mine  would  have 
been  but  a  trifle  compared  to  what  the  real  cost  was? 

A.  The  cost  would  have  been  less,  undoubtedly. 

Q.  Well,  that  is  the  Ophir  company.  I  might  as  well 
state  here,  that  if  we  take  the  average  of  the  whole  year, 
eighteen  inches,  commencing  with  eighteen  inches  and 
ending  with  seven  inches,  we  get  a  quantity  of  water 
amounting  to  1,005  tons  every  24  hours  during  that  year; 
1,005  tons,  of  2,000  Ibs.  ea,ch,  had  to  be  lifted  1,700  feet  in 
all  to  get  out  12  tons  of  rock.  Now,  let  us  take  the  Gould 
and  Curry  company.  On  page  33  Mr.  Batterman  says: 

"  The  capacity  of  the  pumps  is  6,500  gallons  per  hour.  I  estimate  the  cost 
of  pumping  from  a  depth  of  2,000  feet,  working  pump  to  full  capacity,  at 
$83  60  per  day.  This  estimate  includes  wood,  engineers,  fireman,  pitman,  &c. 
From  this  estimate  of  cost  should  be  deducted  the  value  of  the  water." 

Then  he  goes  OH  to  say,  in  reply  to  question  No.  7: 

"Cost  for  the  year,  $16,425." 

This  is  for  pumping.  Now,  if  we  take  3,500  gallons, 
which  he  says  he  has  been  pumping  per  hour 

A.  How  much? 

Q.  Thirty-five  hundred  gallons  per  hour. 

A.  Sixty-five  hundred? 

Qj  He  says  the  capacity  of  the  pump  is  6,500  gallons. 
But  he  has  been  pumping  3,500  gallons?  I  take  this  gen- 
tleman's figures  here  now,  and  we  get  84,000  gallons  per 
day.  At  8  ffo  pounds  to  the  gallon,  that  gives  us  700,560 
pounds  of  water  per  day,  which  is  equal  to  350  ^  tons. 
Do  you  think  that  is  a  pretty  dry  mine,  General? 

A.  Well,  it  isn't  so  wet  as  some  mines. 


88 

Q.  Well,  do  you  think  it  is  as  wet  a  mine  as  there  is 
over  there  ? 

A.  The  Gould  and  Curry?  No,  0,  no.  The  Savage,  when 
we  were  there,  was  the  wettest. 

Q.  We  will  recur  to  the  Savage  after  a  little.  Here  are 
350  T2/7  tons  per  day.  Now,  supposing  there  had  been  a 
connection  with  the  tunnel,  and  that  350  tons  of  water  had 
been  let  out  at  the  bottom  of  the  shaft,  wouldn't  that  have 
been  a  big  saving  for  that  company  ? 

A.  It  certainly  would  have  been  a  saving  equal  to  the 
cost  of  pumping  it  out. 

Q.  Supposing  they  were  to  have  let  it  out  for  nothing  ? 

A.  They  would  have  saved  precisely  what  it  cost  to 
pump  the  water. 

Q.  Wasn't  that  the  main  expense  of  that  mine,  to  pump 
out  350  tons  of  water  a  day  ? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Wasn't  it  a  large  item  of  tjie  expense  ? 

A.  Well,  you  see  what  the  item  is.     It  is  given  there. 

Q.  We  have  seen  heretofore  that  the  superintendent  of 
the  Gould  and  Curry  company  states  that  there  is  no  ore 
below.  We  have  also  shown  that  he  has  made  over  12,000 
feet  of  drifts  during  the  last  year.  They  have  simply  been 
prospecting  there.  He  also  states  that-  he  don't  suppose 
there  will  be  any  ore  there  in  six  months  more.  Now, 
wouldn't  it  have  been  a  very  advantageous  thing  to  that 
company  to  have  had  that  tunnel  in,  while  they  were  mak- 
ing these  prospecting  drifts,  12,000  feet  in  a  single  year? 

A.  Well,  as  far  as  the  drifts  are  concerned,  I  don't  know 
that  the  tunnel  would  haye.  been  of  much  benefit  to  them. 

Q.  Haven't  they  got  to  pump  while  they  make  these 
drifts?  Haven't  uiey  got  to  keep  the  mine  clear  every 
foot  they  make  ? 

A.  Of  course  they  have  to  keep  the  mine  clear. 

Q.  Wouldn't  it  fill  up  with  water  if  they  stopped  pump- 
ing? 

A.  Yes,  sir ;  it  probably  would.    The  lower  part  would. 

Q.    Well,  supposing  the   mine   had   an   outlet  below, 


89 

wouldn't  they  have  made  those  drifts  without  any  expense 
of  pumping  at  all? 

A.  Certainly. 

Q.  Now,  taking  these  figures  here  as  a  basis,  350  tons 
at  the  Gould  and  Curry  and  472  tons  at  the  Ophir  mine,  that 
gives  us  an  average  of  411  tons  between  those  two  mines. 
What  proportion  of  water  do  you  estimate  that  that  would 
be  on  the  whole  lode?  Take  the  22,000  feet;  suppose  it 
were  all  explored  and  the  shafts  down — 411  tons  at  one 
shaft. 

A.  Do  you  mean  what  would  be  the  proportion  of  the 
whole  water  that  would  be  pumped  from  the  lode? 

Q.  Supposing  there  were  33  shafts  let  down  into  the 
lode,  as  we  supposed  at  our  last  meeting,  how  much  do  you 
think  each  shaft  would  average?  We  have  the  average  of 
two  shafts,  viz,  411  tons. 

A.  Well,  I  don't  like  very  well  to  average  supposi- 
titious questions,  which  are  so  very  indefinite.  I  will  an- 
swer anything  I  am  able  to  answer. 

Q.  Have  you  examined  into  this  question  of  water  ? 

A.  Certainly;  I  examined  into  it. 

Q.  I  suppose  you  are  familiar  with  the  quantity  of  water 
in  the  different  mines  ? 

A.  You  want,  probably,  by  these  questions,  to  make  it 
appear  that  they  have  not  made  a  proper  return  to  us  of 
the  cost  of  pumping. 

Q.  I  do,  sir.  That  is  exactly  what  I  mean  to  show; 
what  I  mean  to  prove. 

A.  You  can't  prove  it  by  me — by  mere  supposititious 
questions;  because  that  is  no  proof  at  all.  I  can't  answer 
those  things. 

Q.  I  want  to  find  out  whether  it  is  possible  to  take  out 
472  tons  of  water  per  day  at  the  price  stated? 

A.  Well,  that  is  a  matter  of  investigation,  and  I  am  not 
prepared  to  state  now  in  regard  to  it.  I  must  decline  to 
answer  supposititious  questions  of  a  wild  and  indefinite 
character.  If  the  committee  want  to  know  exactly  what 
it  has  cost,  and  have  such  a  statement  from  me  what 


90 

the  comparison  would  be,  in  addition  to  this  report,  I 
should  be  prepared  to  give  it. 

Q.  General,  how  are  we  going  to  arrive  at  the  correct- 
ness of  these  statements,  when  on  the  face  of  them  they 
are  not  correct? 

A.  The  way  I  should  arrive  at  it  would  be  to  get  some- 
body here  who  can  testify  directly  to  the  truth  or  falsity 
of  those  statements.  I  don't  think  that  any  indefinite  an- 
swers that  can  be  given  to  supposititious  questions  would 
disprove  them.  I  am  no  lawyer,  but  I  should  think  they 
would  not.  I  can't  disprove  those  statements. 

Q.  You  have  taken  in  your  reports,  General,  the  state- 
ments of  seven  superintendents  here? 

A.  Exactly. 

Q.  You  made  your  report  upon  that  basis,  and  you  state 
it  costs  $124,000  a  year  to  pump. 

A.  Well. 

Q.  But  I  believe  we  can  prove  that  it  will  cost  more 
than  that  in  one  single  mine,  and  there  are  thirty  mines 
on  the  lode? 

A.  Very  well. 

Q.  How  are  we  going  to  get  at  these  figures?     . 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Show  it  if  you  can. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  You  are  an  engineer,  General  Foster,  and 
you  are  able  to  judge  whether  472  tons  of  water  can  be 
hoisted  or  pumped  out  at  the  figures  these  people  make. 

Mr.  FOSTER.  You  want  me  to  answer  these  questions 
here  now,  and  I  am  not  prepared  to  do  so.  If  the  com- 
mittee wants  it,  I  can  make  the  figures,  and  show  what 
the  relative  amounts  would  be. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  It  would  be  more  satisfactory  if  Mr. 
Sutro  will  put  his  inquiries  in  writing. 

Mr.  FOSTER.  And  I  could  bring  the  answers  at  the  next 
meeting. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  It  would  be  impossible  td  arrive  at  that, 
except  by  a  general  statement,  from  general  observation. 
My  question  is :  If  we  have  472  tons  of  water  every  twenty- 


91 

four  hours  at  one  shaft,  how  much  will  it  probably  be  at  all 
the  shafts?     That  is  a  reasonable  question  to  make. 
Mr.  FOSTER.  Well,  it's  very  indefinite  : 

"How  much  will  it  probably  be  for  all,  if  you  have  so  much  for  one?" 

Nothing  is  more  uncertain  than  the  striking  of  water,  or 
the  presence  of  water.  You  may  have  more  water  in  the 
shaft  of  one  mine  than  you  have  in  all  the  others. 

Q.  Then  we  have  two  statements  here.  We  have  one 
from  the  Ophir  mine,  and  one  from  the  Gould  and  Curry 
mine.  These  are  the  only  answers  in  your  report  of  a 
definite  character,  and  these  are  the  only  persons  that 
have  answered  them  definitely.  Now,  I  mean  to  say,  that 
these  gentlemen  have  not  stated  the  facts  fully.  They 
have  not  given  the  figures  that  would  lead  us  to  a  correct 
idea  of  the  quantity  of  water  there.  Now,  how  are  we 
going  to  get  ,at  it,  but  by  comparing  the  statements  of 
these  two  mines,  taking  the  whole  length  of  the  lode,  and 
multiplying  it  by  the  number  of  mines  outside  of  these 
two?  I  cannot  see  any  other  way  to  get  at  it.  We  want 
to  get  more  definite  results. 

A.  The  proper  way  to  get  at  the  cost  of  pumping  is,  to 
take  the  elements  into  consideration :  the  cost  of  machinery, 
the  cost  of  fuel,  the  wear  and  tear  of  the  machinery,  the 
interest  on  the  investment,  the  number  of  men  that  are 
employed,  the  pitmen,  engineers,  etc.,  and  to  add  these 
several  items  together :  that  will  give  the  cost.  That  is  the 
only  way  to  get  at  it. 

Mr.  KENDALL.  By  your  permission,  Mr.  Chairman,  I  will 
ask  General  Foster  two  or  three  questions  that  may  add  to 
the  facts  elicited  by  this  examination.  Did  you  examine 
these  various  mines,  with  reference  to  the  quantity  of  water 
that  is  flowing  into  them — these  seven  mines? 
.  A.  Not  particularly;  no,  sir.  That  was  only  one  point 
of  the  investigation. 

Q.  Did  you  examine  them  sufficiently  to  arrive  at  a 
general  opinion  as  to  the  average  amount  of  water  that 
was  flowing  into  each  of  these  mines? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 


92 

Q.  Now,  then,  here  are  seven  mines.  About  what,  Gen- 
eral, was  the  average  amount  of  water  that  came  into  these 
mines  per  day?  Of  course  you  cannot  give  it  exactly;  but 
give  it  approximately.  Some  are  wetter  than  others.  Some, 
are,  perhaps,  nearly  dry.  Some  are  very  wet.  Now,  about 
what  would  be  the  average  amount? 

A.  Well,  I  cannot  give  an  answer  to  that  right  off.  Let 
me  see.  I  saw  one — I  saw  the  Ophir,  the  Gould  and  Curry, 
the  Savage,  and  the  Crown  Point  pumping. 

Q.  Take  the  Ophir,  General.  I  think  you  remarked  that 
that  was  not  so  wet  a  mine  as  are  many  of  the  others  ? 

A.  I  did  not  go  down  it  myself. 

Q. .  Well,  from  the  information  you  derived,  it  was  about 
the  dryest  mine  of  the  whole  series  you  have  mentioned. 
Was  that  the  statement? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  No,  sir;  it  was  not. 

Mr.  FOSTER.  It  was  the  next  wettest  of  the  mines  that  I 
saw. 

Mr.  KENDALL.  What  was  the  dryest  mine,  then? 

A.  I  think  the  Yellow  Jacket  was  as  dry  as  any. 

Q.  Do  you  know  the  quantity  that  flowed  into  that  mine, 
or  about  the  quantity? 

A.  It  was  none  at  all.  At  least  what  little  water  did 
run  into  it  ran  into  the  Crown  Point,  and  the  Crown  Point 
was  pumping  very  little.  They  didn't  pump  enough  to 
supply  the  boilers  from  both  mines. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Just  here,  will  you  permit  me  to  ask  a  ques- 
tion ? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  I  could  make  a  statement  that  would  be 
very  close  to  the  amount  they  were  pumping  out  while  we 
were  there.  The  Ophir  mine  was  running  their  pump 
very  slowly.  The  Savage  was  running  their  pumps  very 
fast — as  fast  as  they  possibly  could.  I  think  I  have  notes 
in  New  York  that  will  give  exactly  the  number  of  gallons 
they  were  discharging;  and  if  General  Wright  comes  on 
he  will  bring  those  notes  with  him,  so  that  we  can.  tell  you 
exactly  on  that  point.  But  the  expense  of  pumping  is 
hardly  dependent  upon  the  quantity  of  water  you  get  out. 


They  run  the  pumps,  and  if  they  only  run  about  half  the 
time,  they  have  to  keep  their  engines  there  and  the  men 
there;  and  there  is  the  wear  and  tear  of  the  machinery  the 
same,  and  most  of  the  other  items  of  expense  remain  the 
same.  Now,  the  Crown  Point  only  ran  their  pumps  very 
little — a  very  little — and  they  had  to  have  the  same  kind 
of  expensive  machinery,  and  they  had  nearly  the  same  men 
employed.  The  elements  of  expense  were  about  the  same. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  General  Foster,  you  have  just  stated  that, 
when  you  were  there,  the  water  from  the  Yellow  Jacket 
was  discharging  into  the  Crown  Point? 

A.  It  ran  into  the  Crown  Point. 

Q.  Consequently  there  was  no  water  in  the  Yellow 
Jacket? 

A.  JTbe  water  that  was  there  was  the  seepage  from  above. 

Q.  Exactly.  Now,  how  fair  would  you  consider  this 
answer,  given,  by  Mr."  Taylor,  the  superintendent  of  the 
Yellow  Jacket 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  What  is  the  page? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Page  44,  question  No.  8 : 

"  Has  the  water  in  your  mine  increased  or  diminished  with  the  depth,  and 
in  what  proportion?" 

To  this  he  replies : 

"The  water  in  the  mine  has  decreased  from  20  inches,  at  250-foot  level,  to 
less  than  1  inch  at  1,130-foot  level,  (miners'  measure,  6-inch  pressure.") 

Do  you  consider  that  a  fair  answer  to  your  question, 
when  at  that  time  the  water  was  discharging  into  the  Crown 
Point  mine,  and  they  had  no  pumping  to  do? 

A.  Yes,  I  consider  that  a  fair  answer. 

Q.  That's  a  fair  answer  to  your  question,  whether  the 
water  had  decreased  in  their  mine  or  not,  when  he  states 
that  it  had  decreased  from  20  inches  to  1  inch,  and  a  stream 
of  water  was  running  into  the  other  mine  adjoining  it,  and 
they  were  pumping  rt  out!  Do  you  consider  that  a  fair 
answer  to  your  question  ? 

A.  Yes;  it  was  a  very  fair  answer  from  what  we  under- 
stood. We  knew  that  the  water  which  came  in  there  was 
only  the  seepage  from  above.  It  was  a  very  small  stream 


94 

that  ran  from  there  to  the  Crown  Point,  and  the  Crown 
Point  pumped  it  up,  "because  they  only  had  their  own  water 
to  pump,  and  they  had  as  lief  pump  that  up  as  not. 

Q.  Well,  in  presenting  this  report  to  Congress,  is  it  not 
intended  to  mislead  them  with  regard  to  the  quantity  of 
water  in  the  Yellow  Jacket  mine? 

A.  I  don't  think  it  is,  but  I  will  look  at  it  again.  "Where 
is  it? 

Q.  On  page  44.    Have  you  found  it? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  I  consider  that  perfectly  fair.  I  believe 
that  the  amount  of  water  that  ran  into  the  Crown  Point 
mine  from  the  Yellow  Jacket  was  not  over  one  inch,  mi- 
ners' measurement.  It  had  to  be  pumped  up  by  the  Crown 
Point.  I  don't  think  it  was  over  an  inch.  It  was  a  very 
small  stream. 

Q.  How  do  you  know  that? 

A.  I  saw  it.  I  saw  it  running  in  myself,  an^d  I  saw  them 
pump  it  out. 

Q.  How  much  lower  was  the  Crown  Point  mine  than 
the  Yellow  Jacket? 

A.  The  Crown  Point  mine,  I  think,  was  down  to  about 
1,500  feet  when  I  was  there,  and  the  Yellow  Jacket  was 
at  nearly  the  same  depth. 

Q.  Have  you  had  any  experience  in  mining,  General? 

A.  Well,  yes;  I  have  had  as  much  experience  as  some 
other  people  have. 

Q.  Do  you  know 

A.  If  you  ask  the  question  seriously,  though,  I  will  an- 
swer it.  I  suppose  you  want  to  underrate  my  testimony 
by  it.  I  answer  candidly,  I  have  not. 

Q.  I  do  not  wish  anything  of  the  kind.  I  simply  want 
to  get  at  the  idea  whether,  where  one  mine  joins  another, 
you  are  aware  you  cannot  see  the  entire  flow  of  water  be- 
tween them.  The  water  comes  underneath  the  rock. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Were  they  not  mining  on  the  1000- 
foot  level  when  yoia  were  there? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  I  saw  enough  of  mining  to  know  about  that 
fact.  I  saw  the  water  running,  and  it  was  running,  when 


95 

I  saw  it,  in  a  diift.  It  came  through  from  one  mine  to 
another.  They  were  mining  nearly  on  the  same  level. 
Tins  was  on  the  same  level.  It  was  running  through,  and 
it  was  running  at  about  six  feet  a  minute,  which  would 
make  about  360  in  an  hour.  It  was  running  through  a 
drift,  connecting  the  two,  from  the  Yellow  Jacket  into  the 
Crown  Point,  and  in  the  Crown  Point  it  was  pumped  out 
just  about  an  inch,  I  should  say,  miners'  measurement. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Isn't  the  vein  matter  porous,  General? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Well,  now,  supposing  there  was  a  large  quantity  of 
water  at  the  bottom  of  the  Yellow  Jacket  mine,  would  it 
not  seep  through  the  rock,  and  find  its  way  to  the  pumping 
sump  in  the  Crown  Point  mine,  provided  that  is  lower, 
without  flowing  through  a  drift? 

A.  Well,  I  don't  know  about  that.  I  only  know  that  I 
saw  water  running  from  one  mine  into  the  other,  and  saw 
the  other  mine  pumping  it  up. 

Q.  Well,  now,  I  come  back  to  the  Gould  and  Curry 
mine,  where  we  arrived  at  350  tons  in  24  hours.  On  page 
33  of  the  commissioners'  report,  Mr.  Batterman  states, 
that  it  cost  for  the  year  $16,425  to  pump.  !N"ow,  General 
Foster,  do  you  believe  that  350  tons  every  24  hours  can  be 
pumped  out  of  the  Gould  and  Curry  mine,  from  the  1,300- 
foot  station,  at  a  cost  of  $16,000  in  a  year? 

A.  I  believe  that  it  is  not  pumped  from  that  level. 

Q.  He  states  so. 

A.  Thirteen  hundred-foot  level  ? 

Q.  He  says: 

41  The  cost  of  raising  the  water  in  this  mine  from  a  depth  of  825  feet,  also 
running  pumps  while  sinking  to  1,300-foot  station,  has  been  $60  per  day,  the 
quantity  of  water  raised  about  3,500  gallons  per  hour." 

A.  From  the  1,300-foot  station;  yes. 

Q.  Now,  I  ask  this  again,  General :  Do  you  believe  that 
350  tons  every  24  hours,  which  is  equal  to  3,500  gallons 
per  hour,  as  he  states,  can  be  pumped  out  of  that  mine 
1,300  feet  for  $16,425  a  year,  including  wear  and  tear  of 
machinery? 


96 

A.  He  does  not  state  that. 

Q.  Do  you  believe  that  that  quantity  of  water  can  be 
pumped  for  $16,425? 

A.  I  believe  that  that  statement  is  correct.  I  believe 
from  a  depth  of  825  feet  to  1,300  feet  the  cost  of  pumping 
was  as  he  gives  it. 

Q.  Did  you  enter  the-  Savage  mine  while  you  were  over 
there? 

A.  N"o,  sir. 

Q.  Did  you  enter  the  Hale  and  Norcross  ? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Why  didn't  you? 

A.  They  had  had  an  influx  of  water  in  both  mines,  first 
in  the  one  mine  and  then  in  the  other;  and  they  were 
running  their  pumps,  and  everything  was  in  a  condition 
which  made  it  very  unfavorable  for  us  to  visit  the  mines. 

Q.  Were  the  men  drowned  out,  so  that  they  had  to  leave 
the  mines  ? 

A.  The  mines  were  considered  to  be  flooded,  and  our 
suggestion  to  go  into  the  mine  was  not  met  favorably  by 
the  parties  in  charge,  who  represented  these  inauspicious 
circumstances;  and  so  much  was  said  to  discourage  us, 
that  we  did  not  go. 

Q.  Did  you  make  repeated  applications  to  go  ? 

A.  I  don't  know  that  we  made  repeated  applications. 

Q.  Did  you  express  the  desire? 

A.  We  expressed  a  desire  to  go  repeatedly. 

Q.  What  do  you  think  was  the  reason  they  wouldn't  let 
you  go  in  there  ? 

A.  I  think  the  reason  is  just  as  they  stated  it,  that  the 
mine  was  flooded  with  water.  They  were  pumping  with 
their  utmost  energy,  and  everything  was  in  too  much  dis- 
order and  confusion  to  visit  the  mine  and  find  out  anything. 
All  we  could  have  found  out  would  have  been  how  they 
were  pumping,  and  what  was  the  capacity  of  the  pumps. 

Q.  What  did  you  hear  about  that  flood  that  had  taken 
place  there?  Did  you  hear  any  particulars  about  it? 

A.   J$To  particulars,  except  that  the  water  burst  iu  on 


97 

them,  and  flooded  one  mine,  and  then  penetrated  to  the 
others. 

Q.  Did  you  hear  anything  of  the  mine  getting  filled  with 
rock  by  the  immense  force  of  the  water  getting  in,  the 
drifts  filling  up  with  rocks  and  debris? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  You  didn't  hear  of  that?  Did  you  hear  that  they 
had  an  immense  influx  of  water  there  ? 

A.  We  heard  that  the  mines  were  flooded. 

Q.  And  you  heard  nothing  about  any  drifts  filling  up  at 
all? 

A.    I  have  already  answered  that  we  did  not. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  General  Foster,  this  accumulation  of 
water  was  in  excess  of  the  amount  to  be  pumped  out 
daily,  was  it? 

A.  Oh,  yes,  sir.  They  were  getting  it  down  as  we  were 
leaving,  and  they  expected  to  have  the  mine  in  proper  con- 
dition for  inspection  in  a  short  time.  I  presume  if  we  had 
insisted  on  it  we  could  have  inspected  both  mines. 

Q.  What  is  the  capacity  of  the  pumps  they  were  using? 

A.  I  did  not  examine  them.  ,1  observe  that  the  capacity 
of  those  pumps,  as  in  fact  all  the  machinery  in  use  on  the 
lode,  is  given  in  full  in  King's  report,  and  we  didn't  find 
it  necessary  to  take  detailed  notes  upon  that  point,  because 
we  had  that  report  at  hand.  The  report  is  very  elaborate, 
and  gives  the  machinery  of  all  the  different  mines. 

Q.  General  Foster,  you  are,  I  believe,  compelled  to  rely 
upon  these  reports,  made  by  the  superintendents  of  the 
Ophir  and  Gould  and  Curry  mines,  for  the  opinion  you  have 
expressed  in  your  report  as  to  the  cost  of  pumpin^  and 
lifting  the  ore  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  You  had  no  other  means  of  ascertaining  ? 

A.  We  relied  not  only  upon  these,  but  upon  the  super- 
intendents of  the  other  mines  also.  Their  testimony  as  to 
the  cost  of  pumping  and  lifting  was  taken  into  considera- 
tion. 

Q.  You  had  no  other  means 

7 


98 

A.  We  had  reports  in  fall  from  six.  We  expected  to 
get  it  from  Crown  Point,  but  he  did  not 

Q.  You  had  no  other  means  for  ascertaining  the  accu- 
racy of  these  reports  than  the  opinion  as  to  the  reliability 
of  the  persons  who  made  them  ? 

A.  None  other,  except  our  own  opinion,  on  the  testi- 
mony of  other  people. 

Q.  You  didn't  examine  their  books  ? 

A.  We  did  not ;  no,  sir. 

Q.  You  did  not  ascertain  whether  they  had  the  number 
of  men  represented  at  work? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  You  didn't  take  any  notes  as  to  the  quantity  of  ore 
that  they  were  raising  in  a  given  time,  or  the  quantity  of 
water? 

A.  We  did  the  quantity  of  ore  in  one  or  two  instances, 
and  we  also  took  notes  of  the  quantity  of  water  that  was 
being  discharged,  and  we  had  them  in  our  note-books  at 
the  time  we  were  visiting  the  mines.  These  note-books 
will  be  here  in  a  few  days. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  General  Foster,  let  me  ask  you  whether 
you  heard  about  a  fire  that  took -place  one  time  in  one  of 
the  Gold  Hill  mines,  by  which  forty-five  miners  were 
burned  to  death  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  the  fire  in  the  Crown  Point  mine.  An 
account  of  it  is  given  in  Clarence  King's  report. 

Q.  Supposing  there  had  been  an  outlet  below,  after  the 
mine  had  become  filled  with  smoke,  do  you  think  these 
miners  would  have  been  burned  to  death? 

A.  I  believe  there  was  an  outlet  below  then,  and  the 
fire  <got  between  them  and  that  outlet,  and  that  is  the  rea- 
son they  were  burned  to  death. 

Q.  The  fire  spread  between  two  mines.  How  could 
there  have  been  an  outlet  below  ? 

A.  There  was  an  outlet  between  the  one  and  the  other, 
but  the  fire  intercepted  them.  It  might  had  there  been  a 
tunnel,  but  is  not  so  likely. 

Q.  Supposing  the  tunnel  were  in,  and  the  draught  going 


99 

either  way,  could  they  not  escape  one  way,  where  the 
draught  was  coming-  from  ? 

A.  Well,  the  escaping  depends  upon  the  position  of  the 
fire.  If  the  fire  should  be  below,  they  could  come  up. 
Probably,  if  the  fire  was  above  them,  and  they  had  a  clear 
passage  below,  they  could  go  out  below. 

Q.  Supposing  these  mines  were  all  connected  at  the 
bottom,  with  lateral  drifts  along  the  mines,  and  cross 
drifts? 

A.  But  if  the  fire  should  shut  off  their  egress  in  both 
directions  they  would  be  burned. 

Q.  Is  that  a  probable  case  ? 

A.  Well,  that's  the  way  the  fire  was  in  the  Crown  Point. 

Q.  Didn't  it  commence  between  the  two  mines? 

A.  I  believe  it  did. 

Q.  There  was  no  outlet;  the  shafts,  became  filled  with 
smoke;  how  could  they  get  out? 

A.  But,  my  dear  sir,  a  great  many  of  them  were  hoisted 
out. 

Q.  Some  few  got  out,  but  forty-five  got  burned  to  death. 

A.  They  were  suffocated  by  the  gases,  and  they  could 
not  get  out;  they  fell  dead.  There  was  an  outlet  for  them. 

Q.  Well,  I  mean  to  say,  supposing  there  were  ramifica- 
tions and  connections  all  over,  could  they  not  have  got  out 
of  the  tunnel  ? 

A.  Well,  they  had  the  fairest  outlet  in  the  world;  they 
had  the  direct  shaft  up  to  the  open  air. 

Q.  Wouldn't  the  smoke  rise  right  up  the  moment  the 
fire  started,  and  fill  the  shaft? 

A.  It  didn't  rise  immediately;  those  that  were  suffo- 
cated were  on  the  lower  levels;  they  were  suffocated  by  the 
gases.  Some  of  the  men  were  gotten  out,  but  the  gases 
filled  the  lower  portions  of  the  mine  very  rapidly.  But 
they  were  suffocated,  not  burned;  they  were  burned  after- 
wards: they  met  their  death  by  suffocation:  that  might 
occur  with  a  tunnel,  but.it  would  not  be  so  likely. 

Q.  Do  you  think  these  laboring  miners  know  something 
about  mining? 


100 

A.  Well,  I  think  they  do;  yes. 

Q.  Well,  what  made  you  state  before  that  the  Miners' 
Union  is  in  favor  of  this  tunnel  ? 

A.  You  invited  gentlemen  to  meet  us,  and  they  so  stated 
to  us;  we  met  them  by  your  invitation,  the  head  men  of 
the  Miners'  Union. 

Q.  Did  you  come  in  contact  much  with  those  miners? 

A.  With  the  laboring  men  ? 

Q.  Yes. 

A.  Yes,  sir;  I  always  seized  every  opportunity  myself, 
when  I  was  down  in  the  mines,  to  converse  with  the  mi- 
ners, when  the  overseers  or  superintendents  were  not  by. 

Q.  Do  you  think  they  would  have  been  likely  to  tell  you 
anything  that  would  have  been  contrary  to  the  wishes  of 
the  superintendents? 

A.  I  don't  know  about  that.  We  never  asked  them  any- 
thing of  a  private  character  when  their  overseers  were  by. 

Q.  Didn't  they  seem  to  be  afraid  to  answer  questions 
when  the  overseers  were  present? 

A.  No,  sir.  I  don't  think  the  men  did.  We  had  men 
come  to  us  at  our  rooms  and  give  us  information,  and  tell 
us  that  they  did'nt  want  to  have  their  names  known,  for  it 
would  jeopardize  their  interests;  but  not  in  the  mines. 

Q.  What  did  they  mean  by  that? 

A.  I  suppose  they  meant  just  what  they  said. 

Q.  They  meant  they  would  be  discharged  if  they  said 
anything  in  favor  of  the  tunnel  ? 

A.  This  man  who  spoke  to  us  said  he  was  afraid  of 
that.  Only  one  man  of  them  made  that  request,  that  we 
would  not  give  his  name. 

Q.  Do  you  not  think  there  is  a  sort  of  terrorism  exercised 
over  these  men? 

A.  Well,  there  is  no  more  terrorism  exerted  there  than 
there  is  in  every  case  of  a  large  body  of  men  hired  by  a 
large  corporation.  They  all  defer  to  the  opinions  of  the 
employer  necessarily. 

Q.  I  want  to  ask  you  one  or  two  questions  here  in  re- 
gard to  ventilation.  Supposing  this  tunnel  were  in,  and  a 


101 

shaft  connected  with  it,  going  up  to  the  surface,  and  the 
thermometer  would  stand  at  the  bottom  of  that  shaft  at 
110°,  while  the  air  outside,  above,  would  be  say  at  65°, 
would  that  hot  air  rise  up  in  that  shaft  and  create  a  partial 
vacuum,  and  make  the  air  from  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel 
draw  in  ? 

A.  It  is  impossible  to  answer  that  question.  Any  one 
would  suppose  that  would  be  the  case,  but  we  went  in  a 
tunnel,  and  that  tunnel  was  connected  by  a  shaft  with  the 
open  air  above,  and  we  found,  instead  of  the  draft  being  in 
the  tunnel,  up  through  this  shaft  to  the  open  air,  it  was 
directly  the  other  way;  it  came  down  the  shaft. 

Q.  General,  what  is  the  name  of  that  mine  ? 

A.  That  is  the  Occidental. 

Q.  Now,  will  you  permit  me  to  ask  whether  you  found 
any  difference  of  temperature  at  the  bottom  of  that  shaft  in 
the  Occidental  mine  and  at  the  surface  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  we  found  a  difference  of  temperature. 

Q.  Where  was  it  the  highest — at  the  bottom  of  the 
shaft  or  the  top  ? 

A.  I  don't  know  that  we  tried  it  at  the  top  of  the  shaft. 
I  don't  think  we  did.  I  did'nt,  and  I  don't  know  whether 
Professor  Kewcomb  did  or  not ;  but  on  the  whole  exterior, 
on  the  outside  of  the  mountain,  at  the  mouth  of  the  tun- 
nel, the  thermometer  stood  quite  high. 

Mr.  SHOBER.  What  was  the  length  of  the  tunnel,  General  ? 

A.  About  1,200  feet. 

Q.  And  what  was  the  depth  of  the  shaft  ? 

A,  I  cannot  answer  that  very  definitely.  I  should  think 
it  was  about  500  feet. 

Mr.  SUTBO.  General,  was  there  any  material  difference, 
as  far  as  you  recollect,  between  the  temperature  at  the  sur- 
face and  the  temperature  at  the  bottom  of  that  shaft? 

A.  Oh,  certainly. 

Q.  A  material  difference  ? 

A.  Very  material;  yes. 

Q.  What  was  the  difference? 

A.  I  should  think  15°  or  20°. 


102 

Q.  Where  was  it  the  highest? 

A.  It  was  the  highest  outside,  at  the  mouth  of  the  tun- 
nel, and  on  top. 

Q.  Now,  suppose  that  at  the  bottom  of  that  shaft  you 
would  build  a  fire,  where  would  that  draught  go  to? 

A.  Well,  that  is  impossible  to  tell — you  can't  tell. 

Q.  Suppose  you  build  a  fire  in  a  chimney,  where  would 
it  go? 

A.  Well,  we  all  know  it  would  go  up. 

Q.  Isn't  the  shaft  the  same  as  a  chimney? 

A.  It  is  very  different,  sir. 

Q.  What  are  the  laws  that  govern  the  elastic  fluids? 
Are  they  not  always  alike:  those  that  govern  gases  or  air? 
Do  they  not  find  their  equilibrium  always? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Well,  now,  suppose  at  the  bottom  of  a  shaft  the  tem- 
perature stands  much  higher  than  at  the  top,  wouldn't  the 
natural  result  be,  that  the  heat  would  rise  up  ? 

A.  So  any  one  would  suppose;  but,  as  I  have  said,  it 
don't  in  all  cases,  and  there  is  no  use  for  you  to  talk  about 
it.  We  know  it  is  a  positive  fact  that  it  goes  the  other 
way. 

Q.  Well,  don't  you  think  it  is  very  remarkable? 

A.  It  may  be  very  remarkable,  but  it  is  nevertheless 
true. 

Q.  Suppose  you  were  to  build  a  fire  at  the  bottom  of  a 
shaft  2,000  feel  deep,  at  this  point  where  the  tunnel  comes 
in  and  connects  with  the  shaft,  would  you  think  that  the 
smoke  or  the  heat  from  that  fire  would  go  out  of  the  tun- 
nel, or  the  shaft? 

A.  I  don't  know  why  you  want  me  to  express  my  opin- 
ion again.  I  have  already  told  you  exactly  what  I  know 
about  the  passage  of  the  draught  in  respective  tunnels  and 
shafts;  and  I  stated,  moreover,  that,  when  you  have  a  tun- 
nel and  shaft  connected,  you  cannot  tell  a  priori  which  way 
the  draft  is  going  to  be. 

Q.  No  matter  what  the  difference  in  temperature  would 


103 

be  at  the  bottom  of  this  shaft,  at  the  top  of  the  shaft,  or  at 
the  mouth  of  the  tunnel? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  don't  say  "no  matter  about  it,"  because 
everything  affects  the  question;  but  you  may  connect  two 
shafts,  and  you  cannot  tell  which  way  the  draught  will  be 
till  the  draught  is  determined. 

Mr.  KENDALL.  Let  me  ask  General  Foster  as  regards  the 
advantages  of  ventilation :  "Would  it,  or  would  it  not,  make 
any  material  difference  which  way  this  draught  should  be, 
up  the  shaft  or  down  the  shaft? 

A.  I  think  it  would  make  a  material  difference  which 
way  it  should  be.  I  think  the  best  way  would  be  to  have 
the  draught  go  down  the  shafts  and  out  the  tunnel ;  it  would 
be  much  better  for  the  miners.  So  that  what  Mr.  Sutro 
is  trying  to  have  me  say  would  be  just  the  worst  thing  in 
the  world  for  him. 

Q.  That  is  referred  to  somewhere,  is  it  not? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  it  is  embodied  in  the  report  on  page  9,  I 
think. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  think  you  say  something  with  regard 
to  the  ventilation  in  the  Yellow  Jacket? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  It  is  on  page  6.  On  page  7  it  is  con- 
tinued. (Commissioners'  Report.)  Those  are  the  results 
of  absolute  observations. 

Q.  Which  set  aside  all  theories  in  the  world  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  KENDALL.  You  say  here  probably  the  mines  would 
be  most  benefited  by  the  air  passing  downward  through 
them,  and  out  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel.  ? 

A.  If  it  should  pass  the  other  way,  in  the  way  you  would 
suppose  it  would  naturally,  it  would  be  a  great  deal  better 
for  the  miners. 

Q.  Yes,  sir. 

A.  We  thought  of  that  a  great  deal,  and  came  to  that 
conclusion. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  want  to  ask  you  one  more  question,  Gen- 
eral, and  then  I  will  close.  I  want  to  ask  whether  any  one 


104 

of  those  seven  gentlemen,  who  made  these  published  state- 
ments to  you,  is  a  graduate  of  any  mining  school  ? 

A.  You  mean  Colonel  Requa? 

Q.  Several  have  made  statements? 

A.  Yes;  Colonel  Requa,  Mr.  Batterman,  Mr.  Taylor, 
Captain  Day,  &c.  Well,  I  couldn't  state  with  regard  to 
that.  I  don't  know  where  they  graduated. 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  they  have  graduated  at  all? 

A.  I  received  a  good  many  statements  from  Mr.  Janin. 
I  think  he  told  me  that  he  was  a  graduate  of  a  mining 
school.  • 

Q.  Well,  he  was  turned  out,  wasn't  he? 

A.  He  is  not  a  superintendent  now. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  There  never  has  been  a  graduate  of  a 
mining  school  there  yet  that  didn't  turn  out  a  failure. 

Mr.  FOSTER.  I  don't  know  whether  they  are  graduates 
or  not. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  There  isn't  one  on  the  Comstock  lode  that 
is  a  graduate  of  a  mining  school. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  ~N"o,  sir,  there  is  not;  and  we  don't 
want  them. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  You  may  now  take  the  witness. 

The  cross-examination. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  The  air  going  down  the  shafts,  you  think, 
would  be  better  for  the  miners  than  going  up? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  Yes,  if  it  went  in  the  way  you  would  sup- 
pose it  would  naturally. 

Q.  Would  that  be  more  salubrious  for  the  miners? 

A.  Yes.  It  would  carry  the  vapors  out  and  prevent  their 
rising.  If  you  work  up  from  the  tunnel,  the  up-work  would 
receive  all  the  heated  air,  all  the  vitiated  air,  you  know, 
and  make  it  doubly  bad  for  them  to  work  in;  whereas  if  it 
went  the  other  way,  it  might  draw  it  out.  Certainly  it 
wouldn't  receive  this  increase  from  below  from  the  heads 
of  the  works.  In  the  Dana  tunnel,  and  in  the  Occidental 
tunnel,  the  draught  goes  out  of  the  tunnel.  In  the-  Crown 
Point  and  Yellow  Jacket  mine,  the  draught  at  first  was 


105 

down  the  Yellow  Jacket,  through  the  drift,  connecting  on 
the  lower  level,  and  up  the  Crown  Point.  When  this  fire 
occurred,  it  singularly  enough  changed  that,  and  after  the 
fire  the  draught  was  going  the  other  way. 

Mr.  SHOBER.  The  fire  was  in  the  drift,  and  after  that  the 
current  changed? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  How  did  it  occur? 

A.  I  have  forgotten  how  it  occurred. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Mr.  King  gives  an  account,  I  think. 

Mr.  FOSTER.  King  gives  a  full  account.  It  was  an  acci- 
dental occurrence.  They  got  the  information,  and  started 
to  get  out;  some  of  them  did  get  out;  they  were  hoisted 
out,  and  climbed  up  ladders.  Some  of  them  were  found 
up  a  few  levels  above,  where  they  clambered  on  ladders, 
and  finally  suffocated.  The  gas  they  were  in  was  thick, 
and  before  they  could  get  out  of  the  shaft  they  died.  The 
shaft  was  working,  and  they  sent  the  cage  down  as  far  as 
they  could,  and  men  went  down  on  the  cage  to  get  miners, 
but  they  could  not  get  them  out  quick  enough;  they  were 
suffocated. 

Mr.  SHOBER.  Can  that  change  in  the  current  be  accounted 
for  in  any  way  by  reason  of  the  fire  ? 

A.  No,  sir.  It  is  one  of  the  anomalies  of  ventilation 
that  you  cannot  account  for.  It  seems  to  be  an  exceptional 
case,  and  all  those  cases  referred  to  seem  exceptional. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  General,  what  makes  that  draft  down  one 
shaft  and  up  another  ? 

A.  I  can't  say. 

Q.  Doesn't  the  heated  air  arising  up  one  shaft  create  a 
vacuum,  and  it  must  come  down  the  other  shaft  to  re- 
place it? 

A.  Well,  I  will  answer  it  in  this  way :  If  you  have  two 
shafts  on  a  hill-side,  coming  down  on  an  angle  of  45°,  one 
lower  down  than  the  other,  you  will  say  that  the  larger 
one  has  a  larger  chimney.  They  are  connected  below. 
You  build  a  fire  in  the  middle-  of  your  connection.  You 
say  the  larger  chimney  has  the  more  heated  air  in  it,  and 


106 

the  top  is  hotter  than  the  lower  one,  and  the  draught  should 
go  the  other  way. 

Q.  No.  I  would  first  take  a  thermometer  and  see  whether 
there  be  any  difference  at  the  tops  of  these  shafts.  If  there 
was  a  material  difference  in  the  thermometer,  the  hot  air 
would  probably  rise  in  the  shaft  where  the  air  would  be 
the  warmest  on  top;  but  if  there  were  no  difference,  the 
draught  may  go  up  either  one  or  the  other;  but  in  the  case 
of  a  shaft  and  the  tunnel  being  connected,  why  the  hot 
air,  according  to  my  ideas  about  the  motion  of  air,  is  bound 
to  rise  up  in  a  shaft,  and  be  replaced  by  the  cold  air  coming 
in  through  the  tunnel. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  All  other  things  being  equal,  the  den- 
sity of  the  air  must  be  greater  at  the  top  of  the  lower  shaft. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Well,  if  there  is  a  material  difference  in  ele- 
vation it  must  be  so;  but  where  there  are  only  a  few  feet 
difference,  (the  difference  between  Yellow  Jacket  and 
Crown  Point  being  but  thirty  feet,)  it  doesn't  make  any 
material  difference. 

Mr.  FOSTER.  Still  there  is  a  difference.  The  air  is  rarer, 
and  ought  to  be  hotter.  No,  you  cannot  reason  upon  that 
thing.  It  is  one  of  those  things  that  depends  entirely  upon 
the  fact. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Well,  I  don't  believe  it  is  as  much  as  30  feet 
between  the  Crown  Point  and  Yellow  Jacket.  Yes,  it  is. 
One  is  433  feet,  and  the  other  483;  that  makes  a  difference 
of  50  feet.  - 

Mr.  FOSTER.     Where  did  the  fire  occur 7 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  It  occurred  in  the  800-foot  level  of 
the  Yellow  Jacket. 

Mr.  SHOBER.  What  is  the  length  of  the  drift  where  the 
fire  occurred,  between  the  two  shafts? 

Mr.  FOSTER,  I  think  it  is  600  feet;  it  may  be  less  than 
that;  that  is  my  recollection  of  it. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  What  is  the  size  of  these  drifts,  generally  ? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  Six  feet  by  seven  are  the  general  dimen- 
sions. 


107 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  That  is,  outside  of  the  timbers;  the 
timbers  go  inside  of  thVt? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  Sometimes  they  get  down  to  five  feet  in 
width,  to,  say,  six  or  seven  in  height.  6 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  As  we  are  on  this  fire,  here,  I  will 
ask  you,  General  Foster,  some  questions  about  it,  before 
I  pass  it  over.  You  stated  at  the  last  meeting  that  these 
shafts,  in  all  the  principal  mines,  would  be  below  the  tun- 
nel level  before  the  tunnel  could  get  in,  did  you  not  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Suppose,  below  the  tunnel  level,  a  fire  should  occur, 
as  occurred  here  in  the  Yellow  Jacket  and  Crcwn  Point, 
could  the  tunnel  then  be  of  any  benefit  ? 

A.  I  don't  see  that  it  could  be  of  any  benefit;  it  might, 
of  course.  Some  men  might  go  out  that  way  better  than 
they  could  go  up  the  shafts.  In  Crown  Point  mine  many 
men  were  suffocated  going  up  the  pump  shaft  and  climb- 
ing the  ladders.  If  they  could  reach  the  tunnel,  they 
could  more  easily  go  out  of  the  tunnel  than  they  could 
climb  ladders. 

Q.  The  loss  of  life  in  this  fire  was  amongst  men  who 
were  below  the  level  of  the  fire? 

A.  Principally;  yes,  sir. 

Q.  Suppose  the  fire  should  occur  in  a  level  above  the  , 
men  at  work  below  the  tunnel  level? 

A.  They  must  inevitably  be  suffocated,  unless  drifts  were 
made  to  adjacent  shafts,  sunk  down  from  the  tunnel  level, 
by  which  they  could  ascend  and  get  out. 

Q.  The  tunnel  itself  would  be  no  safety  to  the  men  who 
were  below  the  level  of  the  fire? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Did  you  exarni^  the  Sierra  Nevada  mine,  when  you 
were  there? 

A.  No,  sir;  we  went  over  the  ground,  but  we  did  not 
go  into  the  mine. 

Q.  Did  you  see  them  bringing  out  the  ore? 

A.  We  saw  them  bringing  the  ore  out  on  their  trucks 
from  the  tunnel,  and  we  were  told  that  they  were  mining 


108 

in  that  tunnel,  and  running  the  ore  out  through  this  drift 
at  the  top.  / 

Q.  They  were  getting  it,  then,  I  suppose,  near  the  sur- 
face? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  and  running  it  out  of  the  tunnel,  and  throw- 
ing it  down  the  chutes  directly  into  their  mill. 

Q.  Mr.  King  says,  in  his  report,  page  167 : 

"SiEBRA  NEVADA. — The  mine  just  named  has  been  prospected  to  a  depth 
of  500  or  600  feet,  involving  the  expenditure  of  a  large  sum  of  money,  without 
developing  important  deposits  of  silver  ore.  Its  good  fortune  has  been  since  found 
in  working  the  surface  rock,  which  has  proved  to  be  rich  in  gold.  The  gold- 
bearing  ground  is  not  very  high  in  value  per  ton,  but,  as  it  is  easily  extracted 
and  cheaply  milled,  the  work  has  been  very  profitable.  Up  to  January  1, 
1869,  the  company  had  assessed  nearly  $500,000  without  very  satisfactory 
results.  About  that  time  the  importance  of  its  gold:bearing  surface  deposits 
became  known.  A  mill  was  erected  on  the  property,  close  by  the  source  of 
ore,  and  commenced  operations,  milling  the  rock  for  the  gold  only,  without 
attempting  to  save  silver.  This  simple  process  consists  of  amalgamation  in 
the  battery,  and  on  copper-plated  tables  in  front  of  the  battery,  avoiding  all 
expense  for  pan  treatment. 

"During  1869  the  company  produced  and  milled  18,000  tons  of  rock,  yield- 
ing $155,971  36,  or  an  average  of  $8  66  per  ton.  The  expenses  per  ton  were 
as  follows:  For  mining,  $1  92;  milling,  $3  03;  incidentals,  $0  72;  making 
a  total  of  $5  72,  and  leaving  a  profit  of  $2  94  per  ton.  During  the  year  re- 
ferred to  there  were  no  assessments,  and  the  dividends  amounted  to  $45,000." 

Now,  in  mining  in  the  manner  in  which  that  mine  is 
worked,  would  the  tunnel  be  of  any  benefit? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  What  is  the  dip  of  the  vein  in  that  neighborhood? 

A.  The  Comstock? 

Q.  Yes,  sir. 

A.  Forty-five  degrees. 

Q.  Gould  you  lower  the  ore  from  there  down  to  the 
tunnel  level  as  cheaply  as  it  can  be  run  out  through  the 
way  it  is  now  run  out? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  What  would  be  the  means  of  lowering  the  ore  there 
at  that  dip  of  the  angle,  calculating  ±he  distance  it  would 
be  east  from  where  they  are  now  at  work  ? 

A.  The  ore  might  be  precipitated  down  successive  chutes, 
There  might  be  a  difficulty  about  making  one  continuous 
chute.  I  believe  they  have  found  by  experience  that  they 
must  have  chutes  not  much  larger  than  a  hundred  feet,  to 
avoid  their  being  choked  up,  so  as  to  produce  a  great  deal 


109 

of  trouble  in  clearing  them  out.  They  might  arrange  a 
succession  of  chutes,  down  which  the  ore  could  be  sent. 
Those  chutes  would  have  to  be  attended,  and  each  landing 
would  have  to  have  men  to  shove  the  ore  on.  It  might  be 
lowered  also  by  cars,  running  down  an  incline. 

Q.  How  high  would  it  be  necessary  to  rise?  Do  you 
know  the  difference  between  the  altitude  of  the  Sierra 
Nevada  and  the  point  that  I  mark  on  these  maps  here? 
[Exhibiting  on  atlas.] 

A.  I  do  not. 

Q.  It  is  not  given  on  the  maps.  It  is  a  little  lower  than 
that  point. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  It  is  200  feet  lower. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  What  would  be  the  probable  expense 
of  raising,  supposing  the  tunnel  to  be  in,  and  raising  from 
the  tunnel  level  up  to  the  point  where  they  are  at  work 
now,  and  constructing  an  incline  to  lower  ore  into  the 
tunnel? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  It  would  cost  as  much  as  it  would  to  raise 
a  shaft  that  distance,  being  so  steep.  It  would  cost  just  as 
much  as  it  would  to  raise  a  shaft  vertically. 

Q.  How  far,  General,  is  it  safe  to  let  ore  drop  perpen- 
dicularly, to  avoid  the  breaking  of  timbers  ? 

A.  I  believe  100  feet  is  the  limit. 

Q.  Do  you  know  any  perpendicular  chute  where  they  let 
ore  fall  100  feet? 

A.  No,  sir,  I  do  not.  j  The  chutes  that  I  know  of  100 
feet  are  inclined  chutes. 

Q.  Not  perpendicular? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Did  you  notice  that  there  was  any  wear  and  tear  of 
the  timbers? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  very  great. 

Q.  The  Chollar  Potosi,  I  believe,  has  been  a  very  suc- 
cessful mine  for  the  last  two  or  three  years,  has  it  not  ? 

A.  I  believe  it  has;  yes,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  know  how  deep  they  work?    • 


110 

A.  They  have  worked  very  deep;  I  believe  to  1,100  or 
1,200  feet.  At  present  they  are  not  working  so  deep. 

Q.  I  am  speaking  now  of  the  present  depth  to  which 
they  are  working  ? 

A.  They  are  working  near  the  surface. 

Q.  Near  the  surface  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  You  stated  that  you  did  not  go  into  the  Sierra  Ne- 
vada. You  didn't  see  any  difference  of  water  there,  did 
you? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Is  there  any  water  in  the  Chollar  Potosi  where  you 
have  been?  You  have  been  in  the  Ghollai'  Potosi? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Was  there  any  water  there  ? 

A.  I  didn't  see  any.  The  lower  shaft  was  filled  with 
water.  * 

Q.  The  lower  shaft  is  not  being  worked  at  all. 

A.  No,  sir.  They  had  suffered  it  to  become  filled  up 
with  water. 

Q.  In  the  shaft  that  is  now  working,  to  the  depth  at 
which  they  are  working,  is  there  any  water  at  all,  any  ap- 
pearance of  water,  any  running  water,  or  any  pumps? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  didn't  see  any. 

Q.  The  Jast  report  of  the  Chollar  Potosi  shows  that  there 
were  some  84,000  tons  worked.  I  am  referring  to  Mr. 
Bequa's  report,  or  rather  the  report  of  the  president,  in- 
cluding Mr.  Requa's? 

A.  Mr.  Requa  reported  to  us  that  he  had  done  no 
pumping  for  the  last  two  years. 

Q.  In  the  report  made  at  the  last  annual  meeting  of  the 
company,  in  June,  1871,  the  president  says : 

"The  dividends  paid  during  the  year  aggregate  some  $2,000,000." 

The  superintendent  gives  as  the  gross  proceeds  $3,459,- 
423  08.  Gould  the  tunnel  have  been  of  any  benefit  to  that 
company  in  working  that  mine? 

Q.  You  mean  working,  as  they  have  been  working  r&j 
cently,  in  the  upper  levels? 


Ill 

Q.  Yes,  sir;  for  the  last  year. 

A.  No,  sir;  I  don't  think  it  could. 

Q.  You  saw  them  at  work  in  the  lowest  levels.  Do  you 
remember  how  deep  they  were  working  ? 

A.  I  think  they  were  working  600  feet  deep,  but  I  am 
not  positive  with  regard  to  that. 

Q.  I  guess  you  are  mistaken  about  that. 

A.  We  went  into  different  levels. 

Q.  How  is  the  most  of  the  ore  taken  out  there,  General  ? 

A.  It  is 

Q.  I  mean  through  a  tunnel? 

A.  It  is  run  out  through  a  tunnel.  It  is  one  of  the  upper 
tunnels,  200  or  300  feet  down.  They  have  a  tunnel  run- 
ning out  to  their  dump.  They  have  two  or  three  adits  at 
different  levels. 

Q.  They  were  taking  the  ore  right  out  from  the  surface, 
were  they,  when  you  were  there? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

The  CHAIRMAN.   Why  did  they  construct  those  tunnels  ? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  Well,  the  opinion  was  favorable  to  tunnels 
at  that  time.  A  great  many  tunnels  were  started  there. 
There  was  the  Latrobe  tunnel,  that  was  run  in  for  several 
thousand  feet,  and  ruined  two  or  three  men.  They  went 
entirely  through  the  Comstock  lode  to  the  west-country 
rock,  and  singularly  enough  they  didn't  find  any  ore.  That 
is  abandoned  now.  It  is  a  very  long  tunnel.  These  other 
tunnels  are  nearer  the  surface,  right  up,  and  they  are  used 
to  get  the  ore  out  of.  They  use  this  one  now,  and  they  use 
all  the  tunnels,  I  believe.  They  are  used  for  different 
purposes. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  We  have  a  map  here  which  shows  all  the 
tunnels  on  the  lode.  There  are  probably  30  or  40  of  them. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  will  read  you  the  report  which  shows 
how  deep  it  is.  In  1:he  last  annual  report,  after  referring 
to  the  Belvidere  lode  as  containing  a  large  number  of  tons 
of  good  ore,  the  superintendent  of  the  Chollar  Potosi  says : 

"Results  establish  the  fact  that  no  overestimate  was  made.  On  this  lode 
the  rule  is,  that  these  ore  deposits  are  not  regular  in  their  form ;  this  ore  has 


112 

proved  no  exception  to  the  rule.  Consequently,  to  give  a  description  of  it, 
resort  is  made  to  an  average.  The  stope,  as  viewed,  would  nearly  resemble  a 
regular  body  of  ore  of  one  hundred  and  forty  feet  in  length,  forty-five  feet 
in  width,  and  running  from  the  Potosi  tract  floor  up  toward  the  surface  two 
hundred  and  twenty  feet." 

He  says  where  he  ran  in  here  it  was  220  feet  from  the 
Potosi  tract  floor  up  to  the  surface :  220  feet. 

"The  quality  of  ore  was  very  regular;  much  the  'larger  portion  extracted 
required  no  assorting.  The  whole  was  standing  on  an  angle  to  the  eastward 
of  twenty-eight  degrees. 

"Down  from  Potosi  tunnel  level  (that  is  220  feet  from  the  surface)  fifty  feet 
the  clays  came  together,  in  a  manner  that  gave  an  appearance  of  the  ore  hav- 
ing been  entirely  cut  outl" 

That  makes  55  feet  and  220  feet? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  275  feet. 

Q.  "Well,  now,  would  it  be  possible  to  mine  or  mill  any 
cheaper  from  that  mine  in  case  a  tunnel  were  in  to-day? 

A.  No ;  it  wouldn't  be  any  cheaper  where  they  are  min- 
ing now,  in  that  bonanza. 

Q.  Well,  that  is  what  I  speak  of.  That  is  all  the  ore 
you  saw  in  the  Chollar? 

A.  That  is  all  I  saw  in  the  bonanza  there. 

Q.  Isn't  that  all  that  has  ever  been  discovered  ? 

A.  I  believe  it  is ;  yes,  sir. 

Q.  Did  Mr.  Requa  report  to  you  what  it  costs  to  mine 
that? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  remember  the  figures? 

A.  About  f  8  a  ton. 

Q.  To  mine  ? 

A.  Oh,  no ;  I  am  not  thinking  of  Mr.  Requa.  Mr.  Re- 
qua did  report  to  us,  and  I  had  my  note-book.  I  am  not 
positive  that  that  is  the  figure  he  gave  me.  About  $5 — it 
is  stated  there  $4  69. 

Q.  Milling  $12  per  ton? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Now,  I  will  get  you  to  look  at  these  tables,  and  see  if 
the  $4  69  don't  include  every  expense  connected  with  the 
mine,  except  that  of  milling  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  That  includes  all  the  expense? 


113 

A.  Yes,  sir;  all  the  cost  of  extracting  the  ore. 

Q.  I  will  now  ask  you  to  state  from  that  table  what 
taxes  were  paid  that  year.  You  will  find  it  in  the  table 
there. 

A.  Taxes,  $21,971  29. 

Q.  Will  you  see  what  the  legal  expense  was? 

A.  Legal  expenses,  §4,885  20. 

Q.  That  is  all  I  want  in  connection  with  that.  I  simply 
show  these  as  specimens  of  the  expenses  of  the  mining 
company  outside  of  the  sinking  of  the  shaft  and  the  pump- 
ing of  water.  [To  the  committee.]  I  wish  to  say,  Mr. 
Chairman  and  gentlemen  of  the  committee,  that,  as  long 
as  the  truthfulness  of  the  reports  made  by  the  mining 
superintendents  has  been  called  in  question,  I  may  be 
compelled,  in  the  discharge  of  my  duty,  to  ask  the  com- 
mittee to  adjourn  until  I  can  get  witnesses  from  Virginia 
City,  who  can  be  sworn  and  testify  to  the  facts,  or  else 
ask  the  committee  to  make  a  report  to  the  House  of 
Representatives  recommending  the  appointment  of  a  joint 
committee  of  the  two  branches  to  go  out  there,  with  power 
to  send  for  persons  and  papers,  and  find  out  the  facts.  I 
am  ready,  if  I  have  an  opportunity,  to  prove  my  case. 
At  present  it  is  impossible  to  get  witnesses  here  from 
there.  The  commission  which  went  out  there  was  not 
authorized  to  swear  witnesses,  to  examine  books,  to  send 
for  papers,  and  to  make  that  investigation  which  it  now 
seems  is  necessary  to  have.  If  these  reports  are  still 
called  in  question,  I  shall  ask  the  committee  to  make  that 
recommendation  to  the  House.  I  would  like  to  ask  Gen- 
eral Foster  one  question  more.  If  he  ever  applied  to  any 
superintendent  or  clerk  of  any  company  there  to  see  the 
books  of  the  company? 

Mr.  FOSTER.     No,  sir. 

Q.  Was  facility,  that  you  ever  hinted  you  desired,  re- 
fused you,  to  gain  all  the  information  that  could  be  gained 
by  you  while  you  were  there? 

A.  No,  sir.  We  didn't  understand  our  duty  as  requir- 
ing us  to  verify  the  accuracy  of  the  statements  made  offi- 
8 


114 

cially  to  us.  "We  had  certain  specific  points  to  ascertain 
and  report  on,  which  points  were  given  definitely  in  the 
law,  and  we  confined  ourselves  strictly  to  the  investigation 
of  the  facts  under  those  different  heads.  We  did  look  over 
some  books,  but  not  to  extract  from  them  any  lengthy  or 
consolidated  statement.  We  were  not  refused  anything 
that  we  asked  for.  On  the  contrary,  we  were  told  by  every- 
body that  they  were  desirous  of  having  a  fair  exhibit  made 
of  the  facts  in  the  case.  They  didn't  wish  to  conceal  any- 
thing, and  they  would  do  anything  they  could  to  further  the 
investigation.  They  considered  the  interests  of  Virginia 
City  as  dependent  upon  this  great  interest  of  mining,  and 
they  wished  to  have  a  perfectly  fair  investigation.  We  were 
obliged  to  have  our  report  in  by  orders  on  the  1st  of  De- 
cember. We  had  no  time  to  spare  to  make  a  lengthy  ex- 
amination of  books.  We  were  not  authorized  to  hire  ex- 
perts and  accountants.  We  had  to  do  all  these  things 
ourselves,  and  we  got  home  in  September.  We  immediately 
went  to  work  consolidating  our  information  and  preparing 
our  report,  and  we  got  it  in  on  the  1st  of  December.  We 
were  fully  occupied  from  the  moment  of  the  time  we  start- 
ed. We  had  no  idea  that  these  representations,  made 
officially  to  us,  would  be  doubted,  and  they  covered  the 
grounds  of  our  investigation,  as  we  understood  them  under 
the  law. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Mr.  Chairman,  it  seems  to  me  that  we  have 
all  the  material  here  necessary  to  get  at  the  facts  in  this 
case.  We  have,  in  the  first  place,  the  statements  of  seven 
superintendents  attached  to  this  report,  and  upon  which 
the  report  is  based  to  some  extent;  we  have  the  reports  of 
Mr.  Raymond,  the  United  States  commissioner  on  min- 
ing; we  have  Mr.  King's  report;  and  we  also  have  th6  re- 
ports of  these  mining  companies  from  year  to  year;  and 
by  instituting  a  comparison  of  these  materials,  I  think  we 
can  arrive  at  a  very  clear  conclusion  as  to  what  may  be 
taken  as  correct  and  what  incorrect. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  sub-committee  has  only  limited 
powers.  No  authority  has  been  delegated  them  to  send 


115 

for  persons  and  papers,  or  to  make  any  arrangements  for 
the  investigation  beyond  the  limits  that  have  already  been 
assumed  or  designated.  If  the  sub-committee  report  that 
they  are  unable  to  arrive  at  a  satisfactory  conclusion,  why, 
then,  it  is  for  the  whole  committee  to  determine  whether 
they  will  ask  for  extended  power  from  the  House.  That 
is  a  question  that  would  only  be  determined  in  the  com- 
mittee. 

•  Air.  SUNDERLAND.  I  did  not  suppose  that  the  sub-com- 
mittee  could  determine  it.  The  first  time  the  whole  com- 
mittee met,  and  I  was  asked  if  I  had  any  witnesses  here. 
I  said  I  had  not,  because  I  relied  on  the  reports. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  If  I  understand  correctly,  Mr.  Sunderland 
wants  to  go  outside  of  the  records.  We  were  to.  take- the 
reports  of  the  commissioners,  together  with  the  state- 
ments attached  thereto,  and  the  official  reports  made  by 
the  Government,  and  also  the  reports  of  these  mining 
companies. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  We  have  gone  outside  of  the  record 
all  the  time. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  As  one  of  the  committee,  I  have  been  in- 
clined to  get  all  the  information  possible.  We  have  been 
giving  you  all  the  latitude  you  require.  It  only  imposes 
additional  labor  on  the  committee,  in  sifting  out  from  this 
voluminous  testimony  what  is  the  desired  evidence  in 
making  up  their  report  to  the  general  committee.  We 
are  certainly  traveling  over  a  great  deal  of  ground,  and  I 
don't  know  whether  this  committee  will  ever  be  able  to 
arrive  at  the  gist  of  the  thing. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Gentlemen  of  the  committee  will  bear 
witness  that  I  have  not  gone  over  much  ground. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  did  not  intend  that  as  a  reflection.  It 
cannot  be  so  construed.  But  I  suppose  it  is  the  desire  of 
the  parties  in  controversy  that  the  committee  arrive  at  a 
conclusion  us  speedily  as  possible,  and  elicit  all  the  facts 
that  are  necessary  to  be  considered  in  making  up  the  re- 
port. I  know  it  will  be  very  satisfactory  to  the  committee, 
if  inquiries  were  made  more  direct,  and  confined  more  to 
the  subject-matter. 


HEARING  ON  WEDNESDAY  EVENING,  FEB.  21. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  (Resuming  cross-examination  of  Gen- 
eral Foster.)  Did  you  visit  the  Overman  mine  while  you 
were  at  Virginia  City  ? 

A.  'No,  sir;  I  did  not,  myself.  The  other  members  of 
the  commission  visited  it.  I  was  not  with  them  them  at 
the  time. 

Q.  You  took  some  pains  to  ascertain  the  cost  of  mining 
and  milling  there,  did  you  not? 

A.  We  consulted  their  report  in  regard  to  it. 

Q.  Mr.  King  says,  on  page  187  of  his  report,  that  the  av- 
erage value  of  ore  is  generally  stated  at  $20  to  $25  per  ton. 
(This  is  from  the  Overman.) 

"The  only  positive  information  on  this  point  in  the  possession  of  the  wri- 
ter is  based  upon  the  prices  from  July  7,  1869,  to  Jan.  10,  1870,  when,  accord- 
ing to  the  official  accounts,  there  were  11,392  tons  of  ore  crushed,  producing 
$166,696  04,  or  an  average  per  ton  of  $14  63." 

Could  that  ore  .pay  a  profit,  after  paying  the  royalty  of 
$2  a  ton  under  the  act  of  Congress  to  the  Sutro  tunnel? 

A.  It  is  generally  conceded  that  the  extraction  of  the  ore 
and  the  milling,  where  the  mine  is  at  great  depth,  say  1,200 
feet,  would  cost  ahout  $20  a  ton.  This  was  not  obtained 
from  a  great  depth,  but  from  a  depth  of  700  feet.  I  should 
think  it  would  cost  them  nearly  that  amount  to  mill  and 
mine,  and  that  they  could  hardly  afford  to  pay  a  royalty  out 
of  the  production  at  that  rate. 

Q.  When  you  speak  of  milling,  do  you  mean  to  say  that 
it  costs  the  mill  so  much  per  ton  to  reduce  the  ore,  or  do  you 
mean  to  say  that  the  mine  pays  to  the  mill  so  much  per 
ton? 

A.  I  mean  to  say  that  the  mine  pays  to  the  mill  and  to 
the  persons  who  convey  the  ore  to  the  mills,  in  gross,  about 
$  12  a  ton.  That  covers  the  transportation  and  the  amount 
that  is  paid  to  the  mill  owners  for  obtaining  the  ore  from 
the  rock. 

116 


117 

Mr.  SUTRO.  May  I  ask  the  General  a  question  right 
here? 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  If  Mr.  Sunderland  is  willing. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  have  no  objection  now,  hut  gener- 
ally I  don't  want  to  be  interrupted. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  General,  you  say  you  have  never  been  at 
the  Overman  mine? 

A.  I  haven't  examined  i,t.     I  don't  recollect. 

Q.  What  had  you  found  out  about  the  cost  of  mining 
and  the  mining  difficulties  there?  How  can  you  tell 
whether  they  can  afford  to  pay  any  royalty  or  not? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Well,  I  object  to  the  question. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  On  what  grounds? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Well,  I  don't  want  to  be  interrupted. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  have  asked  permission  to  ask  this  question, 
and  it  has  been  granted,  hasn't  it,  Mr.  Chairman? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Well,  then,  go  on. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Then  I  put  the  question. 

Mr.  FOSTER.  I  know  as  much  about  it  as  any  person  who 
goes  to  a  locality  and  ascertains  from  testimony  and  doc- 
uments what  it  costs  generally  to  mill  and  mine:  who 
compares  the  depth  of  this  mine,  as  stated,  with  the  depths 
of  other  mines,  and  considers  the  cost  of  mining,  and  ex- 
ercises his  judgment -to  institute  a  comparison. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  General  Foster,  you  say  you  have  not  been 
at  that  mine.  You  do  not  know  anything  about  the  quan- 
tity of  water  in  that  mine.  You  do  not  know  anything 
about  the  circumstances  of  that  mine.  There  is  no  royalty 
to  pay,  unless  the  tunnel  is  in  and  drains  the  mine.  Now, 
how  can  you  judge  whether  they  can  afford  to  pay  that 
royalty  or  not,  not  knowing  anything  about  these  things. 

A.  Well,  I  must  be  my  own  judge  as  to  whether  I  can 
form  a  judgment,  and  not  you. 

Q.  You  have  just  stated  that  you  haven't  been  to  that 
mine. 

A.  No;  I  beg  your  pardon.  I  said  that  I  hadn't  exam- 
ined it. 

Q.  Well,  what  do  you  know  about  it,  then? 


118 

A.  I  have  just  stated  what  I  know  about  it. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  the  condition  of  the 
water  in  that  mine? 

A.  No. 

Q.  That  is  all. 

Mr.  SUKDERLAND.  I  believe,  General,  that  you  base  the 
advantages  of  this  tunnel,  so  far  as  the  Comstock  lode  is 
concerned,  upon  two  propositions :  one  of  which  is  the  feas- 
ibility of  reducing  all  the  ore  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  by 
power  from  the  water  of  the  Carson  river;  and  the  other, 
to  concentrate  or  work  by  other  means,  not  now  known  in 
this  country,  the  ores  at  a  less  expense  than  they  are  now 
worked  ? 

Q.  Yes,  sir;  those  two  points  we  considered  as  forming 
an  essential  part  of  the  whole  project. 

Q.  Those  twc*things  alone,  as  I  understand,  were  prin- 
cipally to  benefit  the  Comstock.  ISTow  I  am  talking  about 
the  Comstock  lode,  I  will  ask  you  if  all  the  water  power 
on  Carson"  river,  from  the  first  fall  that  it  has  after  turn- 
ing into  the  valley,  to  the  last  fall  it  has  in  its  course,  is 
not  now  utilized  by  means  of  mills  upon  the  river? 

A.  Well,  I  think  not  all.  I  think  there  is  a  fall  below 
the  Merrimack  mill,  at  which  point  it  is  contemplated  to 
erect  a  new  mill,  which  will,  however,  utilize,  when  con- 
structed, all  the  water  power. 

Q.  All  the  power  in  the  mill? 

A.  Yes,  sir.  It  is  proposed  to  erect  a  mill,  to  be  called 
the  Excelsior  mill,  which  will  take  all  the  remaining  water 
power  in  that  locality.  9 

Q.  And  that  power  connected  with  the  Vivian,  which  is 
a  little  mill  just  below? 

A.  I  believe  that  is  the  name ;  yes,  sir. 

Q.  I  will  ask  you  whether  it  is  riot  cheaper  to  utilize  the 
water  power  in  that  river  by  a  succession  of  dams  and  mills 
than  it  is  to  build  one  immense  dam,  and  take  all  the  water 
out  in  one  race  or  flume? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  I  should  think  it  would  be,  as  far  as  the 
mere  point  of  gaining  power  is  concerned. 


119 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  the  land  adjacent  to  and  on 
each  side  of  the  river,  and  the  water  rights  upon  it,  have 
been  acquired  by  the  parties  in  possession? 

A.  I  have  been  told  that  such  was  the  fact. 

Q.  Patents  issued  to  the  property? 

A.  I  have  been  told  so;  yes,  sir.  The  commission  were 
informed  so  by  some  of  the  parties  that  owned  the  privi- 
leges. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  this  idea  of  concentrat- 
ing ore,  as  has  been  suggested  by  Mr.  Sutro? 

A.  Since  the  idea  was  started,  or  since  it  was  entertained 
by  the  commission  in  connection  with  the  project  as  an 
essential  part  of  it,  we  directed  our  attention  to  acquiring 
all  the  information  possible  in*  time  for  our  report  upon 
that  subject.  We  visited  the  mines  at  Franklin,  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  they  had  reduction  works  in  operation  that 
are  said  to  be  like  those  that  are  used  in  Germany  and  in 
the  Cornwall,  in  England.  We  also  visited  the  Lehigh 
Zinc  Works,  near  Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania,  where  it  was 
said  that  machines  were  used  in  Germany  that  were  simi- 
lar to  those;  and  I  believe  they  were  imported  from  Ger- 
many— the  plans  and  descriptions  at  least.  We  saw*  that 
a  considerable  reduction  was  made,  but  we  were  not  satis- 
fied that  the  machines  that  were  used  would  be  of  service 
upon  the  Comstock  lode.  We  also  sought  information  from 
mining  engineers  in  New  York,  and  obtained  a  good  deal 
of  information  that  way.  That,  however,  we  had  to  receive 
verbally,  as  merely  personal  testimony.  We  saw  articles 
in  the  scientific  journals  describing  those  machines,  stating 
the  saving  that  could  be  made  by  their  use  in  the  extrac- 
tion of  the  ore.  We  had  no  further  evidence  than  that. 

Q.  General,  I  guess  you  have  used  a  term  there  you 
didn't  intend  to — extracting  of  the  ore.  That  means  ex- 
tracting from  the  mines? 

A.  I  mean  concentrating  of  the  ore.  We  visited  the 
American  Institute,  and  saw  one  or  two  machines  there—- 
new  inventions — said  to  be  improvements  upon  the  German 
machine;  and  I  believe  them  to  be  improvements.  We 


120 

thought  perhaps  they  might  be  used,  hut  we  were  not  pos- 
itive; we  couldn't  tell. 

Q.  In  what  way  would  the  concentration  of  ores  cheapen 
their  reduction  ? 

A.  In  this  way:  After  the  rock  has  been  pounded  up, 
pulverized,  reduced  to  a  state  of  pulp,  the  ore  can  be  con- 
centrated in  a  certain  part,  so  that  only  a  portion  need  be 
treated  for  the  extraction  of  the  metal,  allowing  the  rest  to 
be  thrown  away,  as  being  far  below  the  standard.  It  is 
merely  a  saving  of  labor  and  machinery  in  the  operation. 
The  increased  richness  of  the  concentrations  requires  greater 
care  and  expense  per  ton  in  saving  the  metal  than  are  re- 
quired in  the  reduction  of  the  ores  as  practiced  at  the  mills 
in  Nevada. 

Q.  You  will  lose  some  of  the  metal  in  concentrating,  I 
suppose?  You  don't  save  it  all? 

A.  You  lose  metal.  Yes,  sir.  I  can  hardly  answer 
that  question.  It  would  probably  take  more  quicksilver 
to  the  ton.  The  loss  would  be  something  considerable  in 
that  respect.  In  discarding  the  crushed  portion  of  the  ore — 
the  pu]p  that  is  not  to  be  treated  at  all — we  lose  so  much : 
that  is  loss. 

Q.  Now,  I  will  ask  you,  General,  if  there  is  any  advantage 
in  concentrating  ores  before  amalgamation  or  other  treat- 
ment beyond  concentration  ?  I  want  to  know  if  there  is 
any  advantage  in  concentrating  the  ores  of  the  Comstock 
lode,  whether  it  cannot  be  done  just  as  cheaply  at  the  mills, 
as  they  now  exist  upon  the  Carson  river,  as  it  could  at  the 
mouth  of  the  tunnel? 

A.  With  proper  machinery,  I  think  the  reduction  and 
extraction  of  the  metal  could  be  done  as  cheaply  in  one 
place  as  the  other. 

Q.  Well,  I  didn't,  as  a  matter  of  course,  mean  to  say 
that  there  was  any  machinery  there  now  for  concentrating. 
I  mean  to  say  that  with  the  power  there,  and  all  the  appli- 
ances of  machinery  for  concentration,  couldn't  the  work  be 
done  just  as  cheaply  there  as  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  I  thvnk  it  could,  just  as  cheaply. 


121 

Q.  Will  it  cost  any  more  to  prepare  the  work  for  con- 
centration at  the  different  mills  than  it  will  at  the  mouth 
of  the  tunnel — the  different  mills  on  the  Carson  river? 

A.  I  should  think  there  would  be  very  little  difference 
in  the  cost  in  either  case;  very  little  difference.  But  if 
there  is  an  advantage,  it  would  be  on-  the  side  of  having 
the  concentration  works  all  together,  I  should  think,  be- 
cause you  build  a  large  establishment  much  cheaper  in 
proportion  than  you  can  several  small  ones  of  the  same 
combined  capacity. 

Q.  Did  you  visit  the  Eureka  mill,  in  process  of  construc- 
tion on  the  Carson  river,  while  you  were  there? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  the  capacity  of  the  mill  will  be 
when  completed? 

A.  I  cannot  tell  now.  I  made  notes  of  the  capacity  of 
every  mill  and  of  its  condition,  and  the  note-books  are  in 
the  possession  of  General  Wright,  the  senior  officer  of  the 
commission. 

Q.  Do  you  remember  the  fall  at  the  Eureka  mill  ? 

A.  I  do  not. 

Q.  Do  you  remember  the  estimated  cost  of  the  mill? 

A.  JSTo,  sir;  we  visited  so  many  mills,  and  they  were  all 
so  very  nearly  alike.  There  was  very  little  difference  be- 
tween them.  I  made  particular  notes  of  the  capacity,  cost, 
and  value  of  each  mill,  but  I  have  not  those  notes  with  me. 

Q.  Well,  it  had  the  foundation  of  a  large  mill,  had  it 
not — the  largest  one  in  that  country? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  At  that  particular  mill,  would  it  be  any  more  expense 
to  attach  to  the  power  there  the  machinery  for  concentra- 
tion than  it  would  anywhere  else  ? 

A.  I  should  think  not. 

Q.  Did  you  visit  the  Brunswick  mill,  in  process  of  recon- 
struction ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Would  there  be  any  more  expense  there  ? 

A.  No,  sir. 


122 

Q.  Any  more  expense  at  the  Mexican  mill? 

A.  The  Mexican  mill  is  being 

•  Q.  The  Mexican  mill  is  the  mill  at  Empire  City;   44 
stamps  ? 

A.  No,  sir;  there  would  be  no  trouble  in  attaching  the 
additional  machinery  at  any  one  of  those  mills. 

Q.  Any  good-sized  mill,  I  suppose  you  mean? 

A.  Any  mill  of  sufficient  capacity. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Will  you  please  state,  Mr.  Sunderland,  what 
you  refer  to — what  concentration — the  concentration   of 
what  ? 
'  Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Ore. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  The  concentration  of  ore,  is  it? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Yes,  sir;  what  we  have  been  talking 
about.  ]$Towr  there  is  another  question  connected  with 
this,  the  practicability  of  getting  the  water  from  the  Car- 
son river  to  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel.  Have  you  made  any 
estimate  yourself  upon  the  cost  of  that  work,  General? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  We  made  some  very  rough  estimates;  noth- 
ing in  detail.  We  entered  into  no  details  with  regard  to 
it.  We  left  that  to  General  Day,  whom  Mr.  Sutro  en- 
gaged to  have  make  the  estimates;  and  he  has  rendered 
mere  skeleton  estimates  of  the  sum  in  gross.  I  have  made 
a  few  figures,  to  estimate  the  cost  of  building  a  large  em- 
bankment, in  order  to  strengthen  the  center  of  the  dam, 
which  would  have  to  be  made  impervious  to  water,  and 
considered  it  necessary  that  it  should  be  embanked  on  both 
sides:  strongly  embanked  with  rock,  blasted  from  the 
mountains  on  either  side.  The  center  of  the  dam  can  be 
strongly  padded,  and  it  may  also  be  made  of  plank.  The 
cost  of  such  a  dam,  laid  as  cheaply  as  I  could  make  it, 
would  be  somewhat  more  than  General  Day  has  estimated, 
but  not  a  very  large  sum. 

Q.  What  is  the  highest  dam  which  you  have  seen  or 
know  anything  about  in  the  United  States? 

A.  I  can  hardly  answer  that  question.  I  have  seen  the 
Lowell  dam  and  the  Philadelphia  dam.  I  should  say,  not 
over  60  feet. 


123 

Q.  This  is  to  be  155  feet,  I  believe;  isn't  it? 

A.  That  is  the  idea ;  yes,  sir. 

Q.  "Where  is  it  proposed  to  build  that  dam,  General? 

A.  The  site  was  not  definitely  fixed.  It  might  be  built 
near  the  Franklin  mill,  about  700  yards  above  it,  or  still 
farther  up  the  river,  where  there  is  a  narrow  gorge.  It 
could  be  built  best  where  the  river  is  narrowest,  and  where 
the  mountains  on  either  side  would  furnish  the  requisite 
amount  of  rock. 

Q.  I  believe  I  understood  you  to  say  that  you  were  in- 
formed while  there  that  all  the  land  and  the  water  power 
along  that  river  were  private  property? 

A.  I  don't  recollect  being  informed  that  the  land'  was 
private  property.  The  water  privileges,  I  was  told,  were 
owned  by  private  parties.  I  don't  know  whether  the  water 
privileges  and  thejand  go  together  or  not.  Sometimes  they 
do  not. 

Q.  What  property  would  that  dam  .flood  ? 

A.  It  would  flood  everything  back  to  the  Mexican  dam. 

Q.  What  property  is  on  the  river  above  the  Franklin 
dam  and  the  Mexican  ? 

A.  The  Eureka  mill,  the  Franklin  mill,  the  Brunswick 
mill,  the  Excelsior  mill.  I  don't  recollect  any  other  mills. 

Q.  Mexican? 

A.  Yes,  and  the  Mexican. 

Q.  The  Morgan  mill,  or  Yellow  Jacket? 

A.  Oh,  yes;  the  Yellow  Jacket. 

Q.  Vivian? 

A.  Yes;  I  had  forgotten  that. 

Q.  Did  you  name  Merrimack? 

A.  Yes,  the  Merimack.  It  would  flood  the  ground  oc- 
cupied by  all  of  those  mills. 

Q.  Would  it  not  flood  the  town  of  Empire  City? 

A.  It  might  do  so,  sir. 

Q.  Isn't  there  a  fall  there,  General,  of  over  20  feet,  at  the 
Mexican  mill?  . 

A.  Yes,  sir. 


124 

Q.  Is  that  mill  built  upon  a  level  with  the  town?  Is  the 
foundation  pretty  near  on  a  level  with  the  town? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Then,  if  it  floods  the  country  back  to  the  Mexican 
dam,  it  must  necessarily  flood  Empire  City? 

A.  The  flood  would  be  up  to  the  base  of  the  dam.  You 
couldn't  flood  to  the  top  of  the  dam,  because  that  would 
destroy  the  power  of  the  Empire  mill. 

Q.  Well,  I  should  suppose  it  would  destroy  all  these 
mills? 

A.  N"o,  sir;  it  would  destroy  all  up  to  the  Mexican.  You 
have  the  flood  going  to  the  base  of  the  dam. 

Q.  Is  that  the  proposition  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Just  look  at  that,  General.  [Exhibiting  draught.]  I 
think  you  are  mistaken  about  that.  I  think  that  is  the 
top  of  the  Mexican  dam. 

A.  E"o ;  it  don't  siate  so  here.  It  shows  the  height  of 
dam  at  level  of  Mexican  dam;  but  the  intention  was  to  flood 
back  to  the  base  of  the  dam,  so  as  to  allow  the  Mexican 
mill  to  run  with  its  present  power,  and  to  avoid  flooding 
Empire  City,  if  possible.  That  was  the  idea.  I  don't, 
know  whether  General  Day  took  his  levels  at  the  top  of 
the  dam  or  not ;  but  the  idea  was  to  take  the  levels  at  the 
bottom  of  the  dam. 

Q.  What  is  the  population  of  Empire  City? 

A.  I  do  not  know. 

Q.  Several  hundred  ? 

A.  I  should  judge  it  to  be  two  or  three  hundred;  yes, 
sir.  It  is  a  very  small  settlement. 

Q.  Do  you  remember  the  depths  of  these  main  shafts 
while  you  were  out  there,  General  ?  . 

A.  ISTo,  sir;  I  cannot  give  them  exactly.  They  were  all 
given  upon  the  map  that  we  sent  in  with  our  report.  I 
can  give  the  depths  of  some  of  them. 

Q.  The  last  report  of  the  Gould  and  Curry  company,  made 
25th  of  December,  1871,  says,  that  during  the  year  two 
compartments  of  the  shaft  have  been  sunk  294  feet,  rnak- 


125 

ing  the  entire  depth  1,485  feet,  or,  measuring  from  section 
A,  at  croppings,  1,685  feet? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Ho\v  much  is  that  above  the  tunnel  level  ? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  What  shaft  is  that,  General  ? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  The  Gould  and  Curry. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  From  what  point  are  those  1,685  feet? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  Point  A. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  There  is  the  depth  you  give  in  your 
report  on  page  5. 

Mr.  FOSTER,  1,898,  close  to  1,900. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Gall  it  1,900. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  "Where  is  that  1,685  derived  from? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  From  the  report  of  the  superintendent 
of  the  Gould  and  Curry. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Is  that  the  statement  of  the  superintendent 
of  the  Gould  and  Curry  mine  ? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Yes,  sir.  [To  Mr.  Foster.]  Now,  if 
this  same  progress  of  294  feet  in  a  year  continues  to  be 
made  in  the  sinking  of  that  shaft,  how  long  will  it  take  to 
reach  the  level  of  the  tunnel? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  About  nine  months. 

Q.  Do  you  remember  the  depth  of  the  Savage  shaft  ? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  do  not.  It  is  given  here  as  1,262  feet. 
They  haven't  got  down  much  beyond  that. 

Q.  Do  you  know  on  what  level  this  ore  was  struck  here 
within  the  last  few  weeks? 

A.  No,  sir.  If  I  recollect  aright,  it  was  on  the  1,300-foot 
level. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  It  is  on  the  1,400-foot  level.  That's  where  it 
is.  The  llth  station. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Do  you  know  the  depth  of  the  Hale 
and  Norcross  shaft  ? 

A.  No,  sir.  It  is  given  as  1,397  feet.  I  don't  know  what 
it  is  now.  All  these  depths  are  given  upon  the  maps  that 
we  sent  with  our  report. 

Q.  Do  you  remember  the  depth  of  the  Crown  Point 
shaft? 


126 

A.  Yes,  sir;  1,500  feet. 

Q.  From  where? 

A.  From  Point  A ;  1,500  feet.  The  Crown  Point  is  now 
down  about  1,700  feet  from  the  Point  A. 

Q.  That's  about  it.  It  is  over  that,  however;  but  it  is 
near  enough.  Do  you  know  what  progress  they  make  in 
the  sinking  of  these  shafts?  But  I  will  ask  you  about* the 
Imperial.  Did  you  go  into  that  ? 

A.  JSTo,  sir;  I  did  not. 

Q.  "Were  you  told  anything  about  the  depth  of  that  shaft  ? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  What  was  the  general  progress  made  in  the  sinking 
of  those  shafts  per  year?  How  long  did  it  take  to  sink  a 
hundred  feet — one  level  ? 

A.  They  progress  from  three  to  six  feet  a  day,  about  a 
mean  of  three  feet  a  day. 

Q.  Then  supposing  it  were  to  take  three  years  to  get  the 
tunnel  in,  at  what  level  would  these  shafts  be  when  the 
tunnel  gets  in — the  principal  shafts? 

A.  They  would  be  below  the  tunnel. 

Q.  How  far? 

A.  They  would  be  at  this  rate  from  250  to  500  feet. 

Q.  Then  of  what  advantage  could  that  tunnel  be  to  the 
mines  whose  shafts  were  below  the  tunnel  level  ? 

A.  It  would  have  this  advantage :  What  water  is  found 
below  that  in  the  bottom  of  the  shafts  could  be  pumped  up 
and  run  out  of  the  tunnel,  instead  of  being  pumped  from 
the  tunnel  level  to  the  surface. 

Q.  Or  to  the  adit,  where  the  water  is  now  discharged  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir.  And  the  same  thing  with  regard  to  the 
ore.  The  ore  could  be  carried  out  through  the  tunnel,  in- 
stead of  being  raised  from  the  tunnel  level  to  the  surface, 
as  at  present. 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  charge  is  made  under  this  act  of 
Congress  for  mining  the  ore  out? 

A.     It  is  25  cents  a  mile  per  ton. 

Q.  Does  it  cost  anything  like  that  to  raise  ore  from  a 
depth  of  1,900  feet  to  the  top  of  these  shafts  ? 


127 

A.  The  meaii  cost  of  raising  ore  from  1,000  to  1,300  feet 
depth  is  51  cents  a  ton. 

Q.  Well,  continue  it  down  to  the  tunnel  level  ? 

A.  At  tunnel  level  the  expense  was  estimated  at  75  cents 
per  ton. 

Q.  What  would  it  cost  to  run  it  through  the  tunnel  un- 
der the  act  of  Congress  ? 

A.  $1  25. 

Q.  There  could  be  no  advantages  for  ventilation  below 
the  tunnel  level,  in  consequence  of  the  tunnel,  could  there? 

A.  I  don't  see  any  over-shafts  connected.     I  don't  see ' 
that  there  would  be  any  advantage  by  the  tunnel  over  the 
present  system  of  working  below  the  tunnel  level. 

Q.  I  want  to  read  now  a  part  of  this  contract  between  the 
Sutro  Tunnel  Company  and  these  different  mines,  in  order 
to  lay  the  foundation  for  one  question. 

"  During  the  time  when  said  party  of  the  second  part  shall  use  said  tunnel 
or  drifts  as  means  of  transportation,  as  hereinbefore  contracted  for,  the  party 
of  the  second  part  will  pay  to  the  parties  of  the  first  part,  for  each  ton  of  ore, 
rock,  earth,  or  debris  removed  from  the  point  hereinbefore  designated  to  or 
beyond  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  as  the  case  may  be,  the  sum  of  twenty-five 
cents  per  mile,  from  the  place  of  removing  it  to  the  place  of  discharging  it, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  for  all  material  conveyed  from  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel 
to  said  point  of  connection  heretofore  described,  forty  cubic  feet  of  timber,  or 
2,240  pounds  of  rock,  ore,  or  other  material,  being  considered  a  ton,  and  will 
also  pay  the  said  parties  of  the  first  part  the  sum  of  seventy-five  cents  each 
way  for  each  man  conveyed  to  and  from  said  point  at  the  request  of  or  on 
nccount  of  the  said  second  party;  all  laborers,  employe's,  agents,  and  other 
persons  connected  with  said  corporations  of  the  second  part  to  be'  included 
and  paid  for  as  above  stated." 

Mr.  SUTRO.  May  I  ask,  Mr.  Sunderland,  what  you  are 
reading  from  ? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  The  contract  between  Congress  and 
the  Sutro  Tunnel  Company.  Then  there  are  several  pro- 
visos, among  which  is  this: 

"  Provided  furtJier.  That  no  such  payment  shall  be  due  or  made  until  the 
works  of  the  parties  of  the  first  part  shall  have  either  actually  drained  said 
mine,  so  as  to  obviate  the  necessity  for  all  other  modes  of  drainage,  or  shall  be 
prosecuted  to  the  extent  in  the  next  article  mentioned,  which  shall  be  deemed 
and  considered  sufficient  drainage  within  the  meaning  of  this  agreement. 

"  ART.  XIII.  It  if  mutually  agreed  that  the  true  intent  and  meaning  of 
these  articles,  as  to  the,  draining  of  the  mine  of  the  party  of  the  second  part, 
are,  that  whenever  the  said. mine  is  actually  drained  by  the  works  of  paid 
first  parties,  so  as  to  render  all  other  drainage  useless  to  the  lowest  level  at- 
tained by  the  works  of  the  said  party  of  the  second  part,  but  not  lower  than 
to  the  Jevel  of  the  tunnel,  the  same  shall  be  deemed  a  full  compliance  with  the 


128 

covenant  of  the  parties  of  the  first  part  for  the  drainage  thereof,  and  whether 
said  mine  be  so  drained  or  not,  it  shall  be  deemed  and  considered  drained  with- 
in the  meaning  of  this  agreement,  in  either  of  the  following  events: 

"If  the  main  tunnel  shall  intersect  the  Comstock  lode,  and  cut  the  eastern 
wall  thereof  between  the  north  and  south  boundaries  of  the  mine  of  the  said 
second  party,  the  mine  shall  be  considered  drained. 

"Or  it  shall  be  considered  drained  if  the  main  tunnel  shall  cut  said  eastern 
wall  outside  of  those  lines,  and  the  parties  of  the  first  part  shall  extend  the 
lateral  drift  hereinbefore  covenanted  to  be  extended  within  said  Comstock 
vein,  to  a  point  equidistant  from  such  north  and  south  boundaries. 

"  Or  it  shall  be  considered  drained  upon  the  expiration  of  three  months  after 
the  parties  of  the  first  part  shall  have  extended  said  drift  outside. of  said  lode,, 
but  within  five  hundred  feet  east  of  the  west  wall  thereof,  to  a  point  not  more 
than  five  hundred  feet  east  of  said  west  wall,  whence  a  drift  at  right  angles 
would  enter  said  lode  at  a  point  equidistant  from  the  northern  and  southern 
boundaries  of  the  claim  of  the  second  party." 

That  would  make  it  necessary,  General,  would  it  not,  for 
each  mining  company  to  run  a  drift  500  feet  east,  to  meet 
this  tunnel? 

A.  From  the  west  wall? 

Q.  From  the  west  wall. 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Now,  then,  how  much  less  expense  would  it  be  to 
connect  all  these  principal  shafts  of  the  Comstock  with 
each  other  than  to  run  that  drift  east  to  this  tunnel? 

A.  It  would  be,  taking  the  principal  mines — the  Over- 
man, the  Belcher,  the  Crown  Point,  and  the  Yellow  Jacket — 
somewhat  more  difficult;  it  would  involve  more  work  to 
connect  the  shafts  than  it  Would  to  run  out  to  the  tunnel. 

Q.  Not  much  more? 

A.  About  400  feet. 

Q.  Four  hundred  feet  more? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  know,  General,  whether,  to  get  ventilation, 
it  is  necessary  to  connect  on  each  level  of  say  100  feet? 

A.  To  get  ventilation  in  the  shafts  ? 

Q.  To  get  ventilation  in  the  works,  in  the  stopes,  in  the 
drifts — everywhere  in  the  mines. 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  SHOBER.  May  I  ask  what  you  mean  by  connecting  it? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Kunning  a  drift  from  one  to  the  other. 
I  would  like  to  have  the  committee— any  member  of  it — 
ask  a  question  at  any  time  when  suggested,  because  the 


129 

matter  can  be  easily  explained,  if  there  is  any  misunder- 
standing. What  else  is  done  there,  in  order  to  get  venti- 
lation in  the  mines,  besides  running  these  drifts  from  one 
shaft  to  another?  Are  there  any  winzes  made  from  one 
level  to  another? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  winzes  are  made  to  connect  one  drift  that 
is  above  another — a  vertical  connection. 

Q.  Would  a  single  horizontal  connection,  by  means  of 
a  drift  between  one  shaft  and  another,  be  of  any  considera- 
ble benefit  to  a  mine  by  way  of  ventilation  ? 

A.  It  would  ventilate  thoroughly  the  shafts  and  this  con- 
necting drift,  but  it  would  not  necessarily  ventilate  any 
other  portions  of  the  mines. 

Q.  Were  you  in  any  drifts  there  connecting  different 
shafts,  where  the  current  of  air  was  so  strong  that  it  was 
necessary  to  put  up  doors  to  break  the  force  of  it? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  that  is  between  the  Crown  Point  and  the 
Yellow  Jacket. 

Q.  On  what  level? 

A.  I  think  it  was  the  940-foot  level. 

Q.  How  far  outside  of  that  drift  did  you  feel  the  effect 
of  the  current  of  air  that  was  passing  through  the  drift? 

A.  Well,  only  a  few  feet.  As  we  stepped  into  the 
branching  drifts  we  only  felt  it  a  few  feet. 

Q.  Then,  as  I  understand  you,  after  getting  this  current 
of  air  from  one  shaft  to  another,  it  is  necessary  to  direct  it 
down  through  winzes,  from  one  level  to  another?  • 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  In  order  to  get  it  in  the  part  of  the  mine  where  the 
men  are  at  work? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Now,  can  you,  by  any  possibility,  with  or  without  a 
tunnel,  get  air  into  the  stopes  after  you  get  a  few  floors 
above  the  track  floor,  or  in  the  fall  of  a  drift,  where  you 
are  prospecting  a  new  drift,  except  by  artificial  means,  by 
pumping  or  blowing? 

A.  Not  that  I  know  of.  It  is  thought  to  be  the  only 
method  known  on  the  Comstock  lode,  by  blowers,  and  I 
9 


130 

can  see  no  other  way  of  working  those  places,  those  stopes 
and  headings  of  drifts. 

Q.  Now,  General,  I  will  get  you  to  look  at  those  maps 
here,  [exhibiting  maps,]  and  tell  the  committee  whether  it 
is  possible,  by  any  means  in  the  world,  to  ventilate  all  that 
space  that  is  represented  here  as  worked  out? 

A.  Yes,  sir,  it  would  be  possible. 

Q.  How  would  you  do  it? 

A.  In  the  first  place,  the  bottoms  of  all  the  shafts  must  be 
connected,  as  shown  upon  the  map  here.  They  must  also 
be  connected  at  these  different  levels  right  through.  Then, 
in  addition,  the  connections  must  be  made  between  the 
drifts  of  different  levels,  one  hundred  or  two  hundred  feet 
apart,  vertically  connecting  them  down  at  their  extremi- 
ties. That  would  induce  a  circulation  through  all  the 
drifts— by  means  of  these  winzes — and  through  ail  the 
shafts. 

Q.  Suppose  that  this  means  of  ventilating  the  whole 
Comstock  were  used,  and  that  enough  air  came  through 
the  tunnel  to  fill  the  whole  of  the  lode,  as  it  is  worked  out 
and  shown  on  these  maps,  could  any  man  stand  up  in  that 
tunnel? 

A.  The  current  of  air  would  be  very  strong.  ,  I  don't 
know  whether  the  capacity  of  the  tunnel  might  not  be 
sufficient  to  allow  a  pretty  good  draught,  there,  without 
throwing  a  man  down.  It  would  be  very  strong.  The 
size  of  the  tunnel  is  about  14  feet  by  13. 

Q.  That  is  larger  than  the  contract  provides  for.  I  don't 
know  what  it  is  now. 

A.  It  would  produce  a  very  strong  draught  in  the  tunnel. 

Q.  It  would  be  difficult  to  work  in  it,  would  it  not? 

A.  Well,  I  don't  see  why  it  wouldn't  be  difficult.  The 
draught  would  be  very  strong. 

Q.  General,  how  wide  did  you  see  bodies  of  ore  worked? 

A.  I  saw  the  Crown  Point  bonanza;  that  was  80  feet 
wide. 

Q.  Is  there  any  disposition  of  the  ground  on  either  side, 


131 

or  both  sides,  to  cave  or  fall  in?  Is  it  necessary  to  protecf 
the  sides  of  the  veins? 

A.  No,  sir;  on  one  side  not.  The  west-country  rock 
was  the  sidfeof  Mount  Davidson.  The  east-country  rock 
was  difficult  to  retain  in  place.  It  overhung  the  vein. 
That  had  to  he  retained  in  its  place  by  supports. 

Q.  Is  it  possible  to  work  that  mine  any  winery,  where  ore 
is  taken  out,  witho*ut  timbering? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  should  say  not.  As  soon  as  ore  is  taken 
out,  the  space  left  must  be  filled  with  timbering. 

Q.  Is  it  possible  for  any  amount  of  timber,  any  reasona- 
ble amount  of 'solid  timber,  to  stand,  without  the  spaces  be- 
tween the  timber  being  filled  up? 

A.  No,  sir;  considering  the  swelling  of  the  rock,  it 
would  be  apt  to  throw  it  oveV. 

Q.  Is  it  usual,  and  do  you  consider  it  prudent,  to  fill  up 
each  floor  as  you  ascend  from  the  track  floor  up — to  fill  up 
with  debris,  waste  rock,  dirt,  earth,  in  between  the  tim- 
bers? 

A.  Well,  it  would  have  to  be  done.  I  don't  know  wheth- 
er it  would  be  safe  or  not  without. 

Q.  It  is  done,  isn't  it? 

A.  It  has  to  be  done? 

Q.  All  got  to  be  filled  in  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Now,  you  were  asked  trie  other  evening  by  Mr.  Sutro 
whether  the  timbers  wouldn't  last  much  longer  under 
other  circumstances,  and  I  believe  the  conclusion  arrived 
at  was  that  they  would  last  thirty  years. 

A.  In  such  a  locality,  if  there  were  proper  ventilation  ? 

Q.  Yes,  sir? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Now,  then,  is  it  possible  to  ventilate  these  mines, 
after  they  have  been  worked  out  in  this  way  and  filled  in, 
so  as  to  preserve  the  timbers  ? 

A.'  No,  sir. 

Q.  Yon  became  fully  well  acquainted  with  the  superin- 
tendents \vhileyou  were  out  there,  did  you  not? 


132 

A.  Yes,  sir;  we  were  constantly  thrown  together.  We 
sought  information  constantly  from  them,  and  became 
quite  well  acquainted  with  them, 

Q.  Taking  them  generally,  were  they  men  <tf  character 
and  intelligence? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  decidedly  so.  They  were  men  of  charac- 
ter and  standing,  and  men  that  were  entitled  to  the  confi- 
dence certainly  of  their  employers  and  t>f  the  public,  I 
think. 

Q.  Did  you  hear  anything  said  against  them  while  you 
were  there;  any  of  them  at  all? 

A.  Not  generally ;  no,  sir. 

Q.  You  have  been  asked  if  these  men  were  not  coerced. 
At  least,  that  is  the  substance  of  the  question — whether 
they  were  not  coerced  into  making  these  reports? 

Mr.  SUTRO.     That  question  was  never  asked. 

Mr.  SUKDERLAND.  Did  you  see  anything  while  you  were 
there  to  indicate  or  lead  you  to  suspect  anything  of  the 
kind? 

A.  I  saw  nothing  that  would  lead  me  to  suppose  that 
any  coercion  had  been  exercised  at  all.  One  party  came 
to  us  to  give  us  information,  who  stated  he  was  a  miner, 
and  that  he  came  to  give  us  information  privately,  and  that 
he  did  not  wish  his  name  mentioned  in  any  way,  because 
it  might  injure  his  prospects  with  his  employers.  That 
was  the  only  case. 

Q.  He  was  not  a  superintendent? 

A.  No,  sir;  a  miner. 

Q.  A  common  miner? 

A.  Yes,  sir.  But  I  don't  know  that  he  was  a  common 
miner.  He  was  either  a  common  miner  or  a  foreman. 

Q.  What  was  your  judgment  as  to  the  manner  in  which 
the  mines  were  worked  there?  Did  anything  suggest 
itself  to  your  mind  that  would  be  an  improvement  upon 
the  present  mode  of  working  the  mines? 
.  A.  Well,  yes,  sir.  We  thought  of  several  matters  that 
might  be  improved  upon. 

Q.  What  were  they,  general? 


133 

A.  "We  thought  that  compressed  air  could  be  used  to 
advantage  and  with  economy  in  working  in  the  drifts  and 
shafts,  and  that  lower  stations  might  be  established,  and 
engines  run  by  compressed  air  sent  down  from  the  surface, 
thus  very  much  increasing  the  economy  of  working  and 
prospecting  in  the  mines. 

Q.  Could  that  be  done  as  well  with  as  without  the  tun- 
nel? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  I  think  it  could. 

Q.  Aside  from  that,  are  the  mines  intelligently  worked? 

A.  They  appeared  to  be. 

Q.  What  kind  of  energy  is  displayed  in  the  working  of 
the  mines  and  prospecting  for  ore? 

A.  I  should  say  very  great.  They  appeared  to  under- 
stand their  business,  and  to  be  working  for  the  purpose  of 
making  just  as  much  money  for  their  different  companies 
as  they  possibly  could.'  In  those  mines  where  they  were 
getting  out  ore  they  were  making  everything  jump.  They 
were  taking  out  of  the  Crown  Point,  for  instance,  250  tons 
a  day  with  hemp  ropes. 

Q.  This  report  of  Captain  Day  has  been  criticized.  I 
think  very  likely  some  members  of  the  committee  may 
have  been  misled.  Look  at  page  28  of  the  report.  I  will 
get  you  to  state,  so  that  it  may  go  down  in  the  written  tes- 
timony, what  Captain  Day  says  is  the  actual  cost  of  the 
construction  of  the  shaft  from  720  feet  to  1,002  feet,  being 
282  feet,  the  total  advance.  What  is  the  total  cost  per  foot? 

A.  Total  cost  per  foot  $74  31J. 

Q.  While  you  were  there  did  he  profess  to  know  any- 
thing about  the  cost  of  any  other  portion  of  the  shafts  than 
that  upon  which  he  reports? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  understood  him  to  give  the  data  that  he 
professed  to  know  was  correct  from  his  own  knowledge. 

Q.  Do  you  know  how  long  he  had  been  superintendent 
of  that  mine? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  think  not  long,  however. 

Q.  Did  you  understand  from  him  whether  he  ever  sunk 
that  distance  or  iiot — that  282  feet? 


134 

A.  That  was  what  I  understood. 

Q.  That  was  what  he  himself  had  sunk? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  that  is  about  a  year's  work. 

Q.  "Well,  now,  suppose  the  company  had  levied  the 
assessments  spoken  of  by  Mr.  Sutro  the  other  evening,  and 
expended  the  money  claimed  by  him,  would  that  change 
your  opinion  of  the  correctness  of  this  statement  of  facts 
by  Captain  Day? 

A.  No,  sir;  the  items  of  cost  are  given  clearly,  with  the 
amounts  for  each. 

Q.  You  don't  know  how  much  money  has  been  ex- 
pended in  litigation,  do  you? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Did  you  learn  anything  while  you  were  there  about 
the  cost  of  lawsuits  in  early  times? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  I  heard  them  talking  generally  about  the 
large  sums  expended  in  lawsuits. 

Q.  You  heard  amongst  other  things,  I  suppose,  about 
importing  Professor  Silliman  out  there  to  testify  in  cases? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Well,  I  suppose  you  know  there  may  be  large  ex- 
penditures in  a  mine  in  that  country,  where  titles  are  un- 
certain, and  where  there  are  adverse  claims  of  title  to  the 
same  property,  outside  of  the  mere  sinking  of  a  shaft,  or 
running  of  a  drift  ? 

A.  I  believe  that  is  given  in  King's  report. 

Mr.  SHOBER.  You  mean  outside  expenditures,  General? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  All  the  items  of  expense.  It  shows  that 
very  clearly. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  wish  you  would  find  that,  General, 
if  you  can.  v 

Mr.  FOSTER.  Here  is  the  Savage  mine.     I  can  give  that. 

Q.  Just  state  it. 

A.  This  gives  the  cost  for  three  years,  1867,  1868,  and 
1869.  Will  the  last  year  be  sufficient  ? 

Q.  Yes. 

A.  It  is  this: 


135 

"Cost  of  officials $22,123  83 

Extracting  ore 158,675'  75 

Materials 'ibr  extracting  ore : 53,406  61 

Prospecting  and  dead  work,  labor !. 34,838  00 

Prospecting  and  dead  work,  materials 23,394  31 

(This  is  on  page  153.) 

Accessory  work,  labor 79,398  62 

Accessory  work,  materials .' 50,914  86 

Improvements,  labor... 7,105  50 

Improvements,  materials , 9,426  00 

Total  cost  of  mining,  labor 297,141  70 

Total  cost  of  mining,  materials 157,141  78" 

Then  come  the  incidentals: 

"Assaying  ore , .' $3,528  19 

Assaying  bullion 8,740  82 

Surveying 1,850  00 

Office  expenses 1,157  60 

Exchange 3,254  70 

Housekeeping 2,843  15 

Legal  expenses 2,20'0  00 

Taxes 19,486  73 

Sundries P 3,017  19 


Making  the  total  cost  of  production 480,361  86" 

That  is  for  the  Savage  mine.  The  Hale  and  ^Torcross 
is  given  on  the  other  page. 

Q.  Well,  that  will  be  sufficient.  I  wanted  to  show  that 
tfrere  are  other  expenses  than  sinking  a -shaft.0'  There  was 
some  question  made  as  to  the  accuracy  'of  the  estimate 
here  for  the  cost  of  raising  ore,  on  the  basis  of  raising  216 
tons  a  day.  It  is  on  page  29.  It  is  216  tons,  1,750  feet, 
29  j\  cents  a  ton.  Is  there  anything  in  that  report  of  Cap- 
tain Day  to  show  that  that  is  anything  but  a  mere  estimate. 
Is  that  stated  to  be  the  actual  cost  of  raising  ore  from  that 
mine,  or  did  you  so  understand  it  when  you  were  there? 

A.  This  report  was  made  to  us  after  we  left.  In  consid- 
ering it,  we  at  first  took  the  idea  that  that  was  the  actual 
cost;  but,  upon  looking  at  it  again,  we  saw  at  once  what 
it  was:  that  it  was  intended  to  be  an  estimate  only. 

Q.  An  estimate  of  what  it  would  cost  ? 

A.  What  it  would  cost  under  the  circumstances  stated 
here. 

Q.  If  he  had  that  much  ore  to  raise  ? 

A.  Yes.    And  not  the  actual  cost  of  anything  they  were 


136 

getting  out  of  the  mine.  The  items  of  expense  are  given 
there.  They  comprise  the  wages  of  the  engineers,  fire- 
men, and  wood  haulers,  the  cost  of  wood  and  materials, 
and  the  interest  on  machinery,  and  the  wear  and  tear  of 
machinery. 

Q.  What  do  you  think  of  that  estimate  now,  not  only 
from  that  report,  but  from  what  you  saw  at  other  mines, 
and  from  what  you  learned  of  the  cost  of  raising  ore  where 
there  is  that  quantity  to  be  raised  from  the  mines  ? 

A.  I  think,  if  the  ore  is  hoisted  in  the  way  he  describes, 
by  using  a  double  cage,  one  going  up  while  the  other  is 
going  down,  under  the  circumstances  he  sets  forth,  it  is  a 
fair  statement,  as  far  as  I  can  judge. 

Q.  On  page  30  he  gives  the  actual  cost  of  pumping  from 
the  700-foot  level? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  With  the  items  of  expense  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Have  you  any  reason  to  doubt  the  accuracy  of  that 
report? 

A.  No,  sir.  I  have  looked  those  items  over  carefully, 
and  the  amounts  put  (jlpwn  beside  each,  and  I  think  they 
are  fair  and  reasonable.  I  think  it  would  cost  as  much  as 
stated. 

Q.  He  states  as  a  fact  that  that  is  what  it  costs,  that  that 
was  the  actual  cost? 

A.  The  prices  are  reasonable.  Ttye  statement  bears  upon 
its  face  every  indication  of  being  truthful. 

Q.  On  the  same  page  he  gives  you  the  decrease  of  water 
from  June,  1870,  to  May,  1871.  What  was  the  information 
that  you  derived  while  there  of  the  decrease  in  the  quantity 
of  water  in  descending  in  the  mines,  generally? 

A.  It  was  reported  to  us  while  we  were  there,  and  also 
was  stated  in  their  reports  that  we  received  afterwards, 
that,  as  a  general  thing,  as  you  went  down  the  quantity  of 
water  steadily  diminished,  and  in  some  mines  it  had  entirely 
disappeared  and  the  mines  were  dry.  The  only  water  that 
was  in  some  of  these  mines  was  what  they  call  seepage 


137 

from  above:,  in  other  words,  the  percolation  of  the  surface 
water  down  the  shafts. 

Q.  From  your  information  as  to  the  decrease  of  water 
in  going  down,  is  there  anything  unreasonable  in  the  state- 
ment of  Captain  Day,  that  in  twelve  months  the  water  de- 
creased from  eighteen  inches  to  seven  ? 

A.  No,  sir  ;  there  is  not. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  observe,  General,  a  well  in  the  street, 
at  the  upper  end  of  Gold  Hill,  just  at  the  right  in  going 
down  from  Virginia  City,  just  above  where  the  mines  have 
been  worked,  not  quite  so  far  from  the  west  as  where  they 
were  worked  on  top,  but  pitching  to  the  east,  so  that  they 
must  necessarily  have  been  worked  under  the  well  ?  Did 
you  not  observe  that  well  while  you  were  there? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  know,  or  did  you  learn,  while  you  were  there, 
as  to  what  retained  the  water.  First  I  will  ask,  in  your  opin- 
ion where  does  the  water  found  in  the  Comstock  come 
from  ? 

A.  It  is  apparently  surface  water,  and  the  water  seamed 
to  be  held  near  the  surface,  i  -i< 

Q.  By  what  ? 

A.  By  means  of  clay  seams  intersecting  each  other,  and 
forming  bowls  or  reservoirs.  In  these  bowls  or  reservoirs 
the  water  was  held,  and  it  was  only  when  these  reservoirs 
were  tapped  or  penetrated,  that  the  water  ran  out  Into  the 
mines. 

Q.  Then,  when  a  reservoir  is  exhausted  ? 

A.  They  fiad  no  more  water  until  they  tap  another  one. 

Q.  I  understand  you  to  say  that  these  come  less  fre- 
quently as  you  descend  into  the  lode  ? 

A.  Yes,  less  frequently  and  of  less  magnitude. 

Mr.  SHOBER.  Was  the  quantity  of  water  in  these  bowls 
large? 

A.  Yes,  sir ;  very  large  in  some  cases,  taking  days  and 
weeks  sometimes  to  free  the  mine  from  the  water  that 
would  pour  in.  It  would  defy  the  pumps  for  a  long  time, 
but  eventually  the  pumps  would  get  ahead,  and  finally 


138 

clear  the  mines  entirely.     That  was  the  case  in  the  Savage 
and  Hale  and  Norcross. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  In  criticizing  the  accuracy  of  Captain 
Day's  report,  Mr.  Sutro  read  an  extract  from  that  report, 
on  the  26th page,  in  reference  to  taking  the  men  in  through 
the  tunnel.  He  says: 

"We  have,  to  begin  with,  (page  19,  Sutro  tunnel,)  3,000  miners  to  carry  to 
and  from  their  work  an  average  distance  from  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  of 
ibur  and  a  half  miles."  . 

Now,  that  tunnel  comes  in  nearly  at  right  angles  to  the 
Comstock,  does  it  not? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  nearly  at  right  angles. 

Q.  I  understand  the  idea  to  be,  that  there  is  to  be  an  end- 
less chain  here,  to  which  chain  is  to  be  attached  cars  to 
carry  the  men  in? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Do  they  go  beyond  the  point  of  intersection  of1  the 
tunnel  and  the  lode? 

A.  Yes,  sir, 

Q.  How  are  you  going  to  get  round  here  a  mile  and  a 
half  or  two  miles  below?  -  >*u  ^ 

A.  Oh,  they  can  easily  carry  the  endless  cifain  any  dis- 
tance, or  they  can  have  other  chains  to  take  up. 

Q.  Well,  now,  when  you  get  your  men  in  here  at  the 
end  of  the  main  tunnel,  half  of  them  will  probably  want  to 
go  north  and  half  of  them  south.  How  are  you  going  to 
distribute  them? 

A.  Well,  that  is  a  detail  that  I  haven't  thought  of.  I 
don't  know  what  their  idea  is,  but  that  could  be  arranged 
by  having  two  stationary  engines  here,  one  to  run  this  por- 
tion and  one  to  run  that  portion,  and  then  a  third  one  at 
the  mouth  to  run  the  cars  on  the  straight  course. 

Q.  Well,  then,  when  you  get  in  here,  that  would  neces- 
sitate the  stopping  and  changing  of  course? 

A.  Ko,  sir.     They  can  run  them  right  along. 

Q.  They  cannot  run  both  ways? 

A.  Well;  the  chain  runs  up  that  way  and  comes  down 
this. 


139 

Q.  I  understand  that.  But  for  the  branches  you  have 
to  have  another  chain? 

A.  The  track  will  carry  the  cars  right  round.  The 
brakeman  will  let  go  the  rope  here,  from  the  leading  car, 
which  carries  the  train,  and  the  momentum  will  carry  it 
round  so  that  he  can  catch  hold  of  that  rope. 

Q.  Then  what  do  these  men  do  that  go  up  here  two 
miles? 

A.  They  must  have  a  switch  here,  and  they  will  switch 
off.  Certain  cars 'must  go  one  way  and  certain  cars  the 
other.  These  rear  cars  switch  off,  and  they  have  less  speed, 
so  that  they  can  change  the  speed  in  time  to  turn  them  in 
there  in  order  to  go  their  way.  I  think  that  could  be  ar- 
ranged. 

Q.  Well,  then,  when  they  get  in  here,  suppose  they  get 
in  without  changing  cars  at  all.  They  get  round  here  to 
this  point,  [indicating  on  map.]  There  are  several  mines 
along  here  where  they  have  got  to  stop. 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Then  they  have  got  to  get  in  a  cage,  and  either  go  up 
or  down  to  get  to  the  point  where  they  have  to  work. 
Don't  you  think  that  would  take  a  longer  time  than  to  go 
down  the  shafts  as  they  do  now  ? 

A..  Yes,  it  would  take  longer.  It  wouldn't  take  much 
longer.  It  would  take  them,  probably,  to  go  five  miles, 
thirty  minutes. 

Q.  Well,  we  must  remember  that  there  is  but  one  open- 
ing where  all  the  miners  have  got  to  get  into  the  Comstock, 
whereas,  as  now  worked,  each  mine  has  its  own  shaft  to 
let  its  men  down  in. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Will  you  please  let  the  General  answer  your 
question,  Mr.  Sunderland  ? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  always  give  him  time  enough.  I 
certainly  don't  meai\  to  go  on  without  it.  I  thought  he 
had  answered. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Your  question  was  about  ohe  entrance  to  the 
Comstock,  and  the  General  made  no  reply  to  it. 


140 

Mr.  FOSTER.  What  was  the  question?  I  didn't  under- 
stand. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  merely  remarked  that,  going  through 
the  tunnel,  there  was  but  one  aperture  through  which  you 
could  get  into  the  Comstock. 

A.  Only  one. 

Q.  As  matters  are  now,  you  get  down  into  every  mine 
through  its  own  shaft? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  think  that  it  costs  the  mining  companies, 
to  lower  their  men,  twenty-five  cents,  or  twenty-five  cents 
to  hoist  them  out  of  the  mine? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Does  it  cost  three  cents? 

A.  We  estimated  that  it  would  cost  more  than  that. 
We  estimated  that  it  would  cost  eight  cents.  That  was 
upon  the  supposition  that  ten  men  went  down  in  the  two 
cages. 

Q.  On  a  double  cage? 
,<    A.  On  a  double  cage. 

Q.  Now,  I  get  it  up  to  twice  that  many  going  down  ? 

A.  I  am  not  sure  that  more  could  not  go;  but  when  I 
went  down  there  were  only  five  on  a  cage,  and  we  were 
pretty  well  crowded. 

Q.  Well,  now,  in  taking  timbers  in,  the  charges  allowed, 
under  this  contract,  are  twenty-five  cents  a  thousand,  giv- 
ing the  number  of  cubic  feet  as  I  read  you  this  evening — 
I  mean  a  ton.  Does  it  cost  anything  like  that  to  lower  the 
timbers  at  present? 

A.  1  should  think  not.  I  don't  know  what  the  cost  is, 
though.  I  should  think  not. 

Q.  Well,  it  requires  no  power  to  lower  a  cage  down, 
does  it? 

A.  No,  sir.  The  power  is  exerted  ;to  check  its  velocity, 
and  prevent  its  going  too  fast.  No,  sir;  I  think  timber 
can  be  lowered  atf  the  rate  of  ten  to  twelve  cents  a  ton  by 
the  shafts  of  the  mines. 

Q.  You  were  asked  here  whether  it  would  cost  as  much 


141 

to  float  timbers  down  the  Carson  river  to  the  mouth  of  the 
tunnel,  or  to  a  point  opposite  to  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel, 
as  it  does  to  take  them  to  Virginia  City  and  Gold  Hill,  as 
they  are  conveyed  there  now.  I  will  read  you  the  ques- 
tion : 

"  Q.  Do  you  think,  General  Foster,  that  it  would  cost  as  much  to  deliver 
timber  from  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  by  floating  it  down  the  river,  as  it  would 
to  carry  it  from  Virginia  City? 

"A.  No,  sir. 

"Q.  Mr.  Day  says  it  would  cost  more,  because  it  is  farther  off.  Do  you 
know  at  how  much  less  cost  it  could  be  delivered  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel 
than  at  Virginia  City  ? 

"A.  No,  sir;  I  do  not  know.  Just  as  much  cheaper  as  floating  timber 
down  is  cheaper  than  carrying  it  on  a  railroad." 

Q.  Do  you  know,  General,  whether  it  has  been  done — 
floating  timbers  down  the  river  ? 

A.  It  certainly  can  be  done,  if  a  flume  is  prepared  for 
the  purpose,  and  the  canal  extended  directly  to  the  mouth 
of  the  tunnel. 

Q.  With  the  present  obstructions  in  the  river,  is  it  pos- 
sible to  float  any  timbers  down  at  all? 

A.  Not  as  the  arrangement  is  now ;  no,  sir. 

Q.  Then,  before  timbers  can  be  floated  down  there,  it 
would  be  necessary  to  acquire  a  title  to  that  property  along 
the  river  of  the  men  who  have  a  right  to  and  do  obstruct 
the  river? 

A.  Well,  it  would  be  necessary  to  provide  a  water  flume 
of  some  kind. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  Outside  of  the  river? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  outside  and  parallel  to  it.  Whether  that 
would  involve  the  getting  of  titles  to  the  water  privileges 
I  am  not  able  to  say.  But  a  water  flume  would  have  to 
be  provided. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  And  in  order  to  make  a  flume  outside 
of  the  river,  you  must  take  so  much  water  from  the  river 
and  the  mills  that  are  there  now? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  The  chairman  of  the  committee,  the  other  evening, 
asked  a  question,  which  presupposes  the  existence  of  a  cer- 
tain state  of  facts  on  the  Comstock,  amongst  which  was 


142 

considerable  ignorance  on  the  part  of  everybody  living  out 
there;  and  I  want  to  have  your  opinion  about  it: 

"In  a  geological  poiht  of  view,  as  a  question  of  national  importance,  to 
determine  the  richness  of  the  mines  and  to  pursue  a  systematic  method  by 
v/hich  that  can  be  attained,  and  cutoff  these  experiments  that  are  making  in 
a  fugitive  manner,  owing  to  limited  capital,  lack  of  experience,  organizations 
fraught  with  jealousies,  and  perhaps  a  lack  of  skilled  labor,  would  it  not  be 
of  very  great  advantage  to  the  country  and  to  the  world  to  determine  the 
richness  of  these  lodes  at  a  great  depth  at  the  national  expense?" 

N"ow,  in  the  first  place,  I  want  to  ask  you  if  experiments 
upon  the  Comstock  are  made  in  a  fugitive  manner? 

A.  Well,  not  apparently  at  this  time;  the  mining  is 
pretty  systematic  there  now. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  What  do  you  mean  by  "fugitive?"  In 
what  sense  is  that  word  used? 

Mr.  SUNDBRLAND.  It  was  used  by  a  member  of  the  com- 
mittee. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  Bid  he  intend  by  it  that  it  was  mere  guess- 
work, at  hap-hazard  ? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  suppose  so. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  I  recollect  the  expression  he  made. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  u  Owing  to  a  limited  capital."  Did 
you  see  any  evidence  of  a  want  of  capital  on  the  Comstock 
for  working,  or  making  any  necessary  improvements  for 
forwarding  the  interests  of  the  mine  owners  ? 

Mr.  FOSTER.  No,  sir;  I  saw  no  evidence  of  any  Want  of 
capital. 

Q.  On  the  contrary,  did  you  not  see  every  evidence  that 
all  the  capital  required  was  to  be  -had?  Next,  "  lack  of  ex- 
perience." Did  you  see  any  want  of  experience  by  men 
who  were  in  charge  of  the  mines? 

A.  No,  sir.  They  appeared  to  b'e  thoroughly  compe- 
tent and  thoroughly  versed  in  the  business,  as  far  as  I 
could  judge. 

Q.  Men  who  had  been  engaged  in  mining,  I  suppose, 
generally,  for  some  years,  were  they  not? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  "Organizations  fraught  with  jealousies."  Do  you 
know  of  any  jealousies  existing  there  between  different 
organizations,  or  between  different  individuals,  that  have 


148 

interfered  with  the  effectual  working  of  any  of  the  mines? 

A.  Well,  I  can't  say  that  I  do,  or  that  I  heard  of  any. 

Q.  There  are  jealousies,  I  suppose,  everywhere;  but  I 
want  to  know  whether  those  jealousies  interfere  with  the 
effective  and  effectual  working  of  the  mines  ? 

A.  No,  sir;  -I  cannot  say  that  I  know  of  any  case  in 
which  we  heard  anything  of  that  kind  while  we  were  out 
there.  We  heard  of  strifes  for  the  possession  of  the  stock 
of  different  mines 

Q.  As  a  matter  of  course. 

A.  And  of  mine  owners,  hut  I  do  not  know  that  they 
interfered  with  the  effective  working  of  those  mines. 

Q.  Was  there  any  lack  of  skilled  labor  there? 

A.  No,  sir.     There  was  the  greatest  abundance  of  that. 

Q.  I  will  read  now  from  a  speech  of  Mr.  Sutro,  which 
you  have  attached  to  your  report,  on  page  64 : 

"The  tunnel,  they  know  full  well/is  the  key  to  this  mountain  and  these 
mines,  and  will  and  must  control  and  own  this  whole  district.  If  that  tun- 
nel is  constructed  by  third  parties,  their  monopoly  will  be  utterly  broken  up 
and  ended." 

Now,  upon  the  next  page  1  will  read  you  a  short  extract, 
the  second  paragraph  from  the  top : 

"Rouse  up,  then,  fellow-citizens.  You  have  no  Andrew  Jackson  among 
you  to  crush  out  the  bank  which  has  taken  your  liberties,  but  you  have  the 
power  within  yourselves.  I  do  not  mean  to  incite  you  to  any  violence;  I  do 
not  mean  to  have  you  assert  your  rights  by  riot,  force,  and  threats.  That 
would  be  unwise,  unnecessary,  and  would  only  recoil  upon  yourselves.  But 
I  do  mean  to  say  that  you  can  destroy  your  enemy  by  simple  concert  'of 
action.  Let  all  of  you  join  in  together  to  build  the  Sutro  tunnel;  that  is  the 
way  to  reach  them.  They  do  already  tremble  lest  you  will  act;  they  know 
you  will  form  a  great  moneyed  power,  and  that  you  will  own  the  mines : 
they  know  it  will  cement  you  together." 

I  will  ask  if  you  heard,  while  you  were  there,  the  .utter- 
ance of  any  feeling  to  be  compared  with  this? 

A.  Well,  I  don't  know  exactly  what  you  mean,  whether 
you  mean  the  feeling  of  antagonism? 

Q.  Yes,  sir;  such  jealousies  by  one  mine  toward  another, 
or  by  any  body  against  the  mines,  or  the  men  who  were 
working  the  mines? 

A.  No,  sir.  We  heard  no  violent  sentiments  of  that 
kind  uttered.  This  appears  to  have  been  aimed  against 
the  Bank  of  California. 


144 

Q.  And  the  owners  of  the  Comstock  mines? 

A.  No,  sir;  we  heard  no  violent  sentiments  uttered 
against  either  the  California  Bank  or  the  owners  of  the 
mines. 

Q.  You  know  there  are  mines  there  owned  by  parties 
who  are  not  in  concord  with  the  Bank  of  California,  don't 
you? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Are  they  equally  opposed  to  the  construction  of  the 
tunnel  upon  the  terms  proposed  as  the  friends  of  the  hank? 

A.  Well,  I  cannot  say  that  they  are  equally  opposed.  I 
would  hardly  like  to  say  that. 

Q.  Are  they  opposed  to  the  construction  of  the  tunnel 
upon  the  terms  proposed,  the  payment  of  this  royalty  and 
other  charges  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  they  were  opposed  to  it  upon  the  grounds 
of  the  payment'  of  the  royalty.'  That  appeared  to  be  the 
great  objection  with  parties  who  seemed  otherwise  to  be 
friendly  to  the  tunnel  project. 

Q.  On  page  33  of  the  report  is  the  cost  of  raising  water 
in  the  Gould  and  Curry  mine,  the  statement  of  General  Bat- 
terman  : 

"The  cost  of  raising  the  water  in  this  mine  from  a  depth  of  825  feet,  also 
running  pump  while  sinking  to  1,300- foot  station,  has  been  $60  per  day,  the 
quantity  of  water  raised  about  3,500  gallons  per  hour. 

"The capacity  of  the  pumps  is  6,500  gallons  per  hour.  I  estimate  the  cost 
of  pumping  from  a  depth  of  2,000  feet,  working  pump  to  full  capacity,  at  $83  60 
per  day.  This  estimate  includes  wood,  engineers,  fireman,  pitman,  &c.  From 
this  estimate  of  cost  should  be  deducted  the  value  of  the  water."  > 

Then  he  goes  on  to  give  the  actual  cost  of  pumping  per 
year,  and  the  value  of  the  water  sold.  Have  you  any  reason 
to  doubt  the  accuracy  of  that  statement? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Has  not  General  Batterman  a  great  deal  of  positive 
character  in  him? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Is  he  not  reputed  to  be  a  very  reliable  man  out  there  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  very  reliable  and  accurate,  and  his  books, 
as  far  as  we  could  judge  by  casual  inspection,  appeared  to 
be  well  kept. 


145 

Q.  Speaking  of  books,  I  don't  know  whether  I  asked 
you  or  not,  but  I  will  now:  Did  you  apply  to  any  body, 
to  any  superintendent  or  clerk  of  any  mine  there,  for  ac- 
cess to  any  books? 

A.  Yes,  we  asked  to  look  at  Mr.  Batterman's  books ; 
at  Colonel  Requa's.  They  were  shown  us.  And  General 
"Wright,  Major  King,  and  Professor  Newcomb  looked  at 
them,  but  not  in  the  thorough  way  that  Would  be  necessary 
to  examine  them  and  make  detailed  statements.  I  looked 
also  at  Colonel  Batterman's  books,  and  they  appeared  to 
be  very  detailed,  containing  the  different  expenditures  un- 
der different  heads. 

Q.  The-  cost  of  pumping? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  The  cost  of  raising  ore? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  The  cost  of  timbers? 

A.  Yes,  and  prospecting,  accessory  work,  dead  work, 
and  all  those  heads  similar  to  what  I  have  read  in  that  re- 
port. 

Q.  So  that  there  would  be  no  difficulty,  then,  in  ascer- 
taining the  exact  amount  of  the  cost  in  pumping  from  the 
works  of  any  company  ? 

A.  I  should  think  not.     K"o,  sir;  no  difficulty  at  all. 

Q.  NOT  the  cost  of  sinking  a  shaft  ? 

A.  2sTo,  sir;  ought  not  to  be.  Every  penny  appeared  to 
have  been  entered  under  the  appropriate  head,  whether  ex- 
pended for  labor  or  materials. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  believe  I  think  of  nothing  else  now 
to  ask  the  General.  Some  questions  may  occur  to  me  ;  if 
so,  I  will  ask  the  chairman  to  permit  me  to  ask  them. 

Mr.  SHOBER.  I  would  like  to  ask  one  question.  How 
deep  was  the  deepest  shaft  into  which  you  went? 

A.  It  was  a  little  over  1,700  feet  below  the  initial  point. 

Q.  Did  you  go  to  the  bottom? 

A.  No,  sir;  we  did  not.  They  had  not  the  arrange- 
ments perfected  for  going  down  in  the  incline.  We  could 
have  climbed  down,  but  as  it  was  400  feet  down  on  this 
10 


146 

incline  from  where  we  went,  1,100  feet,  we  did  not  go  to 
the  bottom  of  it. 

Q.  What  was  the  temperature  as  low  as  you  went? 

A.  The  temperature  in  the  Yellow  Jacket  was  about 
104°  and  105°  at  1,100  feet  depth.  In  the  Crown  Point  it 
was  93°  and  94°,  the  difference  being  caused  by  the  draught 
which  comes  down  the  Crown  Point  and  through  into  the 
Yellow  Jacket.  The  water,  the  rock,  and  the  air  showed 
by  the,  thermometer  almost  the  same  temperature  at  the 
same  .points.  We  tested  it.  We  went  to  some  of  the  head- 
ings where  the  temperature  was  110°. 

Q.  Did  you  ascertain  at  what  rate  the  temperature  rises 
as  you  descend? 

A.  We  tried  to  get  at  that  pretty  closely.  I  did  not  so 
much  as  Professor  Newcomb,  who  had  a  good  thermome- 
ter with  him.  We  tried  it  all  the  way  down.  As  far  as 
we  could  get  at  it  the  rise  was  an  increase  of  1°  in  heat  for 
every  55  feet  of  descent.  We  were  inclined  to  believe  the 
statements  that  at  the  lower  depths  it  was  a  little  larger 
increase;  that  is  to  say,  it  would  be  1°  for  every  54  feet, 
and  eventually  for  every  53  feet  as  you  go  down.  It  has 
been  estimated  by  English  officers  that  according  to  that 
rate  4,000  feet  in  depth  would  be  the  limit  at  which  men 
could  work. 

Q.  At  that  rate  what  would  be  the  temperature  at  the 
tunnel  level? 

A.  In  a  well-ventilated  shaft,  like  the  Grown  Point,  it 
would  be  about  97°  or  98°. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Mr.  Sunderland,  have  you  closed? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  said  so. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Well,  sir,  I  believe  I  won't  go  into  any  re- 
cross-examination,  but  will  rest  now  with  General  Foster. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  Have  you  any  more  evidence  to  introduce 
to-night? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  None  to-night.  I  am  told  the  other  com- 
missioners, will  be  here  either  to-morrow  or  next  day. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  Have  you  anything  further,  Mr.  Sunder- 
land? 


147 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  have  not, 

Mr.  FOSTER.  There  was  one  point,  Mr.  Chairman,  on 
which  I  desire  to  be  informed.  I  do  not  know  whether 
the  committee  expected  me  to  make  that  calculation  that 
was  spoken  of  last  night  or  not. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  It  isn't  material. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  If  the  parties  do  not  wish  it,  I  wouldn't 
like  to  put  you  to  the  trouble,  General. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  suppose  General  Foster's  testimony  will 
close,  then,  with  this  meeting. 

Mr.  KENDALL.  I  would  like  to  ask  one  or  two  questions 
of  General  Foster  before  we  close  his  examination..  First, 
General,  I  would  like  to  ask  this  question:  What  would 
be  the  effect  upon  the  Comstock  lode  and  the  proceeds  of 
mining  operations  there  if  there  should  be  erected  at  the 
mouth  of  this  tunnel  reduction  works,  upon  the  model  of 
those  that  are  most  perfect  in  Europe,  for  the  purpose  of 
reducing  ores  upon  a  cheap  scale  and  in  a  thorough  man- 
ner? Please  state  fully  your  views  and  opinions  upon  this 
question  of  reduction  works  of  that  kind  if  they  should  be 
erected  there,  and  their  effect  upon  our  mining  interests  in 
that  part  of  the  country.  0 

A.  I  can  hardly  give  an  idea  as  to  the  effect,  although  I 
have  an  idea  that  reduction  works  properly  constructed 
would  stimulate  mining  in  that  section,  whether  constructed 
at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  or  not.  We  regarded  the  con- 
struction of  mills  and  reduction  works  at  the  mouth  of  the 
tunnel  as  an  absolute  necessity,  to  carry  out  this  project  to 
its,  full  perfection.  If  these  be  not  erected  the  project  will 
be  a  failure.  To  carry  the  ore  from  the  mouth  of  the  tun* 
nel  to  the  present  mills  would  make  it  cost  so  much  as  to 
be  ruinously  expensive.  It  wouldn't  answer  at  all.  The 
ore  now,  as  it  is  raised  through  these  shafts,  is  carried  to 
the  mills  by  a  down  grade.  To  reach  those  mills  at  the 
mouth  of  the  tunnel  will  be  either  through  a  sandy  soil  or 
a  dead  level  or  up  hill,  and  in  winter  the  going  up  hill 
would  be  out  of  the  question.  Transportation,  therefore, 
from  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  to  the  present  mills,  is  not 


148 

to  be  thought  of.  So,  for  a  complete  carrying  out  of  this 
project,  the  mills  must  be  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel. 
There  reduction  works  should  be  constructed,  so  as  to  sim- 
plify and  cheapen  the  process,  if  possible.  Unless  that  is 
done,  the  project  cannot  receive  our  recommendation  at  all. 

Q.  Do  you  consider  the  erection  of  such  works  upon  a 
large,  complete,  and  perfect  plan  desirable  to  facilitate 
mining  operations  in  that  part  of  the  country  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Why  so?     State  fully,  if  you  please,  yoiar  reasons. 

A.  I  mean  yes,  if  it  can  be  clearly  ascertained  that  they 
can  be  established  with  an  economy  in  the  reduction  of  the 
ores.  That  is  not  yet  fully  established.  We  don't  pretend 
to  report  upon  that.  We  only  report  what  we  have  heard. 
We  don't  vouch  for  the  truth  of  these  statements  at  all. 
If  we  had  had  time,  and  had  been  directed  to  go  to  Ger- 
many and  England,  we  could  have  obtained  statements' 
there  that  would  have  enabled  us  to  assert  more  positively 
in  regard  to  this  thing;  but,  as  it  is,  we  do  not  know 
whether  those  statements  ^ire  true  or  not,  whether  that 
economy  that  they  claim  can  be  attained  in  this  country, 
on  account  of  the  high  cost  of  labor.  If  a  commission 
should  go  to  Europe  and  come  back,  and  report  that  it 
would  be  economy  to  introduce  the  system,  there  is  the 
place,  above  all  others,  where  mining  is  most  expensive 
and  extensive,  to  construct  these  reduction  works. 

Q.  Is  the  difference  in  the  price  of  labor  the  only  thing 
that  throws  a  doubt  upon  this  question? 

A.  The  price  of  labor  and  all  materials  in  this  country 
are  the  great  obstacles.  The  price  of  materials  is  as  much 
enhanced,  and  perhaps  more  so,  than  the  price  of  labor. 
I  do  not  pretend  to  say  that  operations  could  be  cheapened 
here  to  an  extent  that  would  warrant  the  erection  of  great 
reduction  works1;  but,  if  it  be  clearly  ascertained  that  such 
be  the  case,  it  would  be  of  great  value,  I  think,  to  that 
industry  to  have  the  experiment  tried.  Now  the  ores 
from  the  Emma  mine,  I  think,  are  sent  to  England  for 
reduction.  Well,  there  is  the  transportation,  which  is  an 


149 

absolute  loss,  because,  if  reduction  works  were  made  in 
this  country  similar  to  those  at  Swansea,  that  could  be 
saved  to  the  country. 

Mr.  SHOBER.  Are  the  ores  shipped  in  that  way  ground 
up? 

A.  I  believe  not,  sir.  They  select  the  ore  they  send, 
and  send  only  the  richest. 

Mr.  KENDALL.  Is  there  not  great  waste  attending  such 
operations  as  that? 

A.  I  can't  say.  I  never  witnessed  the  operations.  I 
only  know  it  from  reports.  They  send  the  ore  as  ballast 
usually,  when  they  have  an  opportunity.  No;  there 
wouldn't  be  much  more  than  there  is  in  coal,  I  should 
think. 

Q.  Well,  I  mean  the  waste  in  this  way:  the  necessity  of 
selecting  the  very  richest  ores  to  ship,  and  then  a  great 
quantity  of  the  lower  grades  being  thrown  aside  as  worth- 
less. There  would  be  great  waste  in  that  way,  would  there 
not? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  To  explain  these  answers  I  would  like 
to  ask  one  question:  Cannot  those  reduction  works  be 
erected  just  as  well  on  the  Carson  river  now,  with  acces- 
sibility to  the  railroad,  as  they  can  at  the  mouth  of  the 
tunnel  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 


HEARING  ON  FRIIUY  EVENING,  FEB.  23. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  desire,  now,  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen 
of  the  committee,  to  proceed  with  the  examination  of  Pro- 
fessor Wesley  Newcomb,  and  first  I  wish  to  ask  a  few 
general  questions  in  regard  to  the  observations  of  the 
commissioners.  Professor,  would  you  be  kind  enough  to 
give  us  a  description  of  the  Comstock  lode? 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  That  description  has  been  given  so  often, 
I  hardly  think  it  will  be  worth  while.  You  have  diagrams 
here.  Do  you  refer  to  the  lode  itself? 

Q.  Yes,  sir;  the  location— the  peculiarities  of  its  loca- 
tion. 

A.  Virginia  City  and  Gold  Hill  are  located  upon  the 
lode.  The  croppings  of  quartz  rock  are  above  the  city  a 
distance  of  some  hundreds  of  feet,  on  Mount  Davidson.  In 
the  first  place,  this  descended  to  the  west,  it  is  represented, 
for  about  a  hundred  feet  in  depth,  (some  say  200  feet ;  that 
didn't  come  particularly  under  my  observation;)  then  it 
diverted  from  its  course,  and  changed,  so  as  to  glide  off  to 
the  eastward,  going  directly  under  the  city.  The  whole 
extent  of  it  is  almost  five  miles — said  to  be  ;  and  there  are 
workings  in  various  parts.  It  has  been  worked  the  whole 
extent ;  and  I  don't  know  but  what  places  have  been  taken 
up  beyond  it. 

Q.  Professor,  would  you  please  state  to  the  committee 
what  is  your  opinion  about  the  character  of  the  Comstock 
lode,  as  far  as  its  continuance  in  depth  is  concerned? 

A.  There  is  no  reason  that  can  be  given  why  it  is  not  a 
true  fissure  vein.  The  material  of  which  it  is  composed  is 
mostly  quartz,  with  what  are  technically  called  "  horses " 
among  miners;  i.  e.,  the  falling  of  portions  of  the  hanging 
rock;  in  some  places  propylite  or  porphyry  in  the  vein 
matter. 

Q.  What  is  the  mode  of  working  these  mines  at  the  pres- 
ent day  ? 

150 


151 

A.  By  shafts  ;  mostly  by  elevating  the  ore  to  the  surface, 
and  carting  off  to  the  mills. 

Q.  In  working  these  mines,  have  they  passed  by  a  large 
quantity  of  ore  that  it  doesn't  pay  to  work  under  the  pres- 
ent mode  ? 

A.  From  representations  of  the  parties  in  connection 
with  the  mines,  yes.  I  asked  the  superintendents  the  ques- 
tion particularly,  and,  with  one  exception,  they  all  repre- 
sented that  there  were  immense  bodies  of  ore  there ;  they 
did  this  in  their  reports,  especially  the  Chollar  Potosi.  They 
are  in  hopes  the  time  may  come  when  the  cost  of  labor  and 
the  mode  of  reduction  will  be  so  cheapened,  that  they  will 
be  enabled  to  work  the  vast  bodies  of  ore  remaining  in 
their  mine  at  a  profit — ore  which  they  pass  by  at  the  pres- 
ent time. 

Q.  Did  you,  in  your  investigations,  examine  into  the 
character  of  the  country  through  which  the  tunnel  will 
pass,  to  see  whether  there  are  any  other  lodes  which  it 
would  cut? 

A.  Yes,  we  examined  some  mining  interests  where  they 
are  partially  opened  and  being  worked:  one  that  was  said 
to  be  upon  the  Great  Flowery  and  another  upon  the  Monte 
Cristo  lode. 

Q.  You  say  on  the  Monte  Cristo  lode?  Did  you  par- 
ticularly examine  it;  I  believe  you  visited  the  Occidental 
mine? 

A.  I  visited  the  Occidental  mine  and  the  Occidental 
mill,  and  examined  them  rather  particularly. 

Q.  Did  you  go  into  the  Occidental  mine? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Have  they 'any  ore  there  that  would,  under  certain 
circumstances,  pay  for  reducing  ? 

A.  They  were  not  at  work  upon  it  at  the  time  we  were 
there,  in  consequence  of  some  .difficulty.  It  had  passed  into 
new  hands,  and  they  had  not  commenced  operations.  The 
parties  purchasing  it  have  confidence  that  it  will  be  profit- 
able to  work  more  or  less  of  it.  They  work  by  tunnels  in 
that  mine.  The  tunnel  they  use  is  in  1,850  feet.  It  has 


152 

another  tunnel  connected  with  it  above.  The  upper  tun- 
nel we  did  not  examine.  It  was  the  lower  tunnel  only  that 
we  passed  into.  We  found  a  current  of  air  passing  out 
quite  strongly  through  the  lower  tunnel. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  From  what  direction  ? 

A.  It  formed  a  communication  between  the  upper  and 
lower  tunnels,  and  the  air  passed  in  at  the  upper  and  out 
at  the  lower. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Did  you  visit  any  mine  on  the  Flowery  lode? 

A.  Yes,  sir ;  we  visited  a  mine  that  was  said  to;  be  upon 
that  lode,  (I  suppose  there  can  be  no  doubt  about  it,)  where 
there  was  a  vast  body  of  croppings  that  they  had  cut 
through  and  were  engaged  in  working;  it  was  more  like 
surface  digging.  They  had  also  penetrated  the  mountain 
in  various  places,  running  in  shafts  I  don't  know  how  far. 

Q.  Was  that  the  Lady  Bryan  mine? 

A.  That  was  the  Lady  Bryan. 

Q.  Was  there  a  large  quantity  of  this  low-grade  ore  at 
that  mine? 

A.  It  was  not  difficult  to  determine  this  fact,  because 
there  was  a  small-sized  mountain  on  it. 

Q.  Bo  you  recollect  what  the  estimated  value  of  that  ore 
was? 

A.  I  asked  the  superintendent  of  the  mine  that  question. 
He  answered  it  with  some  hesitation.  He  said  he  thought 
the  whole  mass  would  assay  $8  a  ton.  They  were  select- 
ing the  ore  and  using  the  best,  collecting  but  a  few  tons  a 
day;  I  think  it  was  four  or  five  tons  a  day  were  all  they 
got.  They  had  some  ten  men  only  at  work. 

Q.  Could  that  whole  mass  be  reduced  under  the  present 
mode  of  working  and  with  their  facilities  for  reducing  the 
ore? 

A.  Not  with  profit,  sir. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  know  something  about  that.  I  spent 
some  money  to  try  it  myself. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  It  could  not  be  done  under  the  present  • 
method  of  working. 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  No,  sir. 


153 

Q.  Professor,  what  is  the  main  necessity  for  the  profit- 
able and  thorough  concentration  of  ore? 

A.  Proper  machinery  and  abundance  of  water  are  the 
two  essentials. 

Q.  Have  they  an  abundance  of  water  at  Virginia  City 
for  the  purpose  of  concentrating  their  low-grade  ores  they 
get  from  the  Comstock  lode  ? 

A.  There  was  great  complaint  of  the  want  of  water  when 
I  was  there.  Ko,  sir;  there  is  not  sufficient  water. 

Q.  To  reduce  and  concentrate  the  ores  properly,  it  re- 
quires a  great  deal  of  water,  does  it? 

A.  There  is  a  great  waste  of  water  necessarily. 

Q.  Water  is  the  first  condition? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  An  abundance  of  water? 

A.  That  is,  with  this  quality  of  ore.  There  are  certain 
ores  which  require  no  water,  because  you  reduce  them  with 
heat.  For  instance,  there  is  the  argentiferous  galena, 
which  requires  an  entirely  different  operation. 

Q.  That  process  is  not  applied  there? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  All  the  processes  are  by  amalgamation,  I  believe? 

A.  All  by  amalgamation  that  I  ever  saw  there. 

Q.  And  that  requires  a  great  deal  of  water?  Have  you 
any  idea  how  much  it  is  worth  an  inch  in  Virginia  City, 
per  month  ? 

A.  Well,  I  have  heard  it  is  some  fabulous  sum,  more 
than  they  paid  for  it  in  California  before  the  present  rain- 
fall. 

Q.  Would  there  be  a  supply  of  water  for  concentrating 
purposes  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  from  the  water  which 
issues  from  the  tunnel  itself? 

A.  I  think  not,  sir. 

Q.  Could  a  sufficient  amount  of  water  be  supplied  by 
bringing  Carson  river  in  a  flume  to  the  mouth  of  the  tun- 
nel? 

A.  It  could,  if  the  water  were  utilized.  I  doubt  whether 
it  could  be  at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  without  constructing 


154 

a  dam  and  holding  it  in  a  reservoir.    By  holding  it  in  a  res- 
ervoir, it  might  be  accomplished. 

Q.  The  facilities  for  reducing  and  concentrating  ores 
would  be  much  greater  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  than  at 
Virginia  City,  would  they  ? 

A.  Yes,  with  a  plentiful  supply  of  water. 

Q.  Have  they  any  supply  of  water  on  the  canons  where 
these  mills  are  now  located  ? 

A.  There  isn't  a  sufficient  supply.  They  are  all  under 
the  necessity  of  keeping  some  water. 

Q.  The  s'upply  is  very  limited? 

A.  The  .supply  is  very  limited. 

Q.  Does  the  water  flow  from  one  mill  to  another  down 
the  canon,  and  is  it  used  over  and  over  again  ? 

A.  It  is  used  many  times  over  and  over  again.  Some- 
times it  is  pumped  up,  after  settling,  to  be  re-used. 

Q.  After  passing  through  a  mill  the  water  becomes  very 
muddy,  doesn't  it? 

A.  Yes.  But  after  awhile  it  settles,  and  they  take  up 
the  clear  water  to  be  used  again. 

Q.  Still  there  is  a  scarcity  of  water,  which  is  absolutely 
necessary  in  the  reduction  of  the  ores  ? 

A.  There  was  when  we  were  there. 

Q.  Would  there  be  any  space  at  any  of  these  mills,  as 
they  are  located  in  a  narrow  ravine,  to  erect  extensive  re- 
duction works  or  concentrating  works  ? 

A.  I  do  not  know  of  any  place  where  there  is  room. 

Q.  In  the  ravines  I  am  speaking  of? 

A.  'No;  I  don't  know  of  any. 

Q.  Then  it  would  be  quite  impossible  to  erect  that  kind 
of  works  and  run  them  profitably  or  rationally  without  an 
abundant  supply  of  water  and  abundant  space  to  move  in? 

A.  Well,  perhaps  the  better  mode  of  answering  the  ques- 
tion would  be  to  state,  that  one  single  process  is  not  suffi- 
cient to  secure  the  results  desired.  The  assay  of  ore  is 
made,  and  the  ore  is  delivered  to  the  milled.  He  is  re- 
quired to  return  65  per  cent,  of  the  assay  value.  That  is 
the  general  rule.  The  balance  is  understood  to  be  lost, 


155 

excepting  what  may  be  fished  up  by  different  parties  as  it 
flows  away  iii  the  little  streamlets  that  wind  their  way 
through  the  valleys  and  down  toward  the  Carson.  They 
manage  to  pick  up  a  small  percentage. 

Q.  Well,  how  would  that  be  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel, 
Professor?  Is  there  space  enough  there  to  erect  mills; 
and  is  there  a  descent  towards  the  river  sufficient  to  have 
self-acting  concentrating  works,  where  the  pulp  passes  from 
one  to  the  other,  without  the  labor  of  men  ? 

A.  From  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  there  is  a  direct  in- 
cline to  the  Carson  river.  The  fall,  within  perhaps  a 
mile  or  a  mile  and  a  quarter,  amounts  to  152  feet,  accord- 
ing to  the  leveling  of  the  Surveyor  General.  That  fall 
would  make  it  very  important  with  reference  to  establish- 
ing a  succession  of  works.  It  would  be  sufficient  to  give 
a  current,  all  that  would  be  required  for  the  purpose  of 
effecting  this  object,  and  making  the  process  automatic, 
self-acting. 

Q.  Then  it  would  dispense,  to  a  large  extent,  with  th'e 
labor  of  men  ? 

A.  "Well,  it  probably  could  be  reduced  at  a  very  much 
less  expense  at  that  point  with  a  liberal  flow  of  water.  I 
think  the  entire  expense  of  reduction  would  be  lessened 
one-half. 

Q.  What  is  the  fall  from  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  to  the 
river  ? 

A.  It  is  said  to  be  152  feet,  according  te  the  leveling  of 
the  Surveyor  General. 

Q.  From  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  to  the  river  152  feet? 

A.  "Well,  I  mentioned  152  feet,  didn't  I. 

Mr.  SHOBER.  What  is  the  distance,  Professor,  from  the 
river  to  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  ? 

A.  It  is  a  mile,  or,  according  to  some,  a  mile  and  a 
quarter.  I  should  judge  it  to  be  fully  a  mile,  if  not  more. 
It  has  been  measured.  The  actual  distance  can  be  ar- 
rived at. 

Mr.  SUTRO.     According  to  your  idea,  then,  there  would 


156 

be  no  difficulty  in  the  erection  of  reduction  works  there 
on  the  mosf  extensive  scale  ? 

A.  Well,  you  might  cover  hundreds  of  acres  with  reduc- 
tion works,  by  carrying  the  current  along  the  margin  of 
the  hills,  and  using  it  to  any  extent  desired. 

Q.  There  is  a  large  valley  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel, 
sloping  to  the  river,  is  there  not? 

A.  Yes,  sir.  It  extends  along  the  hills  for  a  long 
distance.  It  appears  for  a  long  distance  to  be  flat,  but  it 
is  a  regular  descent. 

Q.  The  topography  of  the  country  there  is  very  favor- 
able for  that  sort  of  thing? 

A.  I  should  think  it  would  be  perfectly  plain  to  every 
one  that  it  would  be  favorable.  The*  location,  so  far  as 
the  declivity — the  fall — is  concerned,  is  what  would  be 
desired.  . 

Q.  How  is  it  about  the  present  mills  upon  the  river? 
There  are  quite  a  number  of  small  mills  and  some  large 
ones  along  the  river.  Have  they  any  space,  where  they 
are  located,  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  concentrating 
works  ? 

A.  They  will  have  a  fall  of  from  12  to  20  feet  from  their 
dam  that  they  can  get  for  reduction,  but  it  would  not  be 
long  before  their  fall  would  be  used  up. 

Q.  Are  they  not  crowded  into  a  narrow  gorge  of  the 
river,  right  close  to  the  bank  of  the  river  ? 

A.  Yes,  except  in  one  or  two  instances,  where  they 
have  canals  leading  to  them,  and  that  is  at  no  great  eleva- 
tion from  the  river. 

Q.  There  wouldn't  be  much  chance  to  obtain  a  great 
deal  of  space  there,  would  there  ? 

A.  Not  a  great  deal  of  surface  could  be  used  in  that  way 
for  want  of  fall.  They  could  obtain  surface  enough  if  the 
fall  were  sufficient. 

Q.  Well,  in  order  to  thoroughly  secure  the  concentra- 
tion of  ores,  you  require  a  great  many  successive  opera- 
tions in  order  to  get  at  it  at  all  ? 

A.  You  want,  as  the  German's  have  done,  to  apply  the 


157 

different  modes  in  succession  in  order  to  secure  the  greatest 
result.  k 

Q.  Would  it  be  possible,  with  from  10  or  12  to  20  feet, 
to  get  enough  fall  to  put  in  a  succession  of  concentrating 
works? 

A.  Well,  I  should  think  not.  No,  sir;  not  to  make  it 
automatic.  It  can  be  done  by  again  carrying  the  material 
up  and  repeating  the  operation  in  that  form,  but  it  would 
be  attended  with  a  great  deal  of  labor. 

Q.  Would  you  consider  it  more  advantageous  to  have 
works  on^i  large  scale  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel:  could 
it  be  done  cheaper  on  a  large  scale,  with  the  advantages  of 
the  topography  of  the  locality? 

A.  Yes,  I  think  ore  could  be  reduced  at  half  the  ex- 
peuse  it  costs  now,  because  you  could  make  your  works 
automatic,  and  use  your  water  power  instead,  of  steam 
power.  The  ore  ought  to  be  reduced  there  for  $6  a  ton. 

Q.  How  much  do  they  get  now  for  reducing  ores? 

A.  The  price  varies  from  $11  to  $13  a  ton. 

Q.  Does  that  include  the  hauling  ? 

A.  That  includes  hauling. 

Q.  How  much  is  hauling  stated  at  ? 

A.  They  call  it  $1  a  ton  for  hauling  by  teams  to  the 
nearest  point;  that  is,  from  the  Savage  mine.  I  have  the 
statement  of  the  man  who  runs  the  mill  for  the  Savage 
company.  He  states  it  at  $1.  It  costs  $1  a  ton  for  cartage. 
They  reduce  it  at  §11  a  ton,  but  the  mill  belongs  to  the 
Occidental. 

Q.  What  mill  is  that  ? 

A.  The  Occidental. 

Q.  That  is  a  mill  close  by  the  Comstock  lode,  the  Occi- 
dental mill? 

A.  It  isn't  a  very  far  distance. 

Q.  How  far  distant  is  it? 

^  A.  I  should  judge  it  is  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  mine. 
I  don't  know.  The  nearest  Approach  I  have  made  to  it  is 
to  travel  over  it  in  the  night-time,  to  see  the  Pa-Utes 
dance. 


158 

Q.  But  you  went  over  it  in  the  daytime  also? 

A.  Yes,  sir.  I  should  think  it  is  a  mile  and  a  half,  pos- 
sibly two  miles  distance. 

Q.  How  far  are  the  mills  on  Carson  river  from  Virginia 
City,  by  the  railroad  ? 

A.  I  think  they  call  it  23  miles. 

Q.  To  Carson  City  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Some  mills  are  located  nearer  to  Virginia  than  those 
of  Carson  City,  are  they  not? 

A.  Oh,  yes;  there  are  mills  upon  the  route. 

A.  How  much  do  you  take  off  for  taking  the  ore  down 
to  the  river? 

A.  I  don't  know  what  it  costs  to  take  down  to  the  river. 

Q.  It  is  stated  here,  in  your  report,  that  transportation, 
or  carrying  to  the  mills,  is  $1  50;  is  that  the  average  cost? 

A.  Well,  I  think  on  the  railroads,  in  some  cases,  they 
carry  for  $1  a  ton  to  those  nearest,  and  from  that  to  $2  a 
ton. 

Q.  Would  $1  50  be  a  fair  average  ? 

A.  It  would,  perhaps,  if  you  take  the  Carson  river  and 
the  mills  in  the  canons. 

Q.  Then  milling  being  at  from  $11  to  $13  a  ton,  $1  50 
off  would  leave  about  $10  50  for  milling  ? 

A.  Not  very  far  from  that. 

Q.  How  much  do  you  say  ore  could  be  reduced  for,  pro- 
vided large  mills  were  erected  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel? 

A.  You  mean  by  steam  or  water  power  ? 

Q.  By  water  power. 

A.  It  ought  to  be  done  for  $6  a  ton,  certainly. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Six  dollars  for  reduction  at  the  mouth 
of  the  tunnel? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  $6  reduction  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Well,  that  would  be  a  saving  of  $4  50  on 
every  ton  at  the  present  prices. 
,  Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  We  do  it*nuch  cheaper  than  that  now. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Here's  the  way  it  is  stated  in  the  commis- 
sioners' report:  They  give  it  at  $12. 


159 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  It  ain't  so  at  all. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  But  it  gives  it  at  $12. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  That  is  what  the  mills  charge.  It  isn't 
what  it  costs.  That's  what  the  mills  charge  the  miners. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Well,  that's  what  the  miners  pay. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Reduction  could  be  done  at  tlie  mouth  of 
the  tunnel,  Professor,  for  $6;  is  that  your  statement? 

Mr.  ^TEWCOMB.  My  statement  is  that  it  could  be  done 
at  $6. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  That  is  not  at  a  profit? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  That  would  be  a  saving  of  $4  50  a  ton.  How 
much  royalty  have  they  got  to  pay  to  the  tunnel  company  ? 

Mr.  EEWCOMB.  The  specifications  in  the  law  made  are 
$2  a  ton. 

Q.  Then,  according  to  that,  they  would  save  on  milling 
alone  §2  50  on  every  ton,  besides  the  royalty? 

A.  Yes,  if  you  figure  right. 

Q.  According  to  these  figures  we  have  just  made? 

A*  Yes. 

Q.  If  mills  were  erected  at  the  mouth  of  that  tunnel, 
Professor,  with  the  present  mode  of  reducing  the  ore — that 
is,  to  crush  the  ores  and  amalgamate  them,  and  save  the  tail- 
ings— do  you  think  that,  in  running  those  tailings  over  con- 
centrating tables  and  concentrating  works,  a  greater  saving 
could  be  made? 

A.  I  think  it  is  a  disgrace  to  our  country  that  we  lose 
35  per  cent,  of  the  metals. 

Q.  It  is  35  per  cent,  that  they  lose  ? 

A.  Prom  30  to  35.  Some  claim  they  can  make  it 
about  30. 

Q.  Say  about  one-third  ? 

A.  About  one-third.  It  varies  in  that  respect.  In  the 
report  of  the  Savage  company  they  give  in  one  of  the  mills 
a  different  result  from  that  of  the  Customs  mills.  The  Occi- 
dental mill  is  one  of  their  own  mills.  They  work  up  the 
taiftngs  themselves,  and  they  get  a  better  result  from  the 
silver  and  a  less  result  from  the  gold  than  at  the  Customs 


160 

mills.  In  the  one  case  they  lose  44  per  cent,  of  the  silver, 
according  to  the  report. 

Mr,  SUNDERLAND.  Do  you  remember  what  year  that  re- 
port is  ? 

A.  The  last  report  made ?  I  don't  recollect  exactly;  but 
the  statement  is  made  in  this  report. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  think  it  is  stated  in  King's  report,  very 
fully,  how  much  they  lose.  They  lose  from  35  to  40  per 
cent.  According  to  that,  Professor 

A.  I  will  give  you  the  statement.  It  is  on  page  20  of 
our  report : 

"The  loss  in  working  from  the  assay  value  of  the  ores  is,  of  gold,  25T11T 
per  cent. ;  for  silver,  34^  per  cent.  The  larger  the  proportion  of  gold  in  the 
ore,  the  less  absolute  loss  is  made  in  the  working. 

"  The  above  statement  is  the  result  of  the  workings  in  the  Occidental  mill, 
under  the  direct  control  of  the  Savage  company,  and  includes  all  savings  from 
slime  and  tailings  secured  to  the  company. 

"In  the  Customs  mills  the  report  shows  a  less  favorable  result  on  the  sil- 
ver product,  as  follows:  Gold  loss,  23T1^  per  cent.;  silver  loss,  44  per  cent." 

Q.  Well,  now  let  me  repeat  my  question :  Could  an  ad- 
ditional amount  be  saved  by  taking  these  tailings,  which 
come  from  the  mills,  and  running  them  over  concentrat- 
ing tables,  saving  the  valuable  parts,  and  then  reducing 
these  ? 

A.  I  should  think  it  might,  most  decidedly. 

Q.  "Would  you  consider  that  the  circumstances  at  the 
mouth  of  the  tunnel  are  favorable  to  that  sort  of  work  ? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  Well,  if  they  lose  35  per  cent,  and  the  yield  is 
$15,000,000  per  annum,  the  total  result  would  be  about 
$23,000,000? 

A.  That  is  on  the  supposition  that  you  make. 

Q.  I  mean  the  assay  value  would  be  $23,000,000.  That 
intimates  a  loss  of  $8,000,000  per  annum.  How  much  ad- 
ditional do  you  think  could  be  saved  by  having  the  most 
approved  concentrating  works  erected  at  those  mills  at 
the  mouth  of  the  tunnel— the  per  cent,  of  the  gross  yield? 

A.  They  work  in  Europe,  very  much  closer  than  we 
work.  It  is  reported,  upon  authority  I  can  give,  to  be  five 


161 

per  cent. ;  that  13,  one  of  the  professors  in  the  mining 
school  in  New  York  BO  states. 

Q.  Columbia  College? 

A.  Columbia  College.  He  has  recently  returned  from 
there.  He  repeated  to  me  that  they  were  now  within  five 
per  cent. 

Q.  Then,  in  losing  35  per  cent,  as  they  do  now,  suppos- 
ing they  had  very  complete  concentrating  works,  with  an 
abundant  supply  of  water,  how  much  could  that  loss  be  re- 
duced to,  in  your  opinion  ? 

A.  I  think  the  loss  would  be  greater  than  in  the  workp 
of  Europe,  because  the  body  of  work  is  much  greater. 
You  would  make  a  greater  loss,  because  you  would  be 
under  the  necessity  of  hurrying  up  your  work  more. 
There  the  body  of  ore  worked  is  smaller  in  comparison, 
and  the  results  are  favorable.  More  time  and  attention 
are  given  to  it  than  would  be  profitable  here.  I  think  the 
loss  might  be  reduced  to  10  per  cent.  here. 

Q.  Then  they  would  save  25  per  cent  additional? 

A.  I  think  it  ought  to  be  worked  within  10  per  cent 

Q.  Then  they  would  save  25  per  cent,  additional  of  the 
present  yield,  which  would  be  almost  $6,000,000  on  the 
whole  amount  of  §23,000,000  per  annum  ?  . 

A.  I  will  say  that  I  was  very  forcibly  struck  with  the 
mode  of  reduction,  and  the  extreme  loss  resulting  there- 
from. They  represented  that  they  had  tried  every  means 
in  their  power  to  correct  that  condition.  The  miners,  of 
course,  do  not  wish  to  lose  it  any  more  than  any  outsiders. 
They  tried  various  plans  for  overcoming  the  loss;  and  they 
have  their  works,  in  connection  with  their  present  locali- 
ties, as  far.  as  it  can  be  done,  made,  perhaps^  as  perfectly  as 
they  can  be  made  under  the  circumstances.  But  they  have 
not  the  conditions  for  the  succession  of  works  that  is  re- 
quired, in  order  to  obtain  the  desired  result. 

Q.  If  it  were  proposed,  Professor,  to  furni&h  to  these 
mills  on  the  river  the  same  power  at  the  mouth  of  the  tun- 
nel they  have  now,  would  you  think  it  probable  that  they 
11 


162 

would  refuse  to  accept  the  same  at  that  more  favorable 
point? 

A.  I  can  only  answer  you,  sir,  upon  general  principles. 
I  should  think  that  they  were  very  foolish  if  they  did  not 
accept.  I  know  if  I  were  owner  of  a  mill  upon  the  river, 
and  could  get  the  power  located  where  I  should  not  be 
subject  to  the  expense  of  keeping  up  dams  and  flumes  and 
to  freshets,  I  should  very  gladly  make  the  exchange.  I 
cannot  say  what  they  will  do  out  there. 

Q.  Then,  according  to  ordinary  reasoning,  and  consult- 
ing the  interests  of  themselves,  they  would  not  hesitate 
of  accepting  a  power  equal  to  the  power  which  they  hold 
now,  and  having  it  located  at  that  more  favorable  point 
at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  ? 

A.  It  would  possess  another  advantage  in  addition  : 
they  would  be  permanently  supplied  with  water,  which 
they  are  now  deficient  in.  When  we  were  there,  many  of 
the  mills  were  not  working  on  account  of  the  want  of  water. 

Q.  By  erecting  a  large  dam,  and  damming  up  the  water 
for  miles  back,  would  it  accumulate  in  large  quantities  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir.  All  my  remarks  were  made  with  reference 
to  a  reservoir  being  constructed  sufficient  to  hold  the  water 
that  would  accrue  through  the  season.  The  water  that 
passes  down  in  the  spring  is  sufficient  to  keep  the  mills 
going  through  the  whole  of  the  year,  no  doubt.  I  have  it 
from  good  authority  that  the  Mexican  mill  has  been  re- 
peatedly flooded,  and,  in  the  opinion  of  the  man  who  was 
the  superintendent  of  that  mill  for  many  years,  the  body 
of  the  water  was  abundant  for  everything,  if  it  could  be 
utilized. 

Q.  Is  there  much  wear  and  tear  in  those  mills,  Profes- 
sor? 

A.  Well,  from  actual  observation  I  couldn't  say ;  but 
from  the  representations  made  to  me  by  the  President  of 
the  milling  company  it  must  be  very  great. 

Q.  Who  is  that,  Professor? 
A.  That  is  Mr.  Sharon. 


163 

Q.  Who  is  he?  Is  he  the  agent  of  the  Bank  of  Califor- 
nia? 

A.  He  has  that  reputation.  I  never  transacted  business 
with  him  in  that  way. 

Q.  What  did  he  tell  you  about  the  wear  and  tear  of  the 
mills  ? 

A.  He  very  kindly  took  us  to  visit  the  different  mills 
belonging  to  the  company  and  many  others.  The  number 
is  rather  difficult  to  mention.  I  have  a  list  running  down 
two  or  three  .pages  of  my  note-book.  I  told  him  it  must 
be  rather  expensive  keeping  those  mills  up.  It  is  claimed 
by  Mr.  Sharon  (I  am  reading  from  my  note-book)  that  the 
millions  of  dollars  invested  in  these  mills  would  be  sacri- 
ficed should  the  Sutro  tunnel  become  an  accomplished  fact. 
In  answer  to  an  inquiry,  we  learned  from  him  that  the  ex- 
pensive machinery  used  has  to  be  replaced  every  two  years. 

Q.  In  other  words,  it  wears  out  every  two  years? 

A.  He  says  it  has  to  be  replaced.  I  presume  it  wears 
out. 

Q.  You  took  that  down  at  the  time  the  statement  was 
made? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Well,  supposing  these  people  would  contemplate  an 
exchange  for  water  power  at  the  mouth  of  the§  tunnel,  and 
would  in  the  meantime  not  replace  their  old  with  new  ma- 
chinery, would  they  lose  much  of  anything? 

A.  Many  of  the  mills  Were  not  in  movement,  for  want  of 
water  or  being  out  of  repair,  when  I  was  there.  They  con- 
stantly required  t^ese  repairs.  If  they  were  transferred, 
and  the  use  of  the  water  power  were  substituted  for  steam, 
I  should  think  that  they  would  be  the  gainers  by  the  oper- 
ation very  materially. 

Q.  They  could  let  the  machinery  wear  out?  It  would 
take  several  years  to  make  the  tunnel,  and  by  that  time 
they  could  move  their  mills,  and  there  wouldn't  be  much 
loss,  would  there? 

A.  I  don't  think  there  would  be  much  loss.     The  ex- 


164 

pensive  part  of  the  machinery  composes  the  most  of  the 
value  of  the  mills. 

Q.  What  do  the  huildings  amount  to  ? 

A.  Not  a  great  deal,  sir. 

Q.  What  are  they  made  of? 

A.  Mostly  wood. 

Q.  Boards? 

A.  Boards,  rather  loosely  put  together. 

Q.  They  don't  cost  much,  do  they? 

A.  They  are  a  little  better  than  our  ordinary  country 
saw-mills,  with  one  exception — yes,  two  or  three  exceptions : 
where  they  are  constructed  with  a  great  deal  of  care,  the 
timbers  well  put  together.  But  the  most  of  them,  with  the 
exception  of  the  frame-work,  are  of  very  little  consequence. 
The  frame-work  I  should  not  consider  of  very  great  value. 

Q.  Couldn't  the  frame-work  be  taken  down  and  re- 
moved ? 

A.  It  could;  but  that  would  be  at  a  sacrifice,  of  course, 
to  some  extent.  The  Mexican  mill  is  a  very  excellent 
mill.  There  was  one  very  expensive  mill  belonging  to  the 
Gould  and  Curry ;  that  is  now  dilapidated,  or  was  when 
we  were  there. 

Q.  It  is  not  torn  down  ? 

A.  I  don't  know  whether  it  is  torn  down  or  not.  The 
building  was  standing  when  we  were  there.  It  was  a  very 
expensively  put  up  building. 

Q.  You  spoke  of  Mr.  Sharon  a  moment  ago,  the  agent 
of  the  Bank  of  California.  Did  he  ever  say  anything  to 
you  about  being  opposed  to  the  tunnel? 

A.  Well,  he  expressed  himself  very  strongly  when  I 
first  saw  him  in  the  street  in  connection  with  the  other 
commissioners. 

Q.  When  you  were  introduced  to  him  ? 

A.  He  didn't  address  himself  to  me;  but  he  expressed 
himself  as  very  strongly  against  the  tunnel. 

Q.  On  what  grounds  did  he  state  he  was  opposed  to  it  ? 

A.  The  grounds  were  not  given;  only  he  would  crush 
it,  or  something  of  that  effect. 


165 

Q.  Did  lie  make  any  remark  to  the  effect  that  he  would 
break  it  up,  or  oppose  it,  or  defeat  it,  if  he  could  ? 

A.  Yes,  and  in  very  strong  terms.  I  cannot  use  the  ex- 
act words  he  did,  but  I  know  the  expression  was  very 
strong. 

Q.  It  showed  a  good  deal  of  feeling  about  it  ? 

A.  He  seemed  to. 

Q.  Would  you  consider  that,  if  Mr.  Sharon  owned  the 
privileges  connected  with  this  tunnel,  he  would  like  to 
construct  it? 

A.  That  would  be  merely  a  matter  of  opinion.  I  could 
hardly  answer  the  question.  I  think  very  likely  Mr.  Sharon 
has  got  money  enough,  and  wouldn't  like  to  bother  with  it 
just  now;  that  is  my  opinion.  I  had  an  opportunity  of 
seeing  his  mode  of  operating  a  little  in  stocks. 

Q.  How  do  they  make  their  money  there,  Professor? 

A.  Some  men  make  it  by  hard  labor,  I  suppose. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  If  the  chairman  please,  I  object  to 
that  question,  as  having  no  relevancy  to  this  case.  It  don't 
make  any  difference  how  we  make  our  money  there.  We 
make  it  honestly  or  dishonestly.  It  has  no  bearing  upon 
the  tunnel. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  think  it  has  a  very  close  connection  with 
the  tunnel.  I  am  trying  to  arrive  at  the  motives  for  the 
opposition  of  these  people,  and,  in  order  to  do  that,  I  want 
to  show  how  these  men  make  their  money ;  whether  they 
made  it  by  legitimate  mining  or  by  stock-jobbing.  I  think 
the  question  is  very  pertinent. 

Mr. 'SUNDERLAND.  If  we  make  or  lose  money  by  stock- 
jobbing, I  don't  think  it  will  make  the  tunnel  of  less  or 
greater  value. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Well,  if  the  tunnel  would  break  up  this 
stock-jobbing,  it  is  very  natural  that  these  people  who  make 
their  money  by  stock-jobbing  would  be  opposed  to  it;  con- 
sequently I  think  the  question  is  pertinent. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  It  will  be  for  the  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee to  decide.  It  only  opens  the  field  to  all  kinds  of 
inquiry  that  may  be  made. 


166 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  It  is  quite  speculative;  the  question  is. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  want  to  show  that  these 
people  are  opposed  to  the  tunnel  for  various  reasons,  one 
of  which  is,  that  they  make  their  money  over.there,  not  by 
legitimate  mining,  but  by  bulling  and  bearing  the  stocks. 
If  the  tunnel  comes  in,  why  it  opens  up  all  those  mines, 
and  they  can't  hide  anything ;  it  becomes  legitimate  mining. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  Well,  ask  the  question. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  What  is  the  motive  of  opposition,  Professor, 
in  your  opinion? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  object  to  that. 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  I  cannot  go  into  the  man's  motives. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  Well,  what  is  the  manner  of  the  opposi- 
tion they  make,  not  the  motive.  How  is  the  opposition 
made? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  How  do  they  show  the  opposition  to  the  tun- 
nel, Professor?  Do  they  exercise  any  influence  over  the 
people  at  Virginia  City,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  prevent 
them  from  becoming  interested  in  the  tunnel  and  seeing 
it  go  ahead  ? 

A.  Well,  we  took  the  evidence  of  some  of  the  miners  in 
regard  to  that;  one  of  them  particularly  specified  that  he 
didn't  wish  to  have  his  name  given  in  connection  with  it 
in  any  way,  and  in  the  course  of  conversation  he  stated  that 
if  the  mining  ring  knew  that  any  intelligence  was  commu- 
nicated to  the  commissioners  adverse  to  what  was  thought 
to  be  in  their  own  interests,  and  in  favor  of  the  tunnel,  the 
parties  communicating  it  would  be  discharged  from  em- 
ployment, and  he  would  not  like  to  have  his  name  men- 
tioned in  connection  with  it.  He  gave  us  some  little  in- 
formation upon  the  subject,  still  further,  in  regard  to  the 
amount  of  low-grade  ores. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  would  like,  if  the  chairman  please, 
to  have  the  name  of  that  man  given.  I  would  like  to 
know  what  position  he  holds,  so  as  to  know  whether  his 
information  is  entitled  to  respect. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  If  the  man  gave  his  information,  and  stated 


167 

it  would  jeopardize  his  position- to  have  it  known,  it  would 
be  hardly  fair  to  give  it. 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  I  would  decline  to  give  his  name,  because 
I  promised  not  to. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  It  isn't  necessary*          r- 

Mr.  SUNFERLAND.  Then,  since  the  witness  objects  to 
giving  the  name,  I  object  to  having  repeated  here  anything 
that  that  man  said,  because  he  may  be  some  loafer,  that 
has  a  spite  against  a  mine  owner,  and  has  given  false  in- 
formation. We  might  prove  his  character  to  be  such,  that 
his  declarations  wouldn't  be  worthy  of  belief.  It  is  exceed- 
ingly strange  to  give  the  statement  of  a  man,  and  then 
withhold  his  name,  so  that  we  cannot  dispute  the  proposi- 
tion, or  bring  into  question  his  veracity. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  It  would  be  hardly  tolerated,  of  course,  in 
a  court  of  justice. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  ^N"ever,  anywhere  in  the  world. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Professor,  let  me  ask  you  a  general  question. 
Did  you  find,  in  your  intercourse  with  the  laboring  miners, 
that  they  exhibited  any  fear  of  communicating  any  infor- 
mation to  you  which  would  be  favorable  to  the  tunnel? 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  When  we  visited  the  mines,  we  were 
generally  accompanied  by  the  superintendent.  There 
wasn't  very  much  opportunity  of  conversing  with  the  men, 
excepting  in  some  few  cases  with  the  foremen  of  particular 
levels. 

Q.  Well,  from  what  you  saw  there,  Professor,  would  you 
think  that  these  men  would  have  communicated  to  you  any 
information  favorable  to  the  tunnel  while  their  foreman  or 
superintendent  was  present?  What  is  your  impression 
about  that? 

A.  That's  a  rather  hard  question  to  answer.  My  views 
in  regard  to  it,  at  the  time,  were  perfectly  neutral,  neither 
for  nor  against  it;  and  the  influence  exerted  upon  my  mind 
by  this  man,  who  seemed  to  be  a  fair  man,  led  me  not  to 
make  examinations.  Perhaps  it  would  have  been  better 

if  I  could  have  done  so  more  extensively.  I  didn't  wish 

• 


168 

Q.  You  didn't  make  them,  then,  because  you  feared  yoti 
would  injure  those  people? 

A.  I  didn't  wish  to  do  them  an  injury  by  holding  com- 
munications with  them  upon  the  subject.  This  party 
influenced  my  mind  so  far  as  to  lead  me  to  believe  that,  if 
we  were  found  in  communication  with  the  parties,  and 
they  gave  us  information  upon  the  subject,  and  it  was  as- 
certained, it  might  result  to  their  injury. 

Q.  Did  you  come  in  contact  with  any  of  the  officers  of 
the  Miners'  Union  at  Virginia  City? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Were  they  in  favor  of  the  tunnel? 

A.  Yes,  decidedly  in  favor  of  it. 

Q.  Are  these  miners  very  numerous  over  there? 

A.  Well,  I  don't  know  how  numerous  they  may  be,  but 
the  understanding  was  that  they  comprised  the  greater 
portion  of  the  miners. 

Q.  Of  the  laboring  miners  ? 

A.  That  is  my  understanding. 

Q.  They  number  several  thousand,  do  they  ? 

A.  Yes.  I  do  not  know  how  many  belong  to  it,  except- 
ing that  they  are  very  numerous.  That  is  as  far  as  I  can 
say.  That  was  the  representation  they  made  to  me  at  the 
time. 

Q.  They  wanted  to  see  the  tunnel  go  in  ? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  Did  they  make  any  statement  why  they  thought  it 
was  desirable  to  make  that  tunnel  ?  Did  they  state  any- 
thing in  regard  to  their  health  ? 

A.  Well,  they  stated  that  the  miners  generally  were 
healthy,  but  it  would  be  an  improvement  in  the  mode  of 
ventilation,  and  it  would  develop  the  mines,  and  prevent, 
as  they  represented,  gambling  in  stocks;  it  would  prevent 
loss  to  the  miners  in  investing  in  stocks — the  miners  them- 
selves. 

Q.  They  lost  money  by  gambling  in  stocks  ? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  Professor,  what  do  you  know  about  the  condition  of 


.       169 

the  atmosphere  in  these  mines?    Do  you  consider"  that  it 
is  a  healthy  atmosphere  where  these  men  are  employed? 

A.  In  some  places,  yes.  In  the  Yellow  Jacket  mine. 
I  don't  recollect  whether  it  is  the  1,100-foot,  or  1,200-foot, 
or  1,000-foot  level  where  the  miners  were;  but,  at  any  rate, 
the  heat  was  very  great,  and  the  atmosphere  was  stagnant. 
It  filled  my  lungs  so  rapidly  as  to  produce  a  congestive 
state,  and  made  it  difficult  for  me  to  breathe,  and  that  wars 
not  in  the  hottest  point.  General  Wright  went  in  a  por- 
tion where  the  thermometer  went  up  several  degrees  over 
the  heat  at  that  point.  I  was  in  Honduras  in  the  same 
temperature,  where  they  had  precisely  the  same  range  of 
thermometer,  and  no  such  difficulty  followed  where  we 
could  have  advantage  of  the  motion  of  the  air,  but  the  in- 
halation of  the  damp  air  produced  a  form  of  congestion 
that  made  it  very  difficult  to  breathe.  The  men  that  were 
sinking  on  that  level,  with  the  exception  of  a  light  pair  of 
pantaloons,  were  naked,  and  the  perspiration  was  stream- 
ing from  their  bodies;  yet  they  were  very  healthy. 

Q.  Professor,  in  the  reports  made  to  the  English  Parlia- 
ment, in  investigating  the  condition  of  the  miners,  it  has 
been  stated  that  42  per  cent,  of  them  die  of  miners'  con- 
sumption; that  while  they  are  at  work  they  get  eo  much 
accustomed  to  the  place,  that  they  never  find  out  they  really 
have  the  seeds  of  consumption  in  them  until  it  is  too  late. 
They  then  leave  the  occupation,  and  go  off  to  some  other 
place  to  die.  Do  you  think  that  the  condition  of  the  Corn- 
stock  lode  is  similar  to  that  ? 

A.  No;  I  don't  think  it  is,  Mr.  Sutro.  I  think  the  cir- 
cumstances are  quite  different.  The  most  of  the  miners 
in  England  are  coal  miners.  I  have  been  in  the  mines  of 
Newcastle,  through  that  region — the  coal  mines.  There 
you  have  a  great  deal  of  free  carbonic  acid  in  the  atmos- 
phere, which  has  a  tendency  to  afiect  the  lungs  very  inju- 
riously, I  think,  nearly  as  a  slow  poison;  but  in  our  mines 
we  have  no  accumulation  of  carbonic  acid  gas. 

Q.  Well,  haven.'t  we  sulphuretted  hydrogen  gas? 

A.  Very  little  of  it. 


170      . 

Q.  Isn't  it  very  fatal  where  it  does  exist? 

A.  Yes;  but  it  isn't  perceptible  here  at  all  events. 

Q.  Do  you  consider  there  is  a  lack  of  oxygen  in  the  air? 

A.  No ;  I  think  the  unhealthiness  is  due  to  the  stagnant 
condition  of  the  atmosphere.  Give  it  movement,  and  the 
air  is  just  as  good  in  the  mines  as  it  is  up  outside;  I  don't 
think  there  is  much  difference. 

•  Q.  Do  you  consider  that  if  that  tunnel  would  go  in,  and 
connect  by  its  branches  with  a  great  number  of  shafts,  that 
the  ventilation  would  improve;  that  the  motion  of  the  air 
would  improve  ? 

A.  There  is  no  doubt  that  it  would  improve  ventilation. 
At  the  same  time  other  appliances  could  be  made  to  ven- 
tilate it. 

Q.  They  could  blow  in  air? 

A.  They  could  blow  in  air,  or  send  in  condensed  air. 

Q.  Well,  to  make  condensed  air  requires  a  good  deal  of 
power,  does  it  not? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Couldn't  this  water  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  be 
applied  to  condensing  air,  and  the  mines  be  ventilated 
much  cheaper  than  they  could  be  from  the  surface  by  steam 
power  ? 

A.  Why,  it  would  make  the  difference  between  the  in- 
expensive water  power  and  the  expensive  steam  power. 

Q.  Would  you  consider,  Professor,  that,  with  the  con- 
nections from  the  tunnel,  the  atmosphere  would  gradually 
cool  off  above  the  tunnel  level,  say  within  one,  two,  or 
three  years,  and  become  cooler  than  it  is  now,  by  having 
a  thorough  draft  going  through  the  different  shafts  up  to 
the  surface  ? 

A.  Yes,  it  would  cool  off  gradually. 

Q.  Then,  taking  the  average  of  the  thermometer  as  it 
is  given  here,  at  between  90°  and  110°,  say  100°,  would 
that,  think  you,  be  reduced  in  one  or  two  years  down  to 
75°  or  80°  by  constant  ventilation  ? 

A.  Yes;  If  you  throw  a  cold  current  of  air  through,  of 
course  you  can  cool  it  off.  That  is  evidenced  very  distinctly 


171 

in  the  Hoosac  tunnel,  in  passing  into  the  tunnel,  directly 
under  the  mountain,  where  the  air  would  be  ,heated  but 
for  the  condensed  air  that  is  thrown  in.  Why,  the  moun- 
tain is  as  cool  in  the  tunnel  as  it  is  outside,  and  it  is  due  to 
that  circumstance;  and  this  condensation  is  made  by  water 
power  a  part  of  the  time,  when  they  can  use  the  water,  at 
other  times  by  steam  power ;  when  the  water  power  fails, 
it  is  supplemented  by  steam. 

Q.  An  almost  unlimited  supply  of  condensed  air  could 
be  thrown  into  those  workings  from  the  mouth  of  the  tun- 
nel, provided  you  have  cheap  water  power  to  make  it  by? 

A.  Yes;  an  unlimited  supply  could  be  thrown  in  if  you 
have  cheap  water  power.  There  would  be  no  difficulty 
about  that. 

Q.  Would  you  think,  Professpr,  that  the  thermometer, 
which  now  stands  at  an  average  of  100°,  would  then  go 
down,  say  to  70°? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  don't  think  the  Professor  has  stated 
that  it  stands  at  the  average  you  have  given. 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  I  don't  think  that  it  is  a  fair  statement, 
because  it  is  not.  In  the  deep  workings  they  may  find  the 
temperature  (not  in  the  present  working  headings,  but  iri 
those  that  have  been  placed  on  one  side)  as  high  as  stated. 
When 'they  are  at  work  they  force  the  air  into  the  head- 
ings upon  the  workmen,  and  it  keeps  them  comparatively 
covered;  but  where  we  found  the  temperature  to  rise 
to  103°  was  in  a  nook,  out  of  the  way,  where  the  water 
was  hot,  the  rock  hot,  and  everything  heated,  and  the 
atmosphere  filled  with  moisture. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  What  would  you  consider  the  average  tem- 
perature of  the  mines  in  the  headings  and  the  drifts  and 
the  winzes  of  the  working  mines,  say  at  the  1,200-foot 
level,  so  far  as  your  observation  goes? 

A.  We  found  at  the  headings  of  the  Crown  Point  a  very 
comfortable  temperature;  not  particularly  hot,  at  any  rate. 

Q.  What  would  you  call  comfortable? 

A.  Well,  a  temperature  of  80°  suits  me  about  as  well  as 


172 

any.    I  don't  like  it  any  less  than  that  at  any  time,  for  my 
feelings.     • 

Q.  What  would  you  consider  the  average  of  the  temper- 
ature at  the  headings  at  the  depth  of  1,000  or  1,200  feet? 

A.  I  think  it  would  run  up  probably  to  85°. 

Q.  At  headings? 

A.  At  the  headings  on  the  level.  It  would  T>e  very 
much  higher  but  for  the  blowers,  which  keep  it  cool  while 
they  are  sending  a  current  of  air  through  their  tubular 
structures  to  the  headings.  As  you  descend  the  heat  will 
increase.  It  will  increase  after  passing  down  1,000  feet 
much  more  rapidly  in  proportion  than  for  the  1,000  feet 
above,  until  you  get  to  the  depth  of  2,000  feet,  and  then  the 
increase  is  still  greater. 

Mr.  SHOBER.  What  would  be  the  heat  at  that  depth  of 
1,200  feet,  without  artificial  means  of  ventilation  ? 

A.  Well,  it  would  exceed  100°.  I  believe  it  would  go 
up  to  105°.  It  would  be  just  about  105°. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Wouldn't  it  go  higher  than  that  if  there 
were  no  ventilation? 

A.  ISTo,  I  think  not.  A  person  could  not  live  in  a  tem- 
perature of  105°  there,  when  he  could  live  in  the  open  air 
in  a  temperature  very  much  higher. 

Q.  Then  there  is  a  difference  between  the  salubrity  of  a 
temperature  in  a  mine  and  on  the  surface? 

A.  There  is,  where  you  get  no  motion  in  the  atmosphere. 
Stagnant  air  a  person  cannot  stand.  A  better  mode  of 
expression  would  be,  that  the  sensations  are  not  truly  indi- 
cated by  the  thermometer. 

Q.  Professor,  in  your  opinion  would  the  working  capac- 
ity of  the  mines  not  be  increased  if  the  temperature  were 
reduced  say  10°  or  15°  or  20°? 

A.  There  is  no  doubt  about  that,  because  in  some  of  the 
mines,  although  they  were  stripped  nearly,  with  only  a  pair 
of  pantaloon sx  on,  when  they  were  at  work  the  perspiration 
was  reeking  upon  them. 

Q.  Did  it  fill  their  boots?  Did  you  ever  see  their  boots 
filled  with  perspiration? 


173 

A.  No;  I  didn't  examine  their  boots. 

Q.  Well,  it  is  like  a  steam-bath,  a  good  deal,  isn't  it? 

A.  It  is  a  good  deal  like  the  bath  I  took  at  the  steam 
springs. 

Q.  Suppose  the  temperature  were  reduced  on  account 
of  the  current  created,  so  that  the  air  could  no  longer  be 
stagnant,  would  you  consider  that  the  working  capacity  of 
the  men  employed  in  the  mine  below  the  1,000-foot  level 
would  be  increased  25  per  cent.  ? 

A.  To  what  other  depth? 

Q.  To  the  tunnel  level;  from  1,000  to  2,000  feet. 

A.  Well,  I  should  think  it  would.  The  lower  the  level 
the  more  the  heat  is,  and  the  more  difficult  to  work  in  the 
mines. 

Q.  They  state  there  are  3,000  miners  employed  on  the 
Comstock  lode,  at  $4  a  day;  that  is  $12,000  a  day.  Twenty- 
five  per  cent,  saved  would  be  $3,000  a  day,  which  would  be 
the  actual  saving  in  labor,  equal  to  $1,000,000  a  year. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  would  prefer  that 
the  witness  make  his  calculations; 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  ask  the  witness  whether  my  statement  is 
correct  ? 

Mr.  NETFCOMB.  He  can  make  his  calculations  as  he  pleases. 
I  don't  respond  to  that. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Tt  appears  in  the  report  as  my  question.  I 
want  the  Professor  to  state  whether  that  is  correct. 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  Well,  if  your  statement  of  the  number  of 
miners,  3,000,  be  correct,  and  if  you  have  figured  correctly, 
why  that  is  the  amount  saved,  $3,000  a  day.  I  don't  take 
the  responsibility  of  the  ciphering  at  all. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  The  data  given,  we  can  figure  it  as  well  as 
he  can. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  There  is  $1,095,000  that  could  be  saved  in 
labor  alone.  In  going  below  the  tunnel  level  the  heat 
would  be  still  greater,  would  it  not? 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  I  think  the  heat  would  be  increased  about 
1°  for  every  40  feet.  It  is  ascertained  that  below  the  2,000- 
foot  level  the  increase  is  very  much  greater  than  above  the 


174 

2,000  feet,  the  ratio  of  increase  is  greater,  and  as  you  de- 
scend that  ratio  continues  to  increase.  I  think  that  at  the 
depth  of  2,000  feet,  if  there  were  no  appliances  to  cool 
the  place,  the  temperature  would  stand  at  123°. 

Q.  Would  you  consider  it  possible  to  work  the  mines 
below  the  tunnel  level  at  all,  except  you  introduce  con- 
densed-air? 

A.  I  don't  believe  blowers  would  be  sufficient;  at  the 
same  time  that  is  merely  a  matter  of  opinion.  I  think  by 
condensed  air  it  might  be  done. 

Q.  Getting  down  to  that  depth,  would  there  not  be  re- 
quired a  very  large  power,  in  order  to  drive  these  blowers 
and  condense  air  particularly? 

A.  Yes ;  it  would  require  a  good  deal  of  force. 

Q.  That  power  could  be  obtained  at  the  mouth  of  the 
tunnel  ? 

A.  It  would  take  expensive  machinery. 

Q.  Water  power  could  be  applied  to  that  at  the  mouth 
of  the  tunnel.  Professor,  I  want  to  ask  you  whether,  from 
your  observation,  (what  you  know  and  have  seen,)  those 
mines  are  worked  legitimately  for  mining  purposes,  or 
whether  they  are  worked  for  stock-jobbing  purposes? 

A.  I  think  when  they  strike  a  bonanza  they  are  worked 
for  mining  purposes.  But  when  they  do  not,  they  work 
them  in  the  stock-board  in  San  Francisco. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  any  instance  where  they  had  a  body 
of  ore  they  had  discovered,  where  they  didn't  let  the  pub- 
lic know  ?  Did  you  ever  hear  of  any  such  instance? 

A.  They  struck  in  the  Belcher  when  we  were  there. 

Q.  Did  they  make  it  known  at  once  ?  Did  they  let  the 
public  know  as  soon  as  they  struck  it?  Did  the  public 
generally  get  that  information  at  once  ? 

A.  I  am  not  aware  that  they  did,  but  it  was  known  in  a 
very  few  days. 

Q.  "Was  it  known  the  day  they  struck  it?  Did  the  pub- 
lic generally  know  about  the  strike  they  had  made  in  the 
Belcher  mine  ? 

A.  We  were  examining  these  mills  at  the  time  at  some 


175 

distance  off,  (I  think  in  the  Seven  Mile  canon,)  and  a  party 
came  riding  on  horseback  with  a  very  nice  specimen,  and 
handed  a  note  to  the  president  of  the  mill  company 

Q.  Who  was  he  ? 

A.  He  was  Mr.  Sharon. 

Q.  He  was  with  you,  was  he? 

A.  Well,  we  were  with  him.  He  was  taking  us  out  in 
his  carriage,  very  kindly,  to  show  us  the  mill  property,  and 
we  saw  that  it  was  a  matter  of  considerable  importance  to 
him,  and  we  rather  urged  him  to  turn  back,  thinking  that 
he  might  be  required  at  his  office.  He  did  so,  and  tele- 
graphed to  San  Francisco  for  the  purchase  of  stock  of  the 
Belcher  company. 

Q.  Was  Mr.  Sharon  at  that  time  connected  as  an  officer 
with  the  Belcher  company? 

A.  I  don't  know,  sir.  He  told  me  afterwards  that  he 
had  secured  control  of  the  mine. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  hear  of  the  miners  being  locked  up  in 
a  mine,  when  a  strike  had  occurred,  with  their  meals  sent 
down  to  them,  champagne  and  all  that  sort  of  thing? 

A.  ~Not  while  we  were  out  there.  There  is  one  thing  I 
know  pretty  decidedly;  the  miners  wouldn't  have  objected 
to  it,  especially  the  champagne. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  They  never  have  been  found  to  object 
to  it  yet.  I  don't  see  what  business  it  is  to  any  body  out- 
side either,  if  the  miners  don't  object  to  it. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Do  you  think,  Professor,  that  these  mines 
are  worked  in  the  interests  of  the  men  who  are  the  owners 
of  the  stock  ? 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  Well,  if  you  want  my  actual  thoughts  in 
regard  to  it,  I  should  say  they  were  worked  more  in  the 
interests  of  particular  parties,  that  may  or  may  not  be  in- 
terested particularly  in  the  mines.  I  have  to  judge  from 
general  observation,  and  from  one  and  another  little  cir- 
cumstance. I  had  had  some  little  investments  in  mines 
myself,  and  they  had  been  paying  regular  dividends  of  $25 
per  share,  I  think,  for  one  year.  I  got  two  or  three  divi- 
dends at  first,  and  then  I  had  the  privilege  of  receiving  a 


176 

notice  of  an  assessment  of  $20;  and  I  happened  to  learn 
accidentally  that  they  had  a  large  surplus  on  hand  when 
the  assessment  waa  made,  and  I  wouldn't  hold  such 
stock.  I  sold  it  out  at  a  sacrifice  of  two  or  three  thousand 
dollars.  The  assessment  was  never  paid,  that  I  recollect. 

Q.  "Was  that  one  of  the  mines  of  the  Comstock  lode? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  What  is  the  general  opinion  of  people  about  the  man- 
agement of  these  mines  ? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  object  to  the  general  opinion. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Professor,  what  is  your  opinion  of  it? 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  "Well,  ask  the  lawyer  here.  He  knows 
all  about  it. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  He  won't  tell  us. 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  Yes,  you  will;  won't  you? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  If  he  puts  me  on  the  stand,  I'll  tell. 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  Well,  I  know  some  men  get  very  wealthy 
there,  and  others  do  not. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  How  is  it  about  these  superintendents  there  ? 
.  A.  They  are  very  intelligent  men. 

Q.  Haven't 'very  many  of  them  grown  rich? 

A.  They  have  excellent  champagne. 

Q,  They  are  smart,  are  they? 

A.  There  are  not  many  smarter  men  to  be  found.  They 
are  really  good  fellows. 

Q.  What  chances  have  they  to  speculate  ?  Have  they 
made  much  money  as  superintendents  of  those  mines? 

A.  They  must  have  an  opportunity  of  knowing  when 
anything  rich  is  to  be  struck,  and  they  can  easily  telegraph 
to  San  Francisco  and  secure  stock.  They  have  that  ad- 
vantage, and  whoever  would  be  a  superintendent  and  not 
improve  that  opportunity,  would  be  behind  the  common 
usage.  I  suppose  the  superintendents  would  be  considered 
as  rather  rich. 

Q.  Is  Mr.  Bequa  reputed  to  have  made  much  money  over 
there? 

A.  I  am  glad  to  say  he  is  reputed  to  be  wealthy.   I  hope 


177 

» 

it  is* true.     I  think  Mr.  Requa  is  a  very  fine  gentleman. 
He  is  certainly  a  very  intelligent  one. 

Q.  Would  these  superintendents  like  to  lose  a  position 
that  is  as  lucrative  as  that  they  hold? 

A.  Well,  if  I  were  a  superintendent  there,  and  under- 
stood my  business,  I  shouldn't  want  to  lose  the  position. 

Q.  Who  has  the  controlling  power  there  which  keeps 
these  people  in  place? 

A.  It  ought  to  be  the  stockholders  of  the  mine,  of  course. 

Q.  Do  you  think  they  are  the  ones? 

A.  I  can't  say.     I  am  not  in  the  ring. 

Q.  Would  these  superintendents,  if  there  be  a  "  power 
behind  the  throne,"  be  apt  to  do  anything  against  that 
power  that  could  remove  them  from  their  position? 

A.  I  shouldn't  think  it  would  be  advisable  for  them  to 
do  it,  and  I  donrt  think  they  would. 

Q.  Mr.  Sharon  told  you  that  he  was  opposed  to  the  tun- 
nel? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  Hasn't  he  the  reputation  of  being  the  "power  behind 
the  throne?" 

A.  Well,  he  has  the  power  that  wealth  gives,  undoubt- 
edly, and  exercises  it.  He  is  a  very  keen,  sharp,  bright, 
active  man. 

Q.  Would  you  think  that  these  superintendents  would 
be  apt  to  cling  to  these  positions,  which  are  so  very  lucra- 
tive, and  not  give  offense  to  the  parties  who  have  the  power 
to  remove  them  ? 

A.  Well,  that  would  be  very  natural  to  suppose. 

Q.  Are  there  mines  over  there  owned  by  any  one  par- 
ticularly ? 

A.  As  far  as  I  know  they  are  all  joint-stock  companies, 
with  perhaps  one  or  two  exceptions. 

Q.  Who  are  the  owners  of  that  stock? 

A.  Oh,  they  are  owned  by  individuals— tfarmers,  mer- 
chants, mechanics,  and  all  classes  of  people,  more  or  less. 
I  know  a  great  many  parties  in  San  Francisco  and  in  vari- 
ous places  that  own  st^ck. 
12 


178 

Q.  Do  they  buy  tbat  stock  for  investment,  to  keep? 

A.  Some  have  done  so,  I  know. 

Q.  Do  they  do  it  nowadays  ? 

A.  I  don't  know. 

Q.  Have  you  any  idea  how  much  the  transactions  of 
these  stocks  amount  to  per  month  in  the  San  Francisco 
stock  hoard?  I  mean  the  transactions  of  the  stock  in  the 
Comstock  lode? 

A.  I  don't  know.  I  should  think  millions. 

Q.  Then,  according  to  that,  these  stocks  change  hands 
from  day  to  day,  and  new  sets  of  men  come  into  possses- 
sion? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  And  they  don't  care  much  about  the  property,  or  who 
controls  it? 

A.  It  is  the  same  with  the  mining  stock  as  with  other 
stocks.  Eailroad  stocks  are  continually  changing  in  the 
market  in  the  same  way.  There  is  a  large  amount  of 
stock-jobbing. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  wish  to  objectto  Mr.  Sutro's  making 
statements  that  are  not  borne  out  by  facts. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  want  to  get  at  the  mode  of  working  those 
mines,  whether  they  are  economically  worked  for  the 
profits,  or  whether  the  whole  system  of  mining  is  a  stock- 
jobbing operation,  where  one  is  continually  trying  to  get 
the  start  of  the  other.  1  want  to  show  that  this  property 
is  simply  a  foot-ball;  that  it  is  used  for  speculative  pur- 
poses; that  it  is  bought  and  sold  from  day  to  day;  that  new 
parties  are  all  the  time  getting  the  ownership;  and  that 
there  are  certain  rings  who  control  the  thing. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Well,  there  is  no  law  there  against 
buying  or  selling  these  stocks,  and  people  will  deal  in  them, 
and  you  can't  help  it. 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  That  is  evident,  I  think;  you  can't  help 
it  any  more  than  you  -can  help  railroad  stocks  being  bought 
and  sold. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  You  would  consider^  Professor,  that  that 
tunnel  would  be  of  great  advantag^to  those  mines,  as  far 


179 

as  the  drainage,  ventilation,  and  cheap  mode  of  transporta- 
tion are  concerned? 

A.  Well,  it  would  serve  to  drain  the  mines,  to  save  what 
expense  is  incurred  in  the  process  of  draining.  It  would 
aid  in  ventilation,  although  I  do  not  deem  it  an  essential 
thing. 

Q.  It  isn't  absolutely  necessary  ? 

A.  Not  absolutely  necessary. 

Q.  Still,  would  it  be  desirable? 

A.  It  would  be  desirable  to  have  all  the  ventilation  you 
can  get,  and  as  you  go  down  the  increase  in  importance  is 
very  great. 

Q.  Do  you  know  how  many  steam  engines  are  in  opera- 
tion on  the  Comstock  lode  ? 

A.  I  do  not.     I  never  counted  them. 

Q.  Have  you  an  approximate  idea  how  many  there  are? 

A.  No.  I  know  that  a  man  that  is  unaccustomed  to  the 
noise  feels  about  the  same  under  the  Falls  of  Niagara  as 
he  does  along  the  streets  of  Virginia  City  to  Gold  Hill, 
from  the  sound  of  the  stamps. 

Q.  I  was  not  referring  to  the  stamps,  but  to  the  hoisting 
works. 

A.  I  referred  to  the  stamps;  the  noise  made  by  the 
stamps. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  That  becomes  quite  musical  after  a 
while. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Yes,  they  can't  sleep  without  it. 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  So  I  am  told.  I  don't  know  the  number 
of  engines.  I  never  counted  them.  But  there  is  a  large 
number  necessarily  employed  to  move  those  stamp-'. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  After  the  tunnel  is  in  and  the  branches  are 
constructed,  and  these  shafts  connected,  would  there  be  a 
necessity  for  pumping  machinery  any  longer,  down  to  the 
turrn.el  level?  (f 

A.  £s"o,  sir;  I  should  think  not.-  There  is  no  reason 
why  there  should  be,  for  the  simple  reason  that  there  would 
be  no  necessity  for  it.  The  amount  of  water  that  comes 
from  near  the  surface  depends  very  much  upon  the  seasons. 


180 

"Where  the  seasons  are  very  dry,  the  quantity  would  be  less. 
Where  they  are  very  wet,  the  quantity  would  be  increased. 

Q.  You  visited  a  number  «f  mines  on  the  Com  stock. 
Did  you  ascertain  anything  about  the  quantity  of  water 
they  had? 

A.  Well,  we  tried  to  work  that  water  up,  but  all  the  in- 
formation we  really  had  upon  the  subject,  as  to  the  amount, 
is  \vhat  we  derived  from  the  reports  of  the  superintendents. 

Q.  Well,  I  want  to  ask  you  whether  they  haven't  stated 
almost  universally  that  the  water  in  the  last  year  had  very 
much  decreased  as  they  descended? 

A.  Yes;  they  gave  that  report. 

Q.  Are  you  aware  of  the  fact  that  there  had  been  three 
years  of  immense  drought  over  there ;  that  they  had  hardly 
any  rain  or  snow  fall  during  the  three  preceding  winters; 
that  the  earth  was  all  parched  up;  that  the  wells  had  dried 
up;  and  that,  in  fact,  the  water  had  almost  disappeared? 

A.  I  had  known  that,  along  the  range  of  the  Sierras 
in  the  State  of  California,  there  had  been  three  successive 
dry  seasons;  and  I  was  told  that  it  had  extended  to  Vir- 
ginia City  and  the  mines. 

Q.  Would  these  three  seasons  not  have  dried  up  the 
earth  and  prevented  the  supply  of  water  at  the  depth  these 
mines  had  run? 

A.  It  would  lessen  the  flow  of  water  necessarily,  because 
this  coming  from  the  surface,  and  passing  into  the  cracks 
and  crevices  of  the  rocks,  and  percolating  through  every 
formation,  would  be  lessened  to  a  very  great  extent. 

Q.  Where  does  the  water  come  from  that  is  found  in 
penetrating  the  crust  of  the  earth? 

A.  Well,  the  most  of  it  is  the  result  of  rain.    . 

Q.  That  seeps  through  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Wouldn't  it  be  a  natural  result  that,  after  three  dry 
seasons,  the  supply  of  water  in  the  earth  would  be  a  great 
deal  less  Jhan  after  a  wet  season? 

A.  Yes,  it  has  always  been  found  so. 

Q.  Well,  reports  state  that  the  snow  fall  this  winter  has 


181 

been  very  heavy — both  snow  and  rain;  and  wouldn't  the 
result  be,  that  after  the  snow  melts  a  larger  quantity  of  water 
would  be  found  in  the  mines  than  there  had  during  the 
last  year  ? 

A.  Yes,  I  should  judge  that  that  would  be  the  case. 
That  was  the  opinion  I  expressed  to  the  commissioners, 
that  the  lessening  of  the  amount  of  water  was  due  to  that 
cause. 

Q.  What  time  were  you  in  Nevada? 

A.  I  think  it  was  in  August. 

Q.  August  of  last  year? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  That  was  almost  the  dryest  part  of  the  year,  was  it 
not? 

A.  It  was  so  dry,  that  there  was  a  great  scarcity  of  water, 
at  any  rate.  f 

Q.  I  find  it  stated  here,  in  the  report  of  the  Surveyor  Gen- 
eral, on  page  45: 

"  I  would  state  that  the  amount  of  water  flowing  into  the  Carson  river  thig 
year  is  extremely  small,  far  less  than  ever  known  since  the  settlement  of  the 
tate;  and  k  is  not  probable  that  a  similar  reduction  will  happen  in  many 


years.  I  have,  therefore,  based  no  estimate  or  calculation  upon  this  year. 
For  the  months  of  August,  September,  and  /October,  and  up  to  the  present 
time,  the  flow  has  only  been  25  cubic  feet,  on  a  grade  of  10  feet  to  the  mile." 


In  another  place  he  states,  that 

"The  average  flow  of  water  in  the  Carson  river  is  508Ta^  feet." 

That  would  show  that  the  quantity  of  water  in  the  Carson 
river  this  year  was  only  3^  of  the  average  flow  of  ordinary 
years.  Well,  taking  that  as  a  basis,  would  it  not  appear 
that  some  very  extraordinary  dry  seasons  had  occurred  in 
Nevada  ? 

A.  Oh,  we  have  the  fact,  I  suppose,  without  a  doubt. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  It  isn't  contended  that  we  have  had 
three  dry  seasons  there.  I  don't  deny  that.  I  have  been 
there  all  the  the  time,  and  know  it. 

Mr.  ISTEWCOMB.  I  have  seen,  after  a  blow  from  the  pick, 
the  dust  fly  from  the  vein. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  While  you  were  there,  did  you  enter  the 
Savage  mine,  or  the  Hale  and  Norcross? 


182 

A.  No,  I  did  not. 

Q.  Why  did  you  not? 

A.  Arrangements  were  to  have  been  made  by  the  super- 
intendent to  admit  us  into  the  Savage,  but,  in  the  first  place, 
they  were  flooded  with  water;  they  had  struck  what  you 
might  call  a  bonanza  of  water,  and  the  water  swept  out 
into  the  Hale  and  Norcross.  The  arrangements  were  to 
have  been  made.  "We  expected  to  go  into  the  Sayage 
mine,  but  the  shaft  was  out  of  order. 

Q.  Why  couldn't  you  go  down  the  other  mine;  they 
were  connected? 

A.  Well,  there  were  some  difficulties  in  the  way.  It 
was  necessary  to  have  the  permission  of'the  superintendent. 

Q.  They  didn't  seem  to  wish  to  have  you  go  down? 
They  threw  obstacles  in  the  way? 

A.  They  didn't  seem  to — they  didn't  object;  no  objec- 
tion was  made;  but  we  couldn't  make  arrangements  for 
the  purpose  of  going  down,  some  way. 

Q.  You  couldn't  visit  a  mine,  except  by  permission  of 
the  superintendent  ? 

A.  No. 

Q.  Did  you  visit  any  mine  where  the  superintendent  or 
foreman  of  the  mine  was  not  constantly  with  you? 

A.  Yes,  sir,  I  did  one;  but  not  what  is  considered  on 
the  Comstock. 

Q.  On  the  Comstock  lode  you  visited  the  mines  only 
under  the  guidance  of  these  superintendents,  and  they. only 
took  you  to  such  places  as  they  wished  to  show  you? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  Did  you  have  any  way  of  getting  into  any  portion  of 
the  mine  where  you  desired  to  go?  Could  you  have  done 
it  on  your  own  part? 

A.  Well,  we  might  have  done  it,  but  in  the  intricacies 
of  the  mines  probably  we  should  have  been  lost,  and  very 
likely  not  found  our  way  out  very  soon. 

Q.  They  only  took  you  to  such  portions  of  the  mines  as 
they  wished  to  show  you,  you  being  their  guests,  as  you 
may  say? 


183 

A.  They  never  refused  when  a  wish  was  expressed  to  go 
to  any  part  of  the  mines. 

Q.  Are  the  workings  of  these  mines  very  intricate? 

A.  Yes,  they  are  very  extensive. 

Q.  Are  there  many  miles  of  drifts  in  these  mines? 

A.  Yes,  a  good  many.  I  don't  know  how  many,  of 
course. 

Q.  Would  it  be  possible  for  a  stranger  to  go  and  find 
out  where  these  bodies  of  low-grade  ores  are  without  a 
guide? 

A.  "Well,  he  might  stumble  upon  them,  or  he  might 
not.  It  would  be  a  difficult  matter,  at  all  events.  I  saw  a 
good  deal  of  low-grade  ores,  and  took  off  specimens  as  I 
went.  I  carried  with  me  my  satchel  and  hammer,  and 
where  I  thought  there  were  low-grade  ores,  I  took  them  otf 
and  examined  them,  and  compared  them  with  others. 

Q.  Provided  the  foreman  or  superintendent  of  a  mine 
would  want  to  mislead  you  about  the  condition  of  the 
mine,  could  he  take  you  down  into  that  mine  and  show 
you  only  such  parts  of  it  as  would  mislead  you? 

A.  If  he  wished  to  do  it,  of  course  he  could. 

Q.  Would  it  be  possible  for  you  to  tell  whether  he  did 
or  not,  taking  into  consideration  the  intricacies  of  the 
workings  of  those  mines? 

A.  It  would  be  impossible  for  a  man  unacquainted  with 
the  mines  to  traverse  them,  and  make  a  thorough  exami- 
nation, without  the  aid  of  the  superintendents  or  some  per- 
sons who  are  acquainted. 

Q.  You  entered  these  mines  entirely  under  the  guidance 
of  these  superintendents  or  their  foremen,  and  only  visited 
such  parts  as  thej^took  you  to  ? 

A.  That  is  all.  I  don't  think  they  would- have  objected, 
however,  to  our  going  to  any  part,  if  we  had  expressed  the 
•wish.  By  the  time  they  had  taken  us  around  all  they 
wanted  to,  we  were  glad  enough  to  go  out. . 

Q.  Would  it  be  possible,  Professor,  under  the  circum- 
stances, going  to  such  levels  as  they  took  you  to,  for  you 


184 

to  form  a  correct  idea  as  to  the  quantity  of  water  in  the 
mines  ? 

A.  Yes,  in  the  Yellow  Jacket  I  think  we  could  form  a 
pretty  good  estimate  ? 

Q.  There  was  very  little  water  in  the  Yellow  Jacket 
mine,  I  believe? 

A.  There  was  a  strong  current  of  water,  running  pretty 
rapidly. 

Q.  In  the  Yellow  Jacket? 

A.  In  the  Yellow  Jacket. 

Q.  The  superintendent  states  there  was  not  one  inch  of 
water  there? 

A.  Well,  there  was  a  strong  current  of  water  running. 

Q.  "Which  way  was  it  running? 

A.  Nearly  east,  I  think;  no?<  rather  northeast. 

Q.  The  Yellow  Jacket  and  Crown  Point  connect? 

A.  That's  the  same  -I  refer  to.  The  water  runs  from 
the  Crown  Point  into  the  Yellow  Jacket. 

Q.  Are  you  not  mistaken  ?  Isn't  the  Crown  Point  mine 
the  deeper  of  the  two  ? 

A.  It  has  drifted  the  deepest,  but  at  the  level  we  were  on 
the  other  is  higher.  The  water  came — a  portion  of  it — 
from  Crown  Point.  That's  what  they  told  us. 

Q.  I  think  you  have  got  the  locality  reversed? 

A.  I  don't  think  I  have. 

Q.  The  Yellow  Jacket  mine  is  the  higher  mine,  and  the 
wates  runs  from  that  into  the  Crown  Point  mine.  They 
were  not  pumping  any  at  the  Yellow  Jacket? 

A.  Well,  I  noticed  a  strong  current  of  water  running. 
It  was  covered.  I  don't  know  where  it  was  running  to.  I 
don't  recollect  about  that  particularly;  fyut  I  recollect  dis- 
tinctly about  the  water  in  that  mine,  and  the  water  was 
quite  warm.  I  thought  it  the  wettest  mine  that  I  had  vis- 
ited. 

Q.  Which  one  ? 

A.  The  Yellow  Jacket. 

Q.  Are  you  not  mistaken  about  the  locality? 

A.  No,  I  am  positive  with  regard  to  the  mine.     I  am 


185 

not  quite  so  positive  with  regard  to  the  course  the  water 
was  running. 

Q.  The  Crown  Point  makes  no  statement  here.  They 
were  pumping  a  large  quantity  of  water.  The  Yellow 
Jacket  was  not  pumping.  The  water  was  running  iuto 
the  Crown  Point? 

A.  It  may  have  been  running  into  the  Crown  Point,  but 
there  was  quite  a  strong  current  of  water  running  from, 
that  mine. 

Q.  How  much  water  was  there  ? 

A.  Oh,  I  couldn't  tell  you;  it  was  covered  up;  but  we 
could  hear  it  going  along,  and  in  places  we  could  slip  our 
fingers  in. 

Q.  Was  there  an  inch  of  water? 

A.  No,  I  think  not. 

Q.  Was  it  running  rapidly? 

A.  One  inch  of  water  might  spread  over  a  large  surface, 
say  18  inches.  It  was  running  rapidly. 

Q.  Well,  say  a  miner's  inch? 

A.  Well,  it  was  more  than  that.  There  was  more  water 
in  that  mine  than  in  any  other  mine  that  we  visited,  with 
one  exception,  and  that  was  on  another  lode,  not  on  the 
Comstock;  at  least  I  noticed  more  water  there.  Portions 
of  the  mine  were  quite  dry. 

Q.  What  advantages  would  there  be  at  the  mouth  of  the 
tunnel  as  an  abode  for  people  compared  with  Virginia 
City?  Would  you  consider  the  climate  better  down  there? 

A.  Yes,  I  should  judge  the  climate  would  be  better, 
because  you  are  not  so  elevated  there.  Virginia  City  is 
pretty  well  elevated. 

Q.  How  much  lower  are  you  ? 

A.  I  suppose  2,000  feet. 

Q.  What  chances  are  there  there  for  people  to  have  little 
gardens  and  more  comforts  ? 

A.  Oh,  they  could  raise  vegetables  there,  if  they  could 
get  water  to  irrigate  the  soil. 

Q.  Have  you  seen  anything  growing  down  to  the  rnouth 
of  the  tunnel? 


186 

A.  Yes,  I  have  had  the  privilege  of  eating  vegetables 
there  that  were  very  good. 

Q.  All  that  is  required  is  a  little  water  ? 

A.  I  don't  know  how  little.  It  would  require  some 
quantity,  enough  to  moisten  the  earth. 

Q.  With  water  you  can  raise  any  kind  of  vegetables 
down  there? 

A.  Not  any  kind;  a  variety  suited  to  the  climate  and 
latitude.  I  know  a  great  many  vegetable  you  could  raise 
there. 

Q.  Well,  they  can  raise  the  more  hardy  vegetables 
there,  at  least  ? 

A.  I  don't  believe  they  can  grow  tallow  there,  for  one 
thing. 

Q.  By  having  a  little  patch  of  ground  down  there  at 
the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  could  the  miners  raise  some  vege- 
tables, and  keep  a  cow,  and  get  more  of  the  comforts  of 
life  than  they  do  up  to  Virginia  City? 

A.  They  would  have  greater  facilities  for  doing  so. 
Whether- they  would  improve  them  or  not,  I  cannot  tell. 

Q.  Well,  a  good  many  of  these  miners  have  families, 
have  they  not  ? 

A.  That  I  don't  know.     It  is  to  be  presumed  they  have. 

Q.  Well,  have  you  seen  anything  about  Virginia  City 
that  is  adapted  to  any  sort  of  gardening  or  agriculture? 

A.  Yes,  there  was  one  place  where  they  can  get  a  little 
water,  and  where  they  have  got  a  very  nice  little  place — 
G-eneral  Van  Bokelens.  He  has  got  some  trees. 

Q.  I  mean  generally  speaking? 

A.  Generally  speaking,  no. 

Q.  Is  there  much  besides  rocks  ? 

A.  Plenty  of  rocks  and  wind. 

Q.  Could  timber  and  firewood  be  supplied  at  the  mouth 
of  the  tunnel  any  cheaper  than  at  Virginia  City  by  float- 
ing down  the  Carson  river? 

A.  I  should  think  they  could,  unless  they  are  delivered 
by  railroad  for  nothing. 


187 

Q.  Are  they  very  apt  to  deliver  anything  for  nothing  up 
there  ? 

A.  Well,  yes;  they  extended  to  us  the  courtesy  of  the 
railroad. 

Q.  Do  you  know  o£any  difficulty  in  running  timbers  and 
wood  down  the  Carson  river? 

A.  If  there  were  sufficient  water  I  don't  know  of  any 
difficulty. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  any  law  in  Nevada  to  compel  every 
man  that  has  a  dam  on  the  river  to  leave  a  chute  open  to 
allow  timbers  and  wood  to  pass  through  ? 

A.  You  must  ask  somebody  besides  me. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  You  better  consult  the  statutes. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  The  statutes  will  show  it. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  Are  these  chutes  in  all  the  dams? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  ISTo,  sir;  there  are  no  chutes  in  any 
of  the  dams. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Well,  there  is  a  law  allowing  the  running  of 
lumber,  timber,  and  wood  over  the  dams. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  How  high  are  the  dams  ? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  The  highest  ones  are  24  feet.  We  were 
permitted  last  year  to  run  wood  down  by  paying  all  the 
damages  to  dams.  It  is  the  only  time  it  has  ever  been  run 
down  since  any  of  the  dams  were  built. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Do  you  see  any  difficulty,  Professor,  in  float- 
ing firewood  down  the  Carson  river? 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  I  know  no  reason  against  it. 

Q.  Did  you  hear  of  parties  floating  down  thousands  of 
cords  last  year? 

A.  That  a  very  large  body  had  been  floated  down. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Below  Empire  City? 

A.  In  that  neighborhood. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  To  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel? 

A.  About  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel. 

Q.  Didn't  Mr.  Bryant,  of  Empire  City,  float  down 
thousands  of  cords  last  year? 

A.  Well,  I  saw  Empire  City  wood,  but  whether  it  was 
floated  down  the  Carson  or  not  I  couldn't  say. 


188 

Q.  They  get  their  wood  in  the  Sierra  Nevada  mountains 
and  bring  it  down.  Is  there  anything  to  prevent  them 
floating  it  down  the  Carson  river,  provided  they  prepare 
their  wood  and  have  it  ail  ready  to  float  down? 

A.  I  know  of  no  obstructions,  unl^s  there  is  something 
in  the  river  to  prevent  it. 

Q.  The  parties  over  there  proposed  last  fall  to  furnish  us 
some  millions 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Well,  if  the  chairman  please,  I  object 
to  any  statements  from  Mr.  Sutro. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  It  is  pretty  remote. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Well,  I  will  read  a  telegram  dated 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  object  to  it. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  What  is  proposed  to  be  shown? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  want  to  prove  this:  The  gentleman  who 
has  floated  all  the  lumber  and  timber  down  Carson  river 
for  several  years  proposed  to  contract  with  me  last  fall  to 
float  down  a  large  quantity  of  mining  timber  and  fire- 
wood to  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel;  but  we  did  not  know 
exactly  what  we  wanted,  and  we  didn't  make  the  contract. 
He  told  me  at  that  time  that  it  was  necessary  to"  contract 
early  for  it  in  order  to  get  it.  I  telegraphed  to  him  yes- 
terday in  order  to  find  out  at  what  price  they  could  deliver 
it;  but  he  telegraphs  to-day: 

"  I  can't  furnish  timber,  for  want  of  time.  Wood  $3.  I  will  deliver  5,000 
cords  of  wood  at  $8. 

(Signed)  S.  BRYANT. 

"Empire  City,  Nevada,  February  23d." 

He  means  to  say  he  will  float  firewood  down  at  $8  per 
cord,  but  he  cannot  furnish  the  timber  for  want  of  time. 
He  hasn't  prepared  that  timber. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  Is  the  firewood  cut  ? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Of  course. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  Can  they  throw  it  into  the  river  and  float 
it  down? 

Mr.  SUTRO.'  Yes,  sir;  but  they  have  to  have  men  to  guide 
it  down.  He  states  the  price  at  $8,  but  I  have  no  doubt  a 
large  contract  can  be  made  for  $6  per  cord,  while  the  wood 
at  Virginia  City  costs  $12  per  cord.  Timber  can  be  deliv- 


189 

eretl  for  $18  per  thousand,  which  costs  at  Virginia  City,  as 
far  as  I  know,  the  lowest,  §24  a  thousand.  Mr.  Day,  how- 
ever, stated  to  General  Foster  that  it  could  be  delivered  at 
$22. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  know  they  charge  as  at  Virginia 
City  $8  and  $9  a  cord  for  the  same  wood  this  man  tele- 
graphs about. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  This  man  telegraphs,  "wood  $8."  That 
man  came  down  to  the  tunnel  half  a  dozen  times  to  make  a 
t  contract,  but  we  were  not  ready  to  make  it  then.  Now  it 
is  too  late  to  get  it,  but  next  year  we  mean  to  go  there  for 
20,000  cords  of  wood  and  three  or  four  million  feet  of  lum- 
ber. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  Then,  if  you  can  put  boards  or  timber  in 
the  river,  it  will  float  down  stream  ? 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  I  am  quite  positive  it  won't  float  up. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  When  the  water  is  high  enough  you  can 
float  wood  down. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Since  that  wood  was  floated  down, 
the  largest  dams  on  the  river  have  been  erected — the 
Eureka  and  the  Brunswick. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  have  been  told  by  Mr.  Bryant,  the  man 
who  has  been  very  largely  engaged  in  this  business,  that 
there  is  a  law  on  the  statute-book,  which  allows  people  to 
float  their  lumber  and  timber  over  these  dams. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  All  this  timber  and  lumber,  floated 
from  Empire  City,  by  permission  of  the  owners  of  the 
Mexican  mills,  have  been  floated  through  their  ditch,  three 
miles  long. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Well,  how  do  you  account  for  that  5,000 
cords  of  wood  on  the  river,  of  which  we  bought  some  right 
beside  the  tunnel? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  just  told  you. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  don't  know,  Professor,  that  I  have  any 
further  questions  to  ask  you.  I  suppose,  Mr.  Sunderland, 
you  are-aot  ready  to  ask  any  questions  jh^-night.  I  would 
like  to  ask  a  few  more  at  our  next  meeting,  or  after  you 
get  through. 


190 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Well,  I  would  like  to  ask  one  ques- 
tion now,  and  go  on  at  the  next  meeting. 

Mr.  SUTRO.   All  right,  then;  you  go  on. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Professor,  who  is  in  possession  of  the 
Comstock  lode? 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  It  is  held  for  the  benefit  of  the  stock- 
holders, by  the  mining  corporations,  I  suppose;  and  their 
officers  have  the  control. 

Q.  You  know  the  fact,  I  suppose,  that  the  whole  Com- 
stock lode  is  now  the  property  of  the  different  corpora-1 
tions  that  are  working  it  from  one  end  to  the  other? 

A.  Well,  as  far  as  the  Comstock  is  known,  it  is. 

Q.  "With  a  few  exceptions.  I  mean  what  is  being 
worked  now? 

A.  We  don't  know  the  extent  of  the  Comstock. 

Q.  I  don't  know  as  we  do. 

A.  I  think  we  find  it  going  a  mile  and  a  half  farther 
from  what  we  thought. 

Q.  I  think  we  know  it  pretty  well,  but  you  and  I  may 
differ  about  it.  Well,  now,  has  Mr.  Sutro  or  the  Sutro 
Tunnel  Company  any  interest  in  the  Comstock? 

A.  JSTot  that  I  am  aware  of. 

Q.  Has  the  General  Government  any  interest  in  it? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  In  the  ownership  of  the  mines  ? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  What  interest— the  titles? 

A.  Yes,  the  absolute  ownership. 

Q.  What  mine? 

A.  There  is  one  of  the  mines  that  has  no  title.  We  asked 
the  party  why  he  didn't  get  it;  and  that  is  the  Crown 
Point.  They  hadn't  got  a  title  at  the  time  we  were  there. 

Q.  Has  the  General  Government  undertaken  to  exercise 
any  supervision  of  any  acts  of  ownership  over  the  Comstock 
since  it  was  first  discovered? 

tA 

A.  I  don't  knw  that  it  has,. 


191 

Q.  The  parties  in  possession  have  been  permitted  to 
work  it  from  the  first  to  the  present  time? 

A.  Yes,  provided  they  pay  a  certain  sum  of  money  per 
acre  for  the  patents,  arid  in  this  case  they  declined  to  do 
that. 

Q.  Kow,  don't  you  think  it  a  little  strange  that  an  out- 
sider, who  has  no  interest  in  any  mine  on  the  Comstock, 
should  come  to  us  there,  and  tell  us  that  we  don't  know 
enough  to  work  our  mines  property;  that  he  knows  a  great 
deal  more  about  it  than  we  do;  and  then  ask  the  Govern- 
ment to  supply  him  with  money  to  run  a  tunnel,  so  that 
he  may  work  our  mines  in  a  better  manner  than  we  do 
now? 

A.  Well,  I  suppose  men  act  from  motives  generally. 
These  motives  may  be  good  or  bad  motives. 

Q.  I  am  not  talking  about  the  motives.  In  a  free  country, 
where  a  man  has  the  ownership  of  property,  ain't  he  gen- 
erally permitted  to  use  it  as  he  pleases,  without  anybody 
interfering? 

A.  Yes,  if  he  doesn't  interfere  with  other  people's 
rights. 

Q.  Well,  is  there  any  interference  with  rights  in  this 
case? 

A.  I  am  not  aware  that  there  is. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  "Will  you  allow  me  to  ask  the  Doctor  another 
question,  just  now,  Mr.  Sunderland? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAXD.  Well,  just  hold  on  a  moment.  You 
stated  (to  Mr.  Newcomb)  that  a  specimen  of  ore  was 
brought  from  the  Belcher  to  Mr.  Sharon  while  you  were 
in  his  company.  Was  there  any  reason  why  a  specimen 
of  ore  should  not  be  taken  to  Mr.  Sharon,  as  well  as  any- 
body else,  when  ore  was  found  in  the  mine? 

A.  I  know  of  no  reason  why.     I  only  stated  the  fact. 

Q.  Well,  do  you  know  whether  ore  was  taken  to  other 
people  besides  Mr.  Sharon  ? 

A.  I  do  not. 

Q.  You  know  that  Mr.  Sharon  bought  stock  as  soota  as 
he  got  here? 


192 
\ 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Nothing  strange  about  that,  was  there? 

A.  I  think  it  was  perfectly  natural  for  him  to  do  it. 

Q.  Don't  you  know  that  other  people  were  buying  stock 
the  same  way?  Didn't  the  stock  go  up  the  next  day? 

A.  He  told  me  the  next  day  that  he  had  lost  §2,000  on 
his  purchase.  He  could  have  bought  it  cheaper  the  first 
day. 

Q.  Well,  then,  others  had  been  buying  before  Mr.  Sha- 
ron? 

A.  I  don't  know. 

Q.  Did  you  ascertain,  or  did  you  hear  said,  that  outsiders 
always  got  information  of  a  strike  in  a  mine  sooner  than 
the  officers  of  the  company?  Did  you  ever  hear  that  while 
you  were  there? 

A.  I  don't  know  about  the  outsiders. 

Q.  Men  not  interested  in  the  mines,  I  mean? 

A.  I  have  heard  it  stated  that  parties  that  were  perhaps 
interested  to  a  limited  extent  may  have  had  others  em- 
ployed to  give  them  information  in  case  of  a  strike. 

Q.  When  I  say  outsiders,  I  mean  men  that  don't  hold  a 
share  of  stock,  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  control  of  a 
mine,  and  have  no  permanent  interest  there.  Don't  you 
know  that  such  men  employ  miners,  at  the  Comstock,  to 
give  them  information  of  strikes  before  the  officers  know 
it? 

A.  Well,  I  know  the  stock  board  of  San  Francisco 
keeps  agents  for  the  purpose  of  giving  the  earliest  informa- 
tion. 

Q.  Well,  don't  you  know  that  the  miner  finds  out  the 
ore  first? 

A.  He  must. 

Q.  Ain't  it  an  easy  matter  for  him  to  feign  sickness,  get 
upon  the  surface,  and  give  information  about  it  to  a  man 
that  has  paid  him  $5  or  $10? 

A.  Well,  I  suppose  it  is  possible. 

Q.  Now,  then,  will  the  construction  of  this  tunnel  stop 
that? 


193 

A»  If  the  mines  are  thoroughly  opened,  yes. 

Q.  How  so?  I  would  like  to  have  that  explained. 

Mr.  SHOWER.  Let  me  hear  that  again. 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  If  the  mine  is  thoroughly  opened,  it  will 
expose  it,  and  whatever  of  real  value  there  is  there  will  be 
so  determined  that  a  transfer  of  shares  will  be  a  fair  trans- 
action between  the  purchaser  and  the  seller.  Both  will 
have  an  opportunity  of  investigating  and  learning  what 
it  is. 

Mr.  SUNDEIILAND.  Do  you  mean  to  say,  Doctor,  that  the 
mines  will  be  any  more  thoroughly  opened 'with  that  tun- 
nel than  now  ? 

A.  You  can  open  it  from  the  tunnel  level  in  a  hundred 
different  places. 

Q.  Don't  you  know,  Doctor,  that  one  year  before  that 
tunnel  can  be  in  every  mine  that  is  now  being  worked  on 
the  Comstock,  except  the  Sierra  Nevada  and  the  Chollar 
Potosi,  which  are  working  upon  the  surface  and  nowhere 
else,  and  the  Overman,  will  be  far  below  the  level  of  the 
tunnel? 

A.  ISTo,  I  don't  know  it.  They  claim  that  the  Crown 
Point  will  be  down  to  the  tunnel. 

Q.  How  deep  is  the  Crown  Point? 

A.  The  Crown  Point  was  down  on  the  l>200-foot  level, 
penetrating  to  the  1,300-foot,  when,  we  were  there. 

Q.  How  far  below  the  Point  A,  of  the  Gould  and  Curry 
croppings,  is  the  point  of  that  shaft  there — the  initial  point? 
The  initial  point  is  what  we  all  measure  from. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  It  is  the  point  we  originally  established. 

Mr.  jSTEWCOMB.  The  Crown  Point  from  the  initial  point 
will  carry  you  down,  I  think,  some  1,700  feet. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  You  were  on  the  1200-foot  level,  you 
say? 

A.  I  think  it  was  the  1,200.  They  were  drifting  down 
upon  the  1300-foot  level  when  I  was  there. 

Q.  You  state  in  your  report  that  this  tunnel  will  be  1,900 
feet,  in  round  numbers,  below  Point  A  on  this  map,  (indi- 
cating.) 
13 


194 

A.  Yes,  which  leaves  the  shaft  about  200  feet  to  go  to 
get  to  the  tunnel  level. 
Q.  How  long  will  it  take? 

A.  They  said  they  were  not  going  to  work  any  on  the 
1,300-foot  level  until  after  they  had  worked  out  their  bo- 
nanza above.  •  That  was  the  information  we  got. 

Q.  Don't  you  know  that  they  are  away  below  the  1,300- 
foot  level? 

A.  I  haven't  had  any  information%bout  it  since. 

Q.  Now,  I  will  have  to  examine  you  again  on  that,  Doc- 
tor. I  have  got  a  report  of  the  Gould  and  Curry  company, 
where  they  say  they  made  a  depth  of  294  feet  last  year; 
and  I  -think  if  you  examine  all  these  reports  you  will  find 
that  they  lie.  General  Foster  said  that  in  nine  montKs 
that  shaft  will  be  below  the  tunnel. 

A.  That  is  possible,  if  they  go  on.  I  can't  say  how 
rapidly  they  will  work  it. 

Q.  Didn't  you  hear  a  determination  expressed  there  by 
the  superintendent  to  keep  sinking  all  the  time? 

A.  No,  I  didn't,  except  with  reference  to  this  particular 
one.  With  this  one  they  specified  that  they  would  be 
down  to  the  level  of  the  tunnel  by  the  time  it  reached  them, 
or  before. 

Q.  That's  the  Crown  Point? 

A.  Yes. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  "Will  you  allow  me  to  ask  one  question  here, 
Mr.  Sunderland?  t 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Certainly. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Are  you  aware  that  in  England  the  depths 
of  mines  are  reckoned  from  the  adit  level  down  generally; 
that  that  above  the  adit  level  is  not  counted  ?  Are  you  aware 
that  all  the  measurements  of  the  mines  of  England  are 
given  from  the  adit  level  down  ?  That  is  called  the  depth. 
What  is  above  that  is  not  counted? 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  I  have  heard  it  so  stated. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  You  commence  a  new  series  of  operations 
there.  They  mention  the  depth  of  the  mine  from  the  adit 
level,  because  what  is  above  that  is  not  counted.  If  a  mine 


195 

'in  England  is  stated  to  be  2,000  feet  deep,  it  means  it  is 
2,000  feet  from  the  adit  level  down? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Have  you  visited  any  of  those  mines 
in  England? 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  None  except  the  coal  mines? 

Q.  How  deep  are  these  adits? 

A.  Some  of  them  a  few  hundred  feet.  I  didn't  take  a 
memorandum. 

Q.  Is  there  anything  in  the  running  of  these  tunnels 
that  would  change  even  the  phraseology  here  of  calling 
the  depth  of  such  a  shaft  so  many  feet  from  the  top? 

A.  Oh,  no;  there  is  no  necessity  for  it.  It  is  their  habit. 
The  adit  is  the  point  from  which  they  go  down  and  count. 
We  may  begin  at  the  top  of  Mount  Davidson,  if  we  please. 

Q.  What  is  the  greatest  depth  that  any  mines  are  worked 
in  England? 

A.  They  are  down  about  3,000  feet. 

.Q.  How  far  below  any. adit? 

A.  Well,  they  are  working  under  the  sea. 

Q.  Yes,  I  know  that.  They  do  that  without  any  tun- 
neling, excepting  a  few  hundred  feet  under  the  gro/und? 

A.  Yes.  But  the  mines  that  are  worked  under  the  sea 
I  did  not  see. 

Q.  How  long  are  any  of  these  tunnels  that  you  hare  been 
in  or  that  you  know  anything  about  ? 

A.  Oh,  I  don't  know.  I  traveled  round  for  three  days 
in  the  different  mines  belonging  to  a.  party  whom  I  had 
been  invited  to  visit. 

Q.  Do  they  permit  any  association,  or  corporation,  or 
company,  in  England,  to  own  more  than  one  mine? 

A.  I  know  of  no  law  .against  it. 

Q.  ]STor  I  either.  One  objection  made  here  by  Mr.  Su- 
tro  is,  that  too  many  mines  on  the  Comctock  are  owned 
by  one  association. 

Mr.  SUTRO.'  I  didn't  say  owned,  but  managed.  Various 
people  own  them,  but  these  people  manage  the  mines. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Now,  Professor,  I  will  just  ask  yon  if 
you  know  what  vote  it  takes  to  elect  a  board  of  trustees? 


196 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  A  majority  of  the  stock,  I  suppose. 

Q.  Is  it  at  all  likely  that  people  who  manage  the  corpora- 
tions and  mines  on  the  Comstock  can  get  control  of  the 
stock  in  San  Francisco  or  Virginia  City,  where  there  is  a 
great  deal  of  prejudice,  as  I  understood  from  Mr.  Sutro, 
against  the  Bank  of  California  and  its  friends,  unless  Ihey 
buy  it? 

A.  There  is  a  great  deal  of  stock  hypothecated  I  know. 
In  order  to  get  a  majority  of  stock,  they  have  sometimes 
carried  it  up  to  an  enormous  price  in  the  market. , 

Q.  They've  got  a  right  to  do  that,  haven't  they? 

A.  Certainly,  I  suppose  so. 

Q.  Don't  the  parties  controlling  the  mines  on  the  Com- 
stock generally  own  a  majority  of  the  stock?  Can  they 
control  a  mine  there  without  absolutely  owning  a  majority 
of  the  stock? 

A.  I  have  heard  of  instances  to  the  contrary,  whether 
correct  or  not  I  do  not  know;  it  is  merely  hearsay. 

Q.  I  would  rather  you  would  state  what  you  know, 
Doctor. 

A.  Well,  I  never  have  paid  especial  attention  to  that 
department;  only  it  is  common  report  that  the  Bank  of 
California  furnishes  money  out  of  its  funds,  holding  the 
stock  hypothecated  for  the  payment  of  the  debt,  and  vote 
the  stock. 

Q.  Can  anybody  else  do  the  same  thing,  Doctor? 

A.  I  suppose  so.  » I  don't  know  of  anything  to  prevent. 

Q.  There  are  plenty  of  banks  and  plenty  of  money  there, 
ain't  they? 

A.  Well,  I  never  had  cause  to  complain  of  the  want  of 
it  while  I  was  there,  personally. 

Q.  Well,  then,  this  board  of  trustees,  controlling  a  cor- 
poration, is  simply  the  result  of  somebody  having  a  major- 
ity of  the  stock  to  vote  at  the  annual  election,  is  it  not? 

A.  I  suppose  a  majority  of  the  stock  rules. 

Q.  Is  there  anything  wrong  about  a  majority  ruling? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  do  not  object  to  that. 


HEARING  SATURDAY,  FEBRUARY  24. 

Mr.  RICE.  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen,  as  counsel  for 
the  Sutro  Tunnel,  Company,  I  propose  to  su.bmit  some  few 
questions.  Professor  Ncwcomb,  inquiry  was  made  of  you 
last  evening  by  Mr.  Sunderland,  in  substance,  whether  the 
owners  of  the  mines  upon  the  Comstock  lode  should  not 
control  their  own  property,  and  were  not  more  competent 
to  manage  their  business  than  an  outsider,  and  whether 
they  should  not  be  allowed  to  manage  it  without  interfer- 
ence. Do  you  not  know  that  the  owners  of  the  mines  made 
contracts  with  Mr.  Sutro  for  mining  through  the  tunnel 
before  they  acquired  title  to  the  mines,  and  that  they  hold 
their  property  subject  to  such  contracts? 

Mr.  IS"EWCOMB.  Those  superintendents  whom  we  met 
acknowledged  that  such  a  contract  had  been  made,  and 
Mr.  Sutro  states  so  also.  I  know  it  oftly  by  hearsay. 

Q.  Were  they  not  mere  squatters  upon  the  lode,  holding 
title  only  by  sufferance  of  the  United  States,  at  the  time 
Mr.  Sutro  acquired  his  rights  from  the  Government? 

A.  There  is  a  mining  law  in  connection  with  that. 

Mr.  SBNDERLAND.  Mr.  Chairman,  these  are  all  questions 
that  are  determined  precisely  by  the  contract.  There  are 
copies  of  that  contract  in  the  books  here. 

Mr.  RICE.  This  is  in  the  nature  of  a  cross-examination. 
I  am  speaking  of  questions  you  propounded  the  other 
night. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Go  on.     I  withdraw  the  objection. 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  I  will  say  that  there  are  mining  laws  in 
California,  as  well  as  in  Nevada,  that  give  the  discoverer  a 
right;  he  can  register  his  claim,  as  it  is  called,  and  that  is 
acknowledged  as  common  law  upon  the  subject.  He  has  a 
claim  upon  it  as  his  property  during  the  time;  but  he  has 
no  claim,  that  I  am  aware  of,  as  against  the  United  States. 

Mr.  RICE.  I  wish  to  ask  you  now  something  in  regard 
to  ventilation.  On  page  7  of  the  commissioners'  report, 

197 


198 

it  appears  that  the  most  effective  mode  of  ventilating  mines 
in  present  use  is  by  connecting  contiguous  mines  by  drifts. 
Are  not  many  of  the  mines  so  distant  from  each  other  as 
to  render  this  mode  of  connection  and  ventilation  very  ex- 
pensive ? 

A.  It  is  expensive  running  drifts  from  distant  points. 

Q.  Would  it  be  necessary  to  construct  these  connecting 
drifts  in  succession  as  the  mines  are  increased  in  depth, 
and,  if  so,  how  far  apart?  Wouldn't  they  have  to  be  much 
nearer  together  as  they  descend,  say  below  2,000  feet? 

A.  The  connections  that  are  made  are  down  about  a 
hundred  feet.  There  are  what  are  called  the  100,  200, 
and  300-foot  levels.  As  you  pass  down,  the  connections 
can  then  be  made,  and  whatever  be  the  levels,  if  they  cor- 
respond, drifts  can  be  run  to  connect  them  without  very 
great  difficulty.  They  would  be  required,  in  order  to  make 
perfect  ventilation,  on  each  level. 

Q.  So  you  have  to  make  your  drifts,  us  you  get  down  U/ 
a  point  where  there  isn't  sufficient  ventilation,  by  running 
from  one  to  another? 

A.  The  upper  drifts  would  not  benefit  the  ventilation  in 
levels  below  them. 

Q.  Then,  would  it  not  be  necessary  to  have  these  drifts 
nearer  together  as  you  get  down  to  a  very  groat  depth? 
Wouldn't  t-he.  heat  bo  increased? 

A.  The  heat  would  increase,  and  the  necessity  for  ven- 
tilation, of  course,  would  increase;  and,  if  no  other 
appliances  were  made,  it  would  require  rather  frequent 
connections  in  order  to  cool  off  the  rock. 

Q.  And  it  would  consequently  increase  the  expense  of 
that  method  of  ventilation  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Will  you  give  an  estimate  of  the  expense  of  construct- 
ing these  drifts  per  foot?  How  near  together  do  you 
judge  the  mines  should  be  thus  connected  to  render  this 
method  of  ventilation  feasible? 

A.  The  drifts,  as  they  generally  run  them,  are  about  the 
ordinary  size  of  drifts  used  for  the  purpose  of  exploration. 


199 

It  would  be  equivalent  to  making  an  exploring  drift.     I 
don't  know  exactly  the  size. 

Q.  About  what  did  you  find  the  cost  per  foot  to  be,  from 
your  information? 

A.  AVell,  we  have  it  recorded,  but  I  do  not  recollct  the 
precise  amount.  It  is  contained  in  the  reports  of  the  su- 
perintendents. 

Q.  If  the  Sutro  tunnel  were  completed  as  contemplated, 
and  the  mines  along  the  Comstock  connected  therewith, 
either  by  sinking  shafts  in  the  processes  of  mining,  or  by 
boring  holes,  in  which  the  air  could  pass  freely  from  the 
tunnel  to  the  shafts,  do  you  or  not  judge  that  ventilation 
thereby  would  be  much  more  perfect  and  economical  than 
l>y  any  other  processes  now  in  use  on  the  lode,  without 
mechanical  appliances?  If  so,  please  state  the  facts. 

A.  There  is  no  question  that  it  would  produce  ventila- 
tion, and  what  they  got  thus  would  be  so  much  clear  gain. 
It  would  have  a  tendency  to  cool  off  the  rock  and  render  it 
more  feasible  for  working.  It  would  be  better  for  the 
men  as  well  as  better  for  the  mines. 

Q.  What  effect  would  the  constant  movirig  of  cars  through 
the  tunnel  have  on  ventilation  ? 

A.  It  would  agitate  the  air  arid  force  it  forward  in  the 
direction  in  which  the  cars  might  be  moving,  producing 
considerable  of  a  current  if  the  motion  be  rapid,  say  at  .the 
rate  of  ten  miles  an  hour.  It  would  produce  a  consider- 
able current  of  air  forward  in  the  shaft. 

Q.  Would  or  would  not  these  advantages  be  very  much 
more  marked  in  mining  below  the  2,000-foot  level  ? 

A.  Well,  that  is  a  question  in  my  mind.  The  effects  of 
the  movement  of  the  air  would  be  felt  in  % the  shafts  and 
drifts  above  rather  than  below.  You  have  there  a  stagnant 
atmosphere,  unless  you  make  use  of  appliances  to  force  air 
down.  I  don't  see  how  it  could  benefit,  except  in  the  cool- 
ing processes.  It  would  be  ^benefit  in  that  respect,  because 
it  would  tend  to  cool  the  rock. 

Q.  Suppose  the  tunnel  were  a  new  point  of  operations  for 
mining  below,  and  machinery  were  placed  there  to  assist 


200 

in  the  ventilation  below  the  tunnel  level,  say  1,000  or  1,500 
feet,  (chambers  built  inside  the  tunnel  and  machinery  put 
there  to  throw  in  compressed  air,  for  instance,)  couldn't  that; 
be  done  cheaper  than  it  could  be  from  the  surface,  2,000 
feet  above  the  tunnel  ? 

A.  Certainly;  it  could  be  done  at  very  much  less  ex- 
pense. 

Q.  And  consequently  wouldn't  there  be  a  marked  bene- 
fit in  having  this  new  point  of  operations  for  ventilation 
below? 

A.  Yes;  but  I  understood  your  question  to  imply  that 
it  was  to  be  done  by  the  motion  of  cars. 

Q.  That  was  merely  auxiliary. 

A.  At  the  tunnel  level,  of  course,  the  distance  being 
much  less,  you  woukl  have  a  better  chance  to  cool  off  than 
at  the  surface;  the  less  the  distance  the  more  perfect  the 
ventilation. 

Q.  On  page  8  of  the  commissioner's  report,  under  the 
head  of  " DRAINAGE,"  I  find  this  statement: 

"  Taking,  then,  the  observations  of  the  commission  in  connection  with  the 
statements  of  the  superintendents  of  the  mining  companies,  we  are  of  the 
opinion  that  the  tunnel,  for  this  purpose  alone,  is  not  a  necessity  for  the  drain- 
age of  the  Comstock  lode.  That  it  will  effectively  drain  all  those  with  which 
it  shall  be  connected  is  obvious ;  but  the  same  result  can  be  attained  by  pres- 
ent means  at  less  cost — a  cost  which,  moreover,  promises  to  become  still 
mailer  as  the  mines  progress  in  depth." 

And  on  page  9,  under  the  head  of  "ECONOMY  OF  WORK- 
ING," I  find  the  following  : 

"The  item  of  drainage  is  not  included  in  the  above,  as,  the  tunnel  will 
thoroughly  drain  all  the  mines  connected  with  it  without  cost." 

Now,  I  assume,  from  reading  this,  that  in  the  first  para- 
graph you  say  that  the  cost  will  be  less  by  the  present 
method  than  by  the  tunnel  after  the  connection  is  made. 
How  can  you  harmonize  these?  How  is  it  possible,  if,  as 
last  stated,  the  mines  connected  with  the  tunnel  will  be 
drained  without  cost,  to  drain  them  at  less  dost  by  the  present 
method,  and  how  can  such  less  cost  become  smaller  as  the 
mines  progress  in  depth  ? 

A.  The  whole  argument  rests  upon  this  proposition, 
gimply,  on  the  subject  of  drainage:  to  construct  the  tun- 


201 

nel  for  the  purpose  of  drainage  alone,  would  be  incurring 
the  entire  expense  we  have  given  for  constructing  the  tun- 
nel. The  interest  upon  that  investment  would  be  greater 
than  the  present  cost  of  clearing  the  mines  from  water,  so 
that  it  would  be  really  more  expensive  through  the  tunnel, 
if  we  take  the  cost  and  interest  into  consideration,  than  to 
expend  §150,000  a  year  that  they  admit  it  costs  now  to 
drain. 

Q.  Then  the  explanation  is,  and  the  idea  of  the  com- 
missioners in  this  first  statement  was,  that  !t  would  cost 
more  to  make  this  tunnel  exclusively  for  draining  purposes 
than  it  would  to  drain  the  lode  by  pumping? 

A.  Exactly.  We  decided  against  it  as  an. absolute  ne- 
cessity for  draining. 

Q.  Precisely.     That  is  a  satisfactory  explanation. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Upon  what  basis  did  you  arrive  at  that  fig- 
ure, Professor,  that  the  cost  is  $150,000  a  year  for  pumping? 

A.  From  the  statements  of  the  superintendents.  They 
said  the  cost  would  not  exceed  $150,000.  The  estimate 
that  was  made  by  taking  the  number  of  mines  we  visited, 
and  assuming  the  figures  of  those  that  we  did  not  visit, 
but  which  were  working,  gave  an  amount  less  than  what 
was  given  by  the  superintendents. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  It  seems  to  me  the  counsel  is  entirely 
competent  to  examine  the  witness,  without  having  any 
body  else  to  interfere.  I  should  prefer  to  have  Mr.  Sutro 
wait  until  the  counsel  gets  through. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  suppose  that  is  a  matter  of  choice  with  the 
counsel. 

Mr.  RICE.  Perhaps  it  would  be  more  connected  to  do  so. 
My  idea  in  taking  up  the  examination  was  to  dispose  of 
each  appropriate  head  at  once,  so  as  not  to  have  repetition. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  This  was  gone  over  last  night. 

Mr.  RICE.  Professor,  please  state  fully  to  the  committee 
your  opinion  and  judgment  as  to  the  value  of  the  tunnel 
for  the  drainage  of  mines.  "What  would  be  the  percentage 
of  saving  over  the  present  methods  after  the  completion  of 
the  tunnel? 


202 

Mr.  NBWCOMB.  The  tunnel  will  serve  to  drain  the  mines 
without  expense,  which  now,  according  to  one  of  the 
superintendents,  amounts  to  $150,000  a  year;  in  other 
words,  it  would  make  a  difference  of  $150,000. 

Q.  ^Professor,  are  you  familiar  with  the  cost  of  transpor- 
tation of  heavy  low-class  merchandise  upon  the  railways 
of  the  country? 

A.  Not  especially  so.  I  have  heard  it  stated  by  an  ex- 
pert, a  man  very  extensively  engaged  in  the  business  in 
ISTew  England  that  it  could  be  moved  for  two  cents  a  ton 
a  mile  and  pay  a  profit. 

Q.  Have  you  information  from  any  other  roads — say  the 
Pennsylvania  Central? 

A.  I  have  not.  I  haven't  investigated  that  particular 
p:irt  of  this  case.  The  cost  varies  with  the  grade  of  the  road. 

MR.  8  UN  DEE  LAND.  Two  cents  a  mile,  you  say. 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  Two  cents  a.  ton  per  mile. 

Mr.  RICE.  Now,  what  is  your  judgment  upon  the  com- 
parative cost  of  mining  from  the  tunnel  upward,  and  min- 
ing as  at  present  carried  on  ? 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  The  difference  would  be,  that  it  is  easier 
to  throw  a  body  of  ore  down  than  it  is  to  hoist  it  up ;  it  is 
necessarily  more  economical,  but  to  what  degree  is  difficult 
to  determine. 

Q.  After  the  tunnel  is  completed  and  a  new  base  estab- 
lished, could  not  mining  be  carried  on  both  above  and 
below  b-y  machinery  acting  upon  the  principle  of  compen- 
sation— that  is,  by  cages  going  down  from  above  the  tunnel 
level  and  coming  up  from  below  it  by  the  one  operation—- 
very  extensively? 

A.  It  could  be  carried  on  both  upward  and  downward, 
and  if  paying  ore  happens  to  be  above  as  well  as  below,  it 
could  be  carried  on  very  advantageously.  But  if  you  had 
to  hoist  in  one  case,  and  lower  a  poor  quality  of  ore  in 
the  other,  that  was  to  be  moved  out  and  not  worked,  the 
profit  would  be  diminished. 

Q.  In  mining  down  they  have  to  remove  the  low  grade 
ores  with  the  paying  ore  ? 


203 

A.  In  some  cases  they  do  it,  and  in  other  cases  they  use 
the  ore  for  filling  in  stopes. 

Q.  Isn't  the  proportion  of  low-grade  ores  that  they  do 
not  reduce  much  greater  than  the  paying  ores  that  they  do 
reduce? 

A.  We  were  informed  so  by  the  superintendents  gen- 
erally; one  stated  that  they  were  in  the  habit,  in  order  to 
use  up  the  ore  and  equalize  things,  of  mixing  poor  rock 
that  would  not  pay  with  paying  rock.  Whether  that  is  a 
rule  with  them  all  or  not,  I  don't  know. 

Q.  Should  you  judge  that  there  would  be  any  special 
difficulty  in  operating  through  this  tunnel  by  connecting 
the  cars  by  clamps  and  by  letting  them  run,  one  after  an- 
other, upon  a  chain  ? 

A.  I  don't  know  what  difficulty  there  could  be. 

Q.  Isn't  it  to  your  mind,  Professor,  a  self  evident  fkct,  that 
the  operations  of  mining  on  the  Comstock  lode  can  fee  car- 
ried on  very  much  cheaper  through  a  tunnel,  saving  the 
cost  of  drainage  and  providing  ventilation,  than  by  the 
present  methods? 

A.  We  have  an  illustration  in  the  case  of  a  tunnel  that  is 
.there  now,  where  they  employ  but  few  hands,  work  rather 
poor  rock,  and  have  their  own  mill.  They  work  through 
a  tunnel,  and  the  cheapness  with  which  they  do  it  enables 
them  to  work  up  rock  worth  $16  or  $18  a  ton,  which  can- 
not be  done  by  hoisting  works. 

Q.  You  state  in  your  report  that  the  estimated  yield  of 
the 'mines  in  the  Comstock  lode,  as  operated  at  the  present 
time,  is  §15,000^,000  per  annum.  Can  you  state  approxi- 
mately the  number  of  tons  of  ore  reduced  to  give  this  re- 
sult, or,  in  other  words,  how  much  do  they  raise  per  day 
and  reduce  per  day  of  paying  ore? 

A.  The  amount  as  given  to  us  was  figured  up  at  365,600 
tons  a  year. 

Q.  About  1,000  tons  a  day? 

A.  A  trifle  over  1,000  tons  a  day. 

Q.  In  your  testimony  last  evening,  I  think  you  stated 
your  opinion  to  be,  that  if  mills  and  machinery,  such  as  are 


204 

now  in  use  for  the  reduction  of  the  ores  of  the  Comstock, 
were  erected  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  with  such  other 
machinery  as  might  be  used  by  reason  of  the  abundance  of 
water  there  for  washing  and  power,  the  ores  could  be  re- 
duced and  concentrated  at  one-half  the  cost  of  doing  the  same 
work  by  the  present  methods,  which  I  think  you  estimated 
at  $10  50  per  ton,  or  a  saving  of  $5  25  per  ton.  Upon  this 
basis,  what  would  be  the  gross  amount  of  saving  per  an- 
num in  producing  this  $15,000,000  with  the  tunnel  com- 
pleted and  the  ores  reduced  at  its  mouth  ?  At  §5  25  saving 
a  ton,  and  1,000  tons  a  day,  the  saving  per  day  would  be 
what? 

A.  It  would  be  $5,250,  as  they  work  Sundays  as  well  as 
other  days. 

Q.  Well,  now,  assuming  that  all  the  expenses  would  be 
equal,  excepting  the  royalty  of  $2  per  ton  to  the  tunnel 
company,  and  deducting  that  charge,  what  would  be  the 
net  saving  to  the  owners  of  the  mines  per  annum  ?  I  would 
like  to  have  you  figure  that,  and  get  it  accurately.  Two 
dollars  from  $5  25  would  leave  $3  25. 

A.  It  would  be  $1,186,250  per  annum. 

Q.  I  think  you  also  gave  the  opinion  that  it  would  be . 
practicable,  with  the  water  power,  etc.,  available  at  the 
mouth  of  the  tunnel,  and  with  the  introduction  of  the  most 
improved  machinery  and  processes  for  reduction  and  con- 
centration, that  ores  which  would  assay  $10  per  ton  might 
be  profitably  worked,  while  by  the  present  methods  ores 
cannot  be  so  worked  when  assaying  less  than  $30  a  toil? 

A.  That  is  not  correct. 

Q.  Well,  state  your  case? 

A.  Starting  with  $3  a  ton  for  mining,  the  royalty  would 
carry  it  up  to  $5;  the  expense,  of  transportation  through 
the  tunnel,  (they  are  allowed  by  the  contract  25  cents  per 
mile  a  ton,  but  it  has  been  placed  at  a  lower  figure  by  the 
consent  of  Mr.  Sutro,)  at  ten  cents  a  ton,  would  give  $5  10. 
Then  the  percentage  of  loss  is  to  be  deducted  from  that. 
At  the  present  mode  of  reduction,  it  amounts  to  25  per 
cent,  of  the  gold,  and  even  more  than  that  of  the  silver. 


205 

from  30  to  35 ;  35  is  the  amount  given  by  the  miners, 
although  they  may  save  up  to  30  in  some  cases :  so  that 
we  have  $3  60  for  loss,  and  that  gives  $8  70,  counting  the 
expense  of  reduction  nothing.  Well,  if  we  calculate  the 
reduction  expense  at  §5  25,  we  can  work  rock  worth 
$13  95,  and  make  it  £n  even  thing,  without  any  profit. 

Q.  Then,  what  would  you  say  is  the  lowest  grade  of  ores 
that  it  would  be  profitable  to  work? 

A.  Well,  it  would  take  rock  that  would  assay  $15  to 
make  a  profit  upon. 

Q.  You  think  that  with  those  improved  works  you 
could  work  ores  down  to  $15? 

A.  Yes,  sir,  upon  the  present  standard  of  working  and 
of  loss.  If  you  can  work  it  down  so  as  to  make  a  saving 
of  20  or  25  per  cent,  of  the  amount,  you  change  the  condi- 
tions entirely,  and  the  result  mmst  be  different. 

Q.  Well,  what  would  be  that  result? 

A.  If  we  estimate  on  working  as  closely  as  they  do  in 
Europe,  with  a  loss  of  only  10  per  cent,  it  would  'make 
$9  70,  instead  of  $13  95:  so  that  ores  worth  a  trifle  over 
$10  a  ton  might  be  made  to  pay. 

Q.  Now,  what,  in  your  opinion,  is  the  amount  of  ores 
taken  from  the  Comstock  lode  which  will  yield  from  $15 
to  $30  per  ton,  and  what  is  the  proportion  of  such  low- 
grade  ores  to  the  whole  amount  taken  out  ? 

A.  As  to  the  latter  part  of  your  question  it  is  impossible 
to  determine.  We  made  very  especial  and  persistent  in- 
quiries as  to  the  low-grade  ores,  ranging  from  $15  to  $30. 

Mr.  SUXDERLAND.  From  $15  to  $30— what,  Professor? 

Mr.  ^"EWCOMB.  From  $15  to  $30  assay,  not  working.  I 
have  the  evidence  of  numerous  parties  upon  the  sub- 
ject. 

Mr.  RICE.  Please  read  all  those  which  bear  upon  the 
question  ? 

A.  In  the  Lady  Bryan  there  is  a  mass  of  hundreds  of 
thousands,  if  not  millions  of  tons,  that  will,  according  to 
the  representations  of  the  superintendent,  take  the  whole 
body  together  laying  upon  the  surface,  average  $8  to  the 


206 

ton  by  the  assay.  In  places,  he  stated,  large  quantities 
would  yield  $15;  how  much  he  didn't  say.  Mr.  Requa 
states  that  very  large  bodies  of  $16  ore  exist  in  the  Chollar 
Potosi.  Mr.  D.  0.  Atkinson,  postmaster  at  Virginia  City, 
informed  me  that  he  had  the  control  of  the  Empire  and 
Imperial  mine,  or  the  one  adjoining  tte  Bullion.  He  struck 
a  body  of  ore  yielding  $19  per  ton,  which  <it  the  time  did 
not  pay  for  working.  This  was  prospected  in  the  middle 
of  tfie  quartz  lode  and  ore  100  feet  wide  for  some  distance 
and  a  depth  of  6  feet.  Mr.  George  Atwood  has  been 
working  as  foreman,  or  in  some  capacity,  in  the  mines  for 
eight  years,  in  the  south  mine  of  the  Ophir,  and  he  says 
there  is  a  body  of  ore  300  feet  by  300  and  100  in  depth, 
of  a  grade  averaging  $20  by  assay.  That  has  been  used 
for  filling  in  stopes ;  the  average  assay  would  be  $20.  Be- 
sides this,  there  is  an  immense  quantity  in  the  North  mine 
a  little  poorer  by  assay.  That  is  not  yet  mined.  He  fur- 
ther stated  that  in  the  Crown  Point  there  is  avast  amount 
of  ore  that  will  pay  $20  a  ton  on  the  200-foot  level;  that 
he  will  engage  to  take  out  50  tons  per  day  for  one,  two,  or 
five  years  and  pay  $2  50  per  ton  for  the  ore  in  place.  Has 
been  in  connection  with  that  mine  for  three  years,  and 
knows  all  about  the  upper  levels,  of  which  the  present  su- 
perintendent, he  stated,  probably  knew  nothing.  He  is  at 
present  the  superintendent  of  the  Eberhart  mine,  or  was  at 
that  time.  In  our  examinations  and  in  conversations  with 
the  superintendent  of  the  Gould  and  Curry  and  the  Ophir, 
it  was  represented  to  us  that  large  bodies  of  low-grade  ores, 
ranging  from  $15  to  $25,  existed  there. 

Q.  Professor,  from  all  this  can  you  form  any  judgment 
satisfactory  to  yourself  of  the  proportion  of  ores  which 
would  assay  from  $15  to  $30,  as  compared  with  the  whole 
amount  of  ores  taken  out,  or  as  compared  with  the  amount 
of  ores  that  they  do  work,  assaying  above  that? 

A.  Oh,  it  would  be  merely  guess-work.  There  is  no 
such  thing  as  calculating  it. 

Q.  Well,  the  best  judgment  that  you  can  give? 

A.  The  quantity  of  low-grade  6res  undoubtedly  is  im- 


207 

mense,  ranging  from  $10  np  to  $30.  It  would  require  a 
great  many  years  to  work  it  out. 

Q.  "Well,  then,  to  reach  it  in  another  way,  if  you  had 
these  appliances  that  we  have  spoken  of  and  this  tunnel 
completed,  by  which  all  the  low-grade  ores  assaying  from 
$15  to  $30  per  ton  could  be  profitably  worked,  what  would 
be  the  increased  value  of  the  Comstock  lode? 

A.  That  is  a  question  that  no  mortal  man  can  answer 
with  anything  like  an  approximation  to  the  truth. 

Q.  "Well,  you  could  say  whether  it  would  be  twice  or 
three  times? 

A.  It  may  be  a  thousand  million  of  dollars;  it  may  be 
more;  it  may  be  less.  It  may  be  about  a  hundred  millions. 
I  can't  say  anything  about  it  definitely.  It's  a  vast  quantity. 

Q.  Well,  it  would  be  a  vast  increase? 

A.  It  would  be- a  vast  increase.  There  is  no  determin- 
ing it,  because  you  are  going  down  indefinitely  with  it,  and 
we  don't  know  what  the  quality  of  ore  is  below.  We  may 
meet  with  a  whole  mass  of  only  $20-rock  below  the  2,000- 
foot  level. 

Q.  Well,  judging  from  what  has  been  worked,  and  from 
your  own  information,  of  course?  \ 

A.  It's  mere  speculation. 

Q.  If  it  should  continue  in  the  same  way,  the  increased 
value,  would  be  enormous,  would  it  not? 

A.  Yes:  it  would  be  enormous.  There  is  no  question 
about  it  in  the  minds  of  the  commission.  I  have  no  reason 
to  doubt  it,  and,  with  one  exception,  all  the  superintend- 
ents expressed  themselves  so.  I  will  state  that  evidence 
was  given  by  one  of  the  miners  still  further  upon  that  sub- 
ject. He  said  that  the  amount  was  perfectly  enormous;  it 
couldn't  be  calculated  to  his  certain  knowledge.  That  was 
the  president  or  other  officer  of  the  Miners'  League;  I  do 
not  recollect  his  name.  He  stated  that  the  amount  of  low- 
grade  ores  was  very  great.  He  said  he  was  then  at  work. 

Q,  Speaking  of  these  leagues,  Professor,  what  are  they 
composed  of?  What  interests  do  they  represent? 


208  * 

A.  Well,  I  suppose  the  labor  department  especially — the 
miners'  interests. 

Q.  The  operative  miners  rather  than  the  owners? 

A.  Yes;  the  operative  miners  are  the  ones  that  formed 
the  league,  undoubtedly.  - 

Q.  Did  you  get  the  name  of  this  president? 

A.  I  have  it.     I  can  give  it,  if  it  is  desired. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Doctor,  didn't  that  party  give  you  an  injunc- 
tion not  to  use  his  name;  do  you  recollect?  Did  he  not 
say  it  might  jeopardize  his  interests? 

A.  JSTo,  sir. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  don't  want  to  have  anything  go  in 
evidence  from  a  man  that  is  afraid  to  give  his  name. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Let  the  Doctor  give  his  name,  if  he  has  it. 

Mr.  ^TEWCOMB.  I  have  the  name.    It  is  James  Dockery 
He  is  a  practical  miner. 

Sir.  RICE.  Did  you  see  any  officer  of  the  other  miners' 
association  ? 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  I  don't  know.  We  met  members.  We 
took  no  particular  pains  to  ascertain  their  names,  but  en- 
deavored to  get  at  the  general  facts. 

Q.  Was  this  Mr.  Dockery  speaking  for  the  association 
of  which  he  was  president? 

A.  He  was  speaking,  I  suppose,  as  an  individual.  I 
happened  to  ask  the  question,  if.  it  were  true  that  there 
were  large  amounts  of  low-grade  ores  in  the  mines,  and  he 
said  the  quantity  was  enormous:  "incalculable,"  I  think, 
was  his  expression.  They  couldn't  determine  how  much. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  He  is  a  practical  miner. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Are  you  quite  sure  it  was  Mr.  Dockery  that 
gave  you  that  statement  of  the  low-grade  ores  ? 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  Yes,  sir.  It  is  so  marked  in  my  note- 
book. It  was  taken  down  at  the  time. 

Mr.  RICE.  In  your  estimates,  Professor,  bearing  upon 
the  economy  of  working  these  mines,  what  disposal  did 
you  make  of  the  raising  of  the  low-grade  ores  and  the 
waste  rock  ? 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  We  computed  merely  the  cost  of  raising 


209 

the  paying  ore.  As  mentioned  particularly  in  the  report 
of  the  commission,  no  approximation  could  be  made  of 
the  cost  of  raising  the  debris.  We  had  no  means  of  de- 
termining the  amount,  but  it  was  very  great. 

Q.  Well,  was  that  included  in  the  estimate  of  raising 
the  paying  ore? 

A.  I  think  not,  sir.  It  was  merely  the  cost  of  raising 
paying  ore. 

Q.  Wouldn't  that  increase  the  expenses  very  much  of 
the  operations  it  was  estimated  for  ? 

A.  It  would  cost  just  as  much  to  raise  a  ton  of  the  coun- 
try rock  as  it  would  a  ton  of  the  paying  ore. 

Q.  You  obtained  no  estimates  from  these  superintend- 
ents of  the  amounts  of  low-grade  ores  and  rocks  raised? 

A.  -They  gave  no  account  of  them  in  their  report  to  us. 

Q.  Well,  then,  Doctor,  is  it  making  a  fair  comparison  of 
the  expensiveness  of  operating  by  the  present  methods  and 
by  the  tunnel  to  omit  these  important  items? 

A.  We  mentioned  that  in  the  report,  making  it  a  point 
that  the  amount  is  very  large,  and  that  it  would  be  fair  to 
include  it  in  the  amount,  but  we  had  not  the  means  of  de- 
termining it. 

Q.  If  you  should  arrive  at  the  facts  in  regard  to  it,  would 
it  not,  in  your  judgment,  materially  change  the  figures  as 
to  the  comparative  methods  of  working? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  necessarily. 

Q.  Wouldn't  it,  instead  of  throwing  the  balance  against 
the  one,  change  it  very  much  on  to  the  other  side  ? 

A.  Without  going  into  a  calculation,  I  should  think  it 
would. 

Q.  By  the  bill  now  before  this  committee,  it  is  proposed 
that  the  United  States  shall  grant  as  aid,  for  the  construc- 
tion of  the  Sutro  tunnel  and  its  branches,  certain  sums  of 
money,  not  to  exceed  in  the  aggregate  $3,000,000,  the  Gov- 
ernment retaining  a  first  mortgage  or  lien  thereupon,  to- 
gether with  all  engines  and  machinery  and  appurtenances 
thereunto  belonging,  for  the  repayment  of  said  moneys,  and 
also  twenty-five  per  centum  of  the  net  amount  which  shall 
14 


210 

be  collected  by  the  tunnel  company  as  tolls  for  the  trans- 
portation of  ore,  rock,  and  material,  or  in  any  other  man- 
ner. From  your  investigation  and  knowledge  upon  the 
subject,  do  you  deem  it  advantageous  to  the  United  States 
to  grant  such  aid,  and,  according  to  your  best  judgment,  do 
you  believe  that  such  security  upon  the  property,  fran- 
chises, and  earnings  of  the  company  would  be  ample  for 
the  payment  of  such  aid  or  loan  ? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  want  to  have  the  reporter  note  an 
objection  to  this.  % 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  I  should  deem  it  a  safe  investment,  and 
if  I  had  $3,000',000  to  dispose  of,  I  would  put  it,  under 
those  circumstances,  in  the  tunnel. 

Mr.  RICE.  And  regard  the  security  as  ample? 

A.  And  regard  the  security  as  ample ;  taking  such  pre- 
cautions in  regard  to  it  as  would  insure  that  the  investment 
be  properly  and  thoroughly  made. 

Q.  Do  you  or  do  you  not  regard  the  construction  of  the 
Sutro  tunnel  important  in  its  bearing  upon  geological  and 
scientific  research  as  an  exploring  work;  and  if  it  should 
successfully  demonstrate  the  downward  extension  of  fis- 
sure veins  and  the  value  of  deep  mining,  what,  in  your 
judgment,  would  be  its  effect  uponvthe  mining  interests 
of  the  United  States  and  their  future  development? 

A.  "Well,  as  an  exploring  work,  I  don't  know  that  any 
superintendent  differed  in  opinion  from  me  that  it  might 
be  of  very  great  value.  Some  expressed  their  opinion  that 
it  would  be  valuable.  My  own  opinion  is  very  clear  upon 
that  subject,  that  it  would  be  of  very  great  importance  in 
a  scientific  point  of  view,  and  it  would  lead  to  similar  en- 
terprises, under  similar  circumstances,  with  the  same  char- 
acter of  rock.  It  would  demonstrate  whether  the  ore- 
bearing  character  of  fissure  veins  extends  downward 
here  as  in  other  countries.  It  would  lead  to  further 
works  of  a  similar  kind  to  develop  the  mining  industry 
of  the  country  to  a  vast  extent.  The  question  in  my 
own  mind  was,  whether  it  would  be  applicable  to  other 
conditions,  where  the  silver  or  gold  is  in  combination 


211 

with  the  base  metals.  I  question  very  much,  and  yet  I 
am  not  prepared  to  give  a  decided  answer,  that  in  the 
argentiferous  galena  the  effect  might  be  less  favorable.  I 
am  not  prepared  to  answer  for. that  portion  of  it. 

Q.  Would  you  judge  that,  with  all  fissure  veins  having 
the  like  conditions  of  this,  it  would  be  of  very  great  advan- 
tage, and  would  give  encouragement  for  capitalists  to  in- 
vest their  means,  this  being  a  demonstration  of  these  great 
principles  and  facts? 

A.  I  concur  with  everybody,  I  believe,  npon  that  sub- 
ject that  it  would  be.  I  don't  know  of  any  difference  of 
opinion  upon  it. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  In  the  early  days  of  mining  on  the  Comstock 
lode,  did  they  not  run  a  great  number  of  tunnels  for  the 
purposes  of  exploration  and  the  extraction  of  ore? 

A.  To  use  a  common  expression  among  miners,  the  hills 
are  pretty  thoroughly  "  cayoted; "  that  is,  holes  are  dug,  that 
may  be  seen  at  the  present  time  in  almost  every  direction 
on  the  syenite  and  in  all  different  formations.  All  the 
hill-sides  are  perforated  in  various  directions  by  the  labor 
by  those  who  were  searching  for  minerals. 

Q.  This  map  here,  Doctor,  shows  68  tunnels  perforating 
the  Comstock  lode.  Is  the  configuration  of  the  country 
such  that,  after  the  mines  had  reached  to  a  certain  depth,  no 
tunnels  could  have  been  .made  except  by  beginning  off  at 
a  very  great  distance  ? 

A.  The  configuration  of  the  country  is  such  that,  to  strike 
it  at  a  low  level,  no  more  favorable  point  could  have  been 
selected  than  the  one  Mr.  Sutro  has  chosen,  in  my  opinion. 

Q.  If  you  will  look  at  this  map,  you  will  find  that  in  the 
early  workings  they  ran  their  tunnels  in  from  the  slope  of 
the  mountain,  and  ran  in  just  as  many  as  they  possibly 
could.  The  hills  rising  to  the  eastward  then  made  it  an 
impossibility  to  make  deeper  tunnels,  except  by  going  off  a 
number  of  miles.  Do  you  find  that  to  be  correct  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  that  is  correct,  according  to  the  best  of  my 
recollection. 

Q.  In  order  to  arrive  at  another  question,  I  want  to  read 


212 

from  the  report  of  Mr.  Eayraond,  the  United  States  Com- 
missioner on  Mining,  a  gentleman  who  has  had  a  vast  deal 
of  experience  in  mining,  and  who  graduated  at  the  mining 
school  of  Freiberg.  He  says,  in  his  report  to  Congress  for 
1868,  on  page  51,  in  speaking  of  the  difficulties  of  mining: 

"One  great  cause  of  trouble  is  the  fact  that  mining  has  not  on  the  whole 
been  profitable  to  individual  adventurers ;  and  of  this  fact  the  Comstock  lode 
has  furnished  a  striking  example.  Nearly  $100,000,000  have  been  extracted 
from  that  lode  within  the  past  eight  years,  yet  the  aggregate  cost  to  the  own- 
ers has  been  almost  as  much.  The  reason  is  simple.  Unnecessary  labor  has 
been  employed,  and  vast  sums  of  money  have  been  wasted  in  extravagant 
speculations  and  litigations,  and  the  root  of  the  whole  evil  lies  in  the  sys- 
tem of  scattered,  jealous,  individual  activity,  which  has  destroyed,  by  dividing, 
the  resources  of  the  most  magnificent  ore  deposit  in  the  world.  Thirty-five 
or  forty  companies,  each  owning  from  1,000  to  1,400  feet  along  the  vein,  and 
each  (almost  without  exception)  working  its  own  ground  independently  \  40 
superintendents,  40  presidents,  40  secretaries,  40  boards  of  directors,  all  to  be 
supplied  with  salaries,  or,  worse  yet,  with  perquisites,  or,  worst  of  all,  with 
opportunities  to  speculate;  an  army  of  lawyers  and  witnesses,  peripatetic  ex- 
perts, competing  assayers,  thousands  of  miners  uniting  to  keep  up  the  rate  of 
wages- — these  explain  the  heavy  expense  of  Comstock  mining.  Aside  from 
this  immense  drain  of  money,  amounting  to  20  per  cent,  of  the  whole  produc- 
tion, the  labor  actually  performed  has  been,  for  want  of  united  action,  often 
useless.  There  have  been  tunnels  enough  run  by  different  companies  into  the 
Comstock  lode  to  make,  if  put  together,  the  whole  length  of  the  Sutro  tunnel. 
Hardly  one  of  them  is  good  for  anything  to-day.  The  Bullion  company, 
which  has  the  deepest  shaft  on  the  lode,  never  had  any  ore,  but  has  spent, 
more  than  a  million  of  dollars  in  prospecting,  while  some  neighboring  mines, 
like  the  little  Kentuck,  have  been  in  bonanza  for  long  periods.  Now,  this 
division  of  a  vein,  which  gives  the  rich  chimney  to  one  owner  and  the  barren 
intervals  to  another,  is  not  conducive  to  economy.  The  result  has  proved  to 
be  that  both  owners  waste  money.  All  the  explorations  in  the  barren  mines 
of  the  Comstock  could  have  been  executed  with  the  money  flung  away  by  the 
mines  that  have  had  for  a  time  rich  ore." 

What  I  want  to  ask  you,  Doctor,  is,  wouldn't  the  con- 
struction of  the  Sutro  tunnel 'tend  to  consolidate  these 
mines  into  united  action,  and  abolish,  to  a  large  extent, 
this  multiplicity  of  superintendents,  presidents,  secretaries, 
and  boards  of  trustees,  which  are  now  kept  up  at  an  enor- 
mous expense? 

A.  The  tendency  would  be  in  that  direction,  but  it  is 
very  difficult  to  determine  what  the  result  would  be.  Great 
conflicting  interests  would  be  stirred  up  in  making  a  joint- 
stock  company  out  of  the  whole.  There  would  be  very 
great  difficulties  attending  it. 

Q.  "Wouldn't  the  management  of  the  mines  be  put  on  a 
rational  and  united  plan  of  operations  by  having  one  base 
of  operation? 


213 

A.  No  doubt  it  would  be  of  very  great  advantage. 
Whether  they  would  see  it  in  that  light,  I  can't  say. 

Q.  According  to  your  opinion,  wouldn't  it  be  self-inter- 
est to  these  different  mining  companies  to  join  under  one 
system  of  mining,  after  the  completion  of  the  tunnel? 

A.  They  might  adopt  a  uniform  system  without -uniting 
their  interests.  The  poor-paying  mine  would  be  very  glad 
to  outer  into  a  combination  with  rich-paying  mines,  but 
the  reverse  would  not  be  likely  to  occur.  Those  who  have 
a  rich  bonanza,  and  are  working  upon  it,  wouldn't  wish  for 
u  partner  with  no  capital. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  IsTo ;  I  don't  know  that  the  Kentuck 
there  would  join  in  with  the  Bullion. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Wouldn't  the  system  of  equalizing  the  differ- 
ent mines,  so  as  to  make  the  mine  that  is  ore-yielding  con- 
tribute to  the  tunnel,  while  the  non-paying  mine  would 
enjoy  the  benefits  of  the  tunnel  for  nothing,  tend  to  stimu- 
late exploration,  and  open  up  mines  which  are  not  now 
ore-yielding? 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  There  is  no  doubt  about  that  in  my  mind. 

Q.  Then  the  tunnel  would  really  be  putting  a  premium 
on  explorations  by  facilitating  them  ? 

A.  It  would  be  an  incentive  for  people  to  explore  the 
mines. 

Q.  Wouldn't  that,  in  your  opinion,  increase  the  yield  of 
bullion  on  the  Comstock  to  a  very  large  extent,  by  promot- 
ing searches  for  new  bodies  of  ore,  whrch  otherwise  would 
probably  never  be  developed? 

A.  "Never"  is  a  long  word. 

Q.  Or  which  would  only  be  developed  under  great  diffi- 
culties ? 

A.  I  accept  that,  and  answer  in  the  affirmative. 

Q.  Mr.  Raymond  goes  on  to  state: 

"At  present,  however,  the  tendency  is  more  than  ever  the  other  way.  As 
the  prospects  of  mining  on  the  old  wasteful  plan  grow  darker  and  darker, 
officers,  agents,  and  stockholders  bend  their  energies  to  save  what  they  can 
by  speculation  out  of  the  approaching  wreck.  We  might  well  afford  to  leave 
them  to  their  fate,  but  for  the  fact  that  the  effect  of  the  abandonment  of  the 
Comslock  lode  would  be  almost  fatal  to  systematic  and  permanent  mining  in 
the  Pacific  States.  It  would  confirm  the  mischievous  feeling  that  mining  is 


214 

half  grab  and  half  gamble ;  that  the  only  way  to  make  money  at  it  is  to  dig 
out  what  rich  ore  you  can  get,  and  then  find  a  fool  to  buy  the  property ;  or, 
failing  that,  to  make  a  fool  of  that  collective  individual  the  public,  and  un- 
load" yourself  of  your  stock." 

Would  you  consider  that  about  the  thing? 

A.  The  case  is  very  well  put  there.  . 

Q.  You  would  confirm  what  Mr.  Raymond  states? 

A.  I  would  confirm  that,  most  emphatically,  excepting 
the  remark  as  to  the  running  out  of  the  material;  I  shouldn't 
agree  with  him  upon  that  point. 

Q.  Then  he  states  further : 

"The  Sutro  tunnel  will  do  four  most  important  things :  it  will  settle  the 
continuance  of  the  Comstock  in  depth ;  it  will  inevitably  unite  the  mining 
companies  in  many  respects,  and  remove  much  of  the  expense  of  separate 
pumping,  hoisting,  prospecting,  and  general  administration;  it  will  render 
possiole  the  beneticiation  of  low-grade  ores,  absolutely  the  only  basis  for  ra- 
tional and  permanent  mining ;  and,  finally,  by  assuring  the  future,  it  will 
kill  that  speculation  which  thrives  on  ignorance  of  the  future." 

A.  I  assent  to  that  proposition. 

Q.  "Would  the  tunnel  open  up  the  mines  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  lay  bare  the  lode,  so  that  they  cannot  speculate 
any  longer  on  prospective  strikes  as  they  do  now? 

A.  It  would  have  that  tendency  to  a  very  great  degree, 
but  it  would  not,  perhaps,  entirely  do  away  with  specula- 
tion. As  soon  as  the  lodes  were  thoroughly  explored  to  a 
depth  of  2,000  feet,  they  would  acquire  a  knowledge  of 
their  value,  people  who  deal  in  stocks  would  become  in- 
formed; and,  instead  of  putting  in  money  simply  as  a  mat- 
ter of  speculation,  they  would  purchase  as  an  investment, 
and,  instead  of  continually  changing,  the  proprietorship 
would  remain  the  same. 

Q.  Do  you  know,  Doctor,  that  in  the  mines  of  Germany 
they  make  their  explorations  so  far  ahead,  that  they  often 
have  ore  enough  in  sight  to  keep  up  their  explorations  for 
a  great  many  years  ? 

A.  That  is  the  rule*  in  most  mines  that  are  well  con- 
ducted. 

Q.  Do  they  act  on  that  plan  on  the  Comstock  lode  ?  Do 
they  do  any  work  ahead,  so  as  to  secure  the  mines  for  the 
future  ? 

A.  I  think  they  do  to  some  extent,  I  think  they  have, 


215 

carried  on  their  explorations  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  at 
the  same  time  that  they  have  been  working  out  their  richer 
bodies  of  ore. 

Q.  Isn't  the  main  object  to  search  for  rich  bodies  of  ore ; 
and,  when  they  find  them,  to  crowd  in  just  as  many  men  as 
can  find  place  to  stand,  and  work  and  gouge  out  the  ore,  so 
as  to  make  large  dividends  and  run  up  the  stock? 

A.  That  has  been  the  practice  to  a  great  extent,  to  be 
sure,  but  still  there  are  further  researches  continually 
making  in  these  mines;  I  think  in  all  the  mines  that  are 
being  worked  at  the  present  time.  Even  in  the  Crown 
Point,  where  there  is  a  large  bonanza,  they  are  running 
drifts  for  the  purpose  of  determining  the  value  of  the  mine. 
They  were  sinking  an  incline  for  working  down  on  the 
1,300-foot  level  when  I  was  there. 

Q.  Well,  Mr.  Raymond  goes  on  to  state  as  follows : 

"  I  do  not  think  the  tunnel  would  prove  a  pecuniary  loss  in  the  worst  event, 
since  it  would  also  explore  in  depth  a  country  which  is  very  likely  to  con- 
tain vast  bodies  of  rich  ore.  All  the  indications  are  that  the  origin  of  the 
Comstock  bodies  was  east  of  the  vein,  and  promising  deposits  are  already  known 
to  exist  in  that  direction. 

Does  that  coincide  with  your  views,  Doctor  ? 

A.  I  couldn't  pronounce  positively  in  regard  to  the  rich- 
ness of  the  veins  to  be  struck,  but  I  think  the  evidence  is 
quite  conclusive  that  there  will  be  large  bodies  of  low- 
grade  rock,  if  not  of  rich  ore,  found  in  the  process  of  con- 
struction. There  are  two  that  are  well  known  already — 
the  Flowery  lode  and  the  Monte  Christo — both  of  which 
give  evidence  of  containing  a  good  deal  of  mineral;  and  at 
the  depth  they  will  be  struck  by  the  tunnel  they  will  be 
likely  to  yield  considerably.  It  will  probably  very  soon 
be  determined  with  regard  to  one  of  them. 

Q.  Now,  in  regard  to  working  the  mines  to  a  greater 
depth  below  the  tunnel  level,  Mrr  Raymond,  in  a  foot- 
note, states: 

"  The  direct  saving  in  drainage  is  doubled  by  the  fact,  that  the  water  now 
lifted  at  great  expense  by  steam  would,  if  allowed  to  fall  instead,  itself  gene- 
rate a  motive  power  to  take  the  place  of  steam.  Hydraulic  engines,  utilizing 
this  source  of  power,  are  common  in  the  deep  mines  of  Europe,  but  have  never 
been  introduced  in  this  country.  In  the  case  under  discussion,  the  conditions 
•would  be  extremely  favorable,  permitting  a  hydraulic  column  of  2,000  feet. 


216 

Fifty  gallons  of  water  per  second,  with  a  fall  of  2,000  feet,  create  a  working 
capacity  of  1,800  horse-power.  Another  way  of  utilizing  the  water  of  drain- 
age would  be  the  erection  of  water  wheels  underground,  by  which  various 
operations  requiring  machinery  could  be  conducted.  This,  too,  is  very  com- 
mon in  Europe,  and,  like  the  use  of  hydraulic  engines,  may  be  introduced 
with  advantage  wherever  there  is  deep  tunnel  drainage.  In  the  absence  of  deep 
drainage,  both  these  economical  devices  of  science  are  out  of  the  question.  If  the 
Sutro  tunnel  is  completed  to  the  lode,  and  connected  with  deep  shafts,  the 
condition  is  for  further  explorations  to  still  greater  depths  will  be  more  favorable 
than  they  were  at  the  very  surface,  since  the  immense  power  of  the  hydraulic 
column  will  be  at  the  service  of  the' miner.1' 

Can  you  see  any  difficulty,  Doctor,  in  utilizing  the 
water  in*  those  mines,  which  is  stated  to  exist  in  large  quan- 
tities above  the  800-foot  level,  and  carrying  it  down  in 
pipes  to  the  tunnel  level  for  driving  machinery? 

A.  There  isn't  any  difficulty  about  it;  and  I  should  con- 
sider it  feasible  to  accumulate  the  water  upon  these  levels 
and  transfer  it  in  tubes,  to  create  a  power  for  operating  the 
mines  to  a  lower  depth  than  2,000  feet. 

Q.  This  is  a  very  important  subject,  this  of  carrying  a 
water  power  into  the  mines.  It  is  a  subject  that  I  have 
often  urged,  although  I  have  not  alluded  to  it  before  in 
this  examination.  That  there  could  be  no  difficulty  in  col- 
lecting the  water  at  any  point  down  in  the  mines  is  best 
shown  by  a  statement  made  by  Mr.  Batter  man,  the  super- 
intendent of  the  Gould  and  Curry  company,  in  his  annual 
report,  made  December  25,  1871.  On  page  8,  he  says : 

"  Four  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet  of  the  shaft  have  been  retimbered, 
which  is  now  in  good  working  order  its  entire  depth.  A  tank  large  enough 
to  accommodate  the  water  of  the  mine  for  twelve  hours  has  been  buih  at  the 
sixth  station,  materially  reducing  the  cost  of  pumping." 

If  these  tanks  were  stationed  all  along  in  the  different 
mines,  and  pipes  were  carried  down  to  the  tunnel  level 
and  applied  to  hydraulic  engines,  (turbine  wheel  or  other 
kinds,  whatever  be  most  economical,)  would  you  not  create 
a  power  that  would  enable  you  to  go  down  below  the  tun- 
nel level,  say  at  least  1,000  feet,  without  any  additional 
power? 

A.  If  you  have  a  supply  of  water  sufficient,  it  would  ac- 
complish that  end,  no  doubt. 

Q.  Take  the  statement  of  the  superintendent  of  the 
Ophir  mine,  according  to  which  we  have  an  average  for 


217 

the  last  year  of  1,005  tons  of  water,  for  every  24  hours, 
hoisted  or  pumped  out  of  that  mine.  Supposing  that  quan- 
tity of  water  were  carried  to  the  tunnel  level  in  a  pipe  and 
applied  to  machinery,  would  it  not  create  a  power  sufficient 
to  work  that  mine  down  to  a  vary  great  depth  below  the 
tunnel  level? 

A.  It  would  give  power  for  mechanical  working  at  a 
very  low  depth. 

Q.  Well,  could  that  power  not  be  created  at  compara- 
tively little  cost?  Is  it  not  creating  a  power  in  the  very 
mines  themselves  with  the  water  which  it  is  now  so  much 
trouble  and  expense  to  get  out?  Could  it  not  be  used  for 
the  purpose  of  getting  down  to  greater  depths  below  the 

tunnel  level  ? 
A.  We  all  understand  that,  with  the  weight  of  a  column 

of  600  or  800  or  1,000  feet  of  water,  an  enormous  power  is 
created,  and  a  small  amount  of  it  applied  to  a  wheel  will 
produce  an  action  that  can  be  used  in  the  reduction  of  bres 
or  for  the  various  purposes  of  mining. 

Q.  Professor  Weissbach,  the  most  eminent  engineer  of 
the  century,  whose  works  are  used  in  every  land  in  the 
world,  and  in  every  university,  and  by  every  engineer, 
makes  the  following  statement  in  regard  to  this  power: 

"With  a  fall  of  2,000  feet,  a  working  power  created  by  one  gallon  alone, 
(equal  to  one-sixth  of  a  cubic  foot,  equal  to  ten  pounds  of  water,)  per  secpnd, 
is  equal  to  20,000  pounds  for  every  foot ;  that  is,  20,000  divided  by  550, 
equal  to  36  horse-power.  A  quantity  of  water,  50  gallons,  introduced  per 
second,  would  therefore  create  a  working  capacity  of  1,800  horse-power." 

A.  Yes,  it  is  perfectly  enormous. 

Q.  In  your  opinion,  Doctor,  could  not  reservoirs  be  cre- 
ated on  the  surface,  even  several  mites  away  from  the  Corn- 
stock  lode,  at  desirable  points,  where  the  configuration  is 
such  that  great  dams  could  be  erected  and  lakes  formed, 
which  would  be  filled  during  the  winter  by  water  and 
snow,  and  supply  an  additional  power  in  these  shafts  than 
what  could  be  obtained  from  the  water  in  the  mines  them- 
selves? 

A.  Oh,  there  is  no  doubt  it  could  be  accomplished.  The 
expense  is  a  matter  that  I  am  not  prepared  to  answer.  We 


218 

know  that  the  accumulation  of  water  mostly  is  made  for 
the  water-works  in  small  tunnels  that  perforate  the  moun- 
tains in  various  directions,  not  to  very  great  depths,  giving 
supplies  to  Virginia  City.  As  I  understood  when  I  was 
there,  they  have  in  contemplation  the  bringing  of  the  water 
from  a  greater  distance.  Whether  they  have  accomplished 
that  or  not  I  don't  know.  It  shows  that  the  water  can  be 
accumulated  as  you  suppose. 

Q.  I  refer  to  the  water  that  may  be  obtained  during  the 
winter  months.  As  the  snow  melts  it  gives  a  large  quan- 
tity of  water,  and  by  erecting  dams  at  suitable  points  in  the 
ravines,  within  five  or  ten  miles  of  Virginia  City,  do  you 
not  think  that  a  supply  could  be  obtained  that  would  last 
the  year  round? 

A.  I  think  there  is  no  doubt  that  within  a  limited  dis- 
tance you  could  get  all  the  water  required  for  your  object. 

Q.  Are  you  aware,  Professor,  that  in  the  Harz  moun- 
tains, and  in  Freiberg,  where  mining  is  probably  carried 
on  more  intelligently  than  anywhere  else  in  the  world, 
they  have  dozens  of  such  lakes  and  reservoirs,  which  are 
applied  in  the  very  manner  I  mention? 

A.  Yes,,  sir. 

Q.  I  want  to  ask  ypu  still  another  question  in  that  con- 
nection, which  almost  escaped  my  mind.  Is  it  possible  in 
mining  to  apply  any  water-power  of  this  kind  within  the 
mines,  or  utilize  the  water  which  falls  on  the  surface  and 
is  caught  in  reservoirs,  except  by  having  a  deep  tunnel  to 

lead  it  off? 

A.  If  you  let  it  in  a  mine  not  connected  with  a  tunnel, 

you  have  to  pump  it  up  again,  and  that  would  cost  more 
than  the  gain  would  be.  You  might  as  well  use  the  power 
you  have  in  the  first  place. 

Q.  Would  it  be  possible  practically? 

A.  It  would  not  be  practically  possible. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  don't  understand  either  the  last 
question  or  the  answer.  What  was  it? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  My  question  was  this :  Is  it  possible  in  the 
mines  to  utilize  a  water  power  created  by  the  water  con- 


219 

/ 

tained  in  the  mine,  or  by  accumulated  water  outside  of  the 
mine,  except  by  having  a  deep  tunnel  to  carry  it  off  after 
it  is  used?  The  operation  of  this  water  power  is  such,  that 
you  place  your  hydraulic  machinery  at  the  tunnel  level,  at 
the  point  where  it  connects  with  the  shaft,  and  the  water 
column  comes  down  and  drives  the  machinery  and  dis- 
charges itself,  then  running  out  of  its  own  accord.  The 
water  which  it  pumps  from  below  the  adit  is  also  discharged 
through  the  tunnel.  Isn't  that  the  way  you  understand  the 
operation  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  that  is  the  mode  of  operation. 

Q.  What  is  there  to  prevent  this  power  being  applied 
also  to  the  purpose  of  hoisting  ores  from  below  the  adit 
level? 

A.  Why,  it  would  be  useful  for  any  mechanical  appli- 
ance. 

Q.  Couldn't  that  water  power  also  be  used  for  condens- 
ing air  and- ventilating  the  mines  below  the  tunnel  level? 

A.  You  might  use  condensers  at  that  point.  All  you 
want  to  condense  air  is  power;  and  you  get  power  by  the 
application  of  water. 

Q.  The  great  argument,  Doctor,  against  the  tunnel,  for 
the  last  live  or  six  years,  has  been  that  there  is  no  ore  below, 
and  that  it  would  be  necessary  first  to  discover  ore  in  great 
depth  before  the  tunnel  would  really  be  required. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Well,  that  isn't  the  argument  at  all, 
Mr.  Sutro. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Mr.  Sunderland,  I  propose  to  read  from  Mr. 
King's  report  on  page  166  : 

"  Should  these  shafts,  with  their  connecting  prospecting  works,  placed  as 
they  are  at  intervals  along  the  length  of  the  lode,  fail  to  develop  any  valu- 
able bodies  of  ore  in-  depth,  the  tunnel  would  not  be  likely  to  do  so,  and  there, 
would  be  no  necessity  for  its  existence.  On  the  other  hand,  should  these  ex- 
plorations prove  the  existence  of  great  bodies  of  ore  in  depth,  the  tunnel 
would  become  a  great  desideratum,  if  not  an  absolute  necessity." 

Well,  they  have  discovered  those  now.  That  objection 
is  removed.  I  want  to  read  again  from  Mr.  Raymond's 
report  for  1870,  on  page  93.  After  speaking  of  some  dis- 


220 

coveries  which  have  been  made  in  the  Comstock  lode,  he 
goes  on  to  say : 

"Since  much  doubt  has  been  thrown  upon  the  enterprise  of  Mr.  Sutro,  on 
account  of  the  alleged  barrenness  of  the  Comstock  in  depth,  it  is  fortunate 
that  this  development  has  occurred  in  time  to  encourage  the  prosecution  of 
the  much-needed  deep  tunnel.  This  tunnel  is  now  in  process  of  construction, 
and  has  been  carried  in  about  1,900  feet,  through  various  alternations  of  rock, 
and  several  veins,  none  of  which,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  have  been  prospected. 
A  good  deal  of  water  has  been  met  with,  which  may  be  considered,  so  far  as 
it  goes,  a  favorable  indication  of  the  existence  of  fissure  veins  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, although  at  the  inconsiderable  depth  thus  far  attained  the  signifi- 
cance of  its  occurrence  is  not  important.  My  opinion  as  to  the  necessity  and 
value  of  this  tunnel  remains  unchanged,  except  so  far  as  it  has  been  strength- 
ened by  recent  developments  upon  the  Comstock.  As  a  means  of  exploring 
that  vein  to  a  depth  heretofore  unattained  in  metal-mining,  it  would  be  in- 
dispensable. Some  of  the  mines  in  the  Comstock  are  now  approaching  the 
level  of  the  tunnel  survey;  but  "the  expense  and  difficulty  of  going  deeper 
will  be  wellnigh  insurmountable,  without  an  adit  as  a  new  basis  of  operations. 
The  effect  of  a  tunnel,  adequate  for  drainage,  transportation,  and  ventilation, 
is  to  create  a  new  artificial  surface,  with  the  added  advantage  of  a  hydraulic 
power,  measured  by  the  quantity  of  water  and  the  height  of  its  fall  above  the 
tunnel  level.  A  few  months  ago,  suggestions  of  this  nature  were  met  with 
the  reply,  that  the  Comstock  shafts  were  not  finding  ore  in  depth,  and  that 
nobody  was  likely  to  desire  to  go  much  deeper  in  barren  ground.  In  succes- 
sive reports  I  have  uniformly  regarded  this  barren  ground  as  a  zone  beyond 
which  ore  bodies  would  again  be  found;  and  this  opinion  is  now  so  far  con- 
firmed, that  I  presume  no  one  will  discourage  further  explorations  in  depth, 
up  to  the  limits  of  mechanical  practicability." 

Do  you  think,  Doctor,  that  there  are  any  doubts  enter- 
tained, after  the  discoveries  which  were  made  in  the  Crown 
Point  mine,  in  the  Belcher  mine,  at  the  1,200  and  1,300-foot 
level,  and  lately  in  the  Savage  mine,  at  the  1,400-foot  level, 
that  the  Comstock  lode  extends  downward  indefinitely? 

A.  I  had  no  doubt  of  it  before  the  discoveries  were 
made.  They  only  confirm  the  opinion  I  have  often  ex- 
pressed upon  the  subject. 

Q.  In  your  opinion,  Doctor,  would  not  the  introduction 
of  an  intelligent,  rational  system  of  mining  have  an  influ- 
ence upon  the  whole  mining  interests  of  this  country,  of 
such  a  character  as  to  give  a  stimulus  to  the  business  that 
we  cannot  now  comprehend? 

A.  It  would  have  a  powerful  effect  upon  our  mining 
interests,  and  to  the  advantage  of  those  interests.  I  con- 
ceive that  the  whole  extent  of  country  through  that  region 
is  comparatively  worthless,  with  the  exception  of  the  min- 
ing interests.  The  Almighty  has  given  us  minerals  there 


221 

in  compensation  for  lack  of  anything  else,  and  has  given 
an  abundant  supply. 

Q.  That  being  the  case,  Doctor,  would  not  the  populat- 
ing and  settling  of  that  vast  area  create  a  market  for  the 
grain  products  of  the  "Western  States  and  the  manufac- 
tures of  the  East? 

A.  Well,  every  industry  that  is  encouraged  fosters  other 
industries,  for  one  is  dependent  upon  the  other  to  a  very 
great  degree.  There  is  no  question  that,  if  our  mining 
interest  were  fostered  by  the  Government,  other  interests 
would  be  aided  as  well.  In  mining  extensive  machinery  is 
required;  clothing  is  required;  the  necessaries  of  life  must 
be  brought  from  elsewhere  usually.  Whatever  benefits 
mining  benefits  the  East  and  the  West  in  other  interests, 
and  the  mines  are  the  very  life-blood  of  Nevada. 

Q.  As  a  consequence,  it  would  enhance  the  value  very 
much  of  these  Pacific  railroads  in  which  the  Government 
is  interested? 

A.  Well,  I  am  not  fully  posted  upon  that.  You  must 
get  experts  on  that.  It  carried  me  safely  over;  that  was 
all  I  required.  They  have  been  stuck  this  winter  pretty 
badly. 

Q.  I  want  to  recur  now,  Professor,  to  a  question  which 
was  put  to  you  by  Mr.  Sunderland  yesterday,  whether  the 
mine-owners  ought  not  to  be  the  best  judges  how  to  work 
their  mines,  and  whether  they  don't  understand  their  inter- 
ests better  than  an  outsider.  In  this  connection  I  want  to 
ask  you  whether  you  are  aware  that  the  construction  of 
this  tunnel  was  first  authorized  by  the  Legislature  of  Ne- 
vada; that  contracts  were  entered  into  by  nearly  all  these 
mining  companies;  and  that  the  work  was  authorized  by 
special  act  of  Congress? 

A.  I  am  aware  of  all  t&ose  things ;  and  that  the  patents 
were  received  from  the  Land  Office,  subject  to  the  condition 
of  the  payment  of  $2  a  ton  for  the  working  ore  that  might 
be  raised  or  removed  through  the  tunnel. 

Q.  That's  the  very  point  I  want  to  get  at.  I  have  a  copy 
of  a  patent  here,  which  was  specially  gotten  up  by  the 


222 

authorities  in  "Washington  for  these  mines  on  the  Corn- 
stock  lode.     This  patent,  which  gives  the  title  to  those 
mines,  contains  a  clause  which  I  wish  you  to  read,  Doctor 
— the  fourth  clause  ? 
A. 

"Fourth.  That  the  claim  hereby  granted  and  conveyed  shall  be  subject  to 
the  condition  specified  in  the  3d  section  of  the  act  of  Congress  approved 
July  25,  1866,  granting  to  A.  Sutro  the  right  of  way  and  other  privileges  to 
aid  in  the  construction  of  a  draining  and  exploring  tunnel  to  the  Comstock 
lode,  in  the  State  of  Nevada ;  and  the  grantee  herein  shall  contribute  and 
pay  to  the  owners  of  the  tunnel,  constructed  pursuant  to  said  act,  for  drain- 
age or  other  benefits  derived  from  said  tunnel,  or  its  advantage,  the  same 
rate  of  charges  as  have  been,  or  may  hereafter  be,  named  in  agreement  be- 
tween such  owners  and  the  companies  representing  a  majority  of  the  estimated 
value  of  said  Comstock  lode  at  the  time  of  the  passage  of  said  act,  as  provided 
in  said  3d  section." 

Q.  Have  they  any  title  to  their  mines  hut  what  they  get 
from  the  United  States  Government? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  object  to  that. 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  They  have  none  but  a  squatter's  title.  It 
is  sometimes  called  a  "squatter's  title,"  sometimes  called  a 
"miner's  title." 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Since  this  question  has  been  brought  up  by 
Mr.  Sunderland,  I  think  it  is  proper  to  throw  some  light 
upon  it. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  We  all  know  what  the  law  is. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Mr.  Sunderland  has  spoken  of  the  tunnel 
company  as  an  outside  party. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Yes,  and  I  do. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Well,  it  seems  from  the  patents,  and  by  the 
documents  in  relation  to  it,  that  the  tunnel  company  de- 
rives its  rights  directly  from  the  Government,  and  that  the 
titles  to-  these  mines  were  only  granted  upon  condition 
that  they  comply  with  certain  conditions  imposed  by  law. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  The  contracts  have  never  been  com- 
plied with  by  Mr.  Sutro.  • 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Well>  if  this  question  comes  up  here  before 
the  cominittee,  I  propose  to  show  that,  if  the  contracts 
have  not  been  complied  with,  it  has  not  been  the  fault  of 
the  tunnel  company;  but  that  it  has  been  due  to  the  machi- 


223 

nations  of  the  Bank  of  California,  which  has  tried  to  up- 
set them. 

Mr.  SHOBER.  Shall  we  go  into  that  field  of  inquiry? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  It  would  be  a  pretty  lengthy  one. 

Mr,  SESSIONS.  I  don't  understand  that  Mr.  Sutro  pro- 
poses to. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  don't  propose  to  go  into  it.  I  simply  want 
to  ask  certain  questions,  in  order,  to  explain  a  question 
which  was  put  by  Mr.  Sunderland,  and  it  would  probably 
be  desirable  and  proper  to  quote  from  a  debate  in  Congress, 
where  this  very  question  was  discussed  and  settled  finally, 
by  a  vote  of  42  to  124. 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  Well,  I  wouldn't  go  into  that.  That  will 
come  up  in  your  argument. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  object  to  it, 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  Ask  your  question,  Mr.  Sutro.  "WVll  see 
what  it  will  be. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  wanted  to  get  at  the  point,  whether  these 
people  over  there  had  any  title ;  whether  they  have  any- 
thing to  complain  of;  whether  they  were  not  simply  squat- 
ters, who  went  on  the  land  at  sufferance  of  the  Govern- 
ment? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  That  is  a  question  of  law,  Mr.  Chair- 
man. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  It  appears  already  that  they  have  no  title, 
excepting1  that  which  they  get  from  the  General  Govern- 
ment. This  title,  which  has  been  read  here,  shows  that 
they  took  their  titles  in  subordination  to  the  grants  made 
to  the  Sutro  Tunnel  Company,  as  embodied  in  the  act  of 
Congress. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  will  drop  that  part  of  it.  It  will  lead  too 
far  to  go  into  the  subject.  Doctor,  I  want  to  ask  you  a 
question  which  came  up  in  the  examination  of  General 
Foster,  and  that  is  in  regard  to  this  statement  about  the 
cost  of  hoisting  ore  in  the  commissioners'  report.  I  want 
to  get  at  a  matter  which  I  don't  think  is  fairly  understood. 
"What  proportion  of  the  Comstock  lode  is  engaged  simply 
in  prospecting,  and  consequently  only  hoisting  refuse  rock — 


224 

country  rock?  Can  you  form  any  idea  of  what  that  pro- 
portion is,  as  compared  to  that  part  which  is  productive? 
Commencing  at  the  south  end,  we  have  first  the  Overman 
and  Uncle  Sam ;  were  they  doing  anything  but  prospect- 
ing? 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.     Nothing,  when  we  are  there. 

Q.  Did  they  take  out  any  ore  in  depth  ? 

A.  Not  that  I  am  aware  of. 

Q.  Then  we  have  the  Segregated  Belcher;  were  they 
taking  out  any  ore  ? 

A.  That  I  don't  know. 

Q.  The  Belcher  company  have  since  discovered  ore,  I 
believe  ? 

A.  About  the  time  of  our  leaving  they  struck  a  large 
bonanza. 

Q.  Then  there  is  the  Crown  Point  ? 

A.  The  Crown  Point  is  productive. 

H.  Then  there  is  the  Yellow  Jacket? 

A.  The  Yellow  Jacket  was  yielding  at  low  depths  and 
very  generally. 

Q.  Then  came  the  Burke  and  Hamilton,  Gold  Hill;  did 
they  have  anything? 

A.  I  don't  know. 

Q.  "Then  there  is  the  Confidence;  it  belongs  to  the  Gold 
Hill  mines? 

A.  I  am  not  posted  upon  whether  these  mines  extend- 
ing .through  here  produce  anything,  or  but  very  little. 

Q.  Then  that  would  include  the  Challenge  and  Imperial ; 
do  you  know  anything  about  the  Imperial  ? 

A.  I  don't  know  anything  about  the  Imperial. 

Q.  Do  they  produce  any  ore  in  depth? 

A.  Not  that  I  know  of. 

Q.  Then  there  come  the  Rice  Ground,  Consolidated, 
Winters  and  Kustel,  Pi-Ute,  Bowers'  Plato,  Empire  South, 
French,  Eclipse,  Empire  North,  Bacon,  Imperial,  and 
Apple  and  Bates.  They  all  belong  to  Gold  Hill.  Do  any 
of  them  produce  anything? 

A.  Nothing  that  I  heard  of. 


225 

Q.  Then  there  is  the  Alpha;  did  that  produce  anything?) 

A.  I  don't  know  about  it. 

Q.  Then  there  is  the  Exchequer. 

A.  I  know  nothing  about  it. 

Q.  There  is  the  Bullion. 

A.  The  Bullion  has  made  pretty  extensive  excavations, 
without  getting  anything  from  the  start. 

Q.  Then  there  is  the  Chollar  Potosi? 

A.  That  is  yielding. 

Q.  "Not  in  depth? 

A.  They  are  not  working  in  depth.  I  don't  know  how 
much  it  might  yield  in  depth.  They  were  working  upon 
the  upper  levels. 

Q.  Then  comes  the  Hale  and  Norcross  ? 

A.  Working  when  we  were  there. 

Q.  And  the  Savage? 

A.  Working. 

Q.  Did  the  Savage  have  anything  in  depth  at  that  time? 

A.  Not  in  depth. 

Q.  Did  the  Gould  and  Curry  have  anything  in  depth? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Did  the  Best  and  Belcher  have  anything,  or  the 
White  and  Murphy,  or  the  Central,  or  the  California? 

A.  A  number  of  these  have  been  united  into  the  Con- 
solidated Virginia. 

Q.  Has  the  Central  anything  ? 

A.  Nothing  that  I  know  of. 

Q.  Has  the  Ophir  anything? 

A.  Nothing. 

Q.  The  Mexican? 

A.  They  were  working,  but  at  no  great  depth. 

Q.  I  mean  in  depth ;  have  they  anything  in  depth? 

A.  Not  that  I  know  of. 

Q.  Then  comes  the  Ophir  north  mine;  have  they  any- 
thing? 

A.  Nothing. 

Q.  Has  the  Union  anything  ? 

A.  Nothing. 
15 


226 

Q.  The  Sierra  Nevada  ? 

A.  They  were  working  on  the  surface ;  nowhere  else. 

Q.  Ha\\e  they  anything  in  depth  ? 

A.  Nothing  that  we  could  learn. 

Q.  The  Allen? 

A.  Nothing. 

Q.  And  the  Utah? 

A.  That  was  the  same. 

Q.  Then,  according  to  this,  a  very  large  proportion,  prob- 
ably three-quarters  of  the  lode,  to  say  the  least,  is  simply 
being  prospected;  they  are  not  taking  out  any  ore.  Does 
that  agree  with  your  ideas  ? 

A.  There  is  a  very  large  proportion  of  them  that  were 
either  not  working  at  all  or  were  merely  prospecting. 

Q.  Now,  supposing  this  tunnel  were  in,  and  these  mines 
that  I  have  just  enumerated  were  all  connected  with  it, 
could  they  not  carry  on  their  prospecting  works  at  an  im- 
mensely less  cost  than  now  ? 

A.  Most  assuredly  they  could. 

Q.  Would  they  have  to  pay  anything  to  the  Tunnel 
Company  while  they  were  only  prospecting  and  taking  out 
no  ore? 

A.  They  would  have  to  pay  no  royalty. 

Q.  In  fact,  would  they  be  compelled  to  pay  anything? 
Would  it  not  be  optional  with  them  to  take  out  the  rock  by 
shafts,  or  any  way  they  pleased,  and  still  get  the  benefit  of 
the  tunnel  for  drainage  and  ventilation  ? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  That  is  the  way  you  understand  it.  Consequently,  the 
tunnel  would  be  of  immense  benefit  to  those  parts  of  the 
Comstock  lode  which  are  unproductive? 

A.  It  would  save  the  expenditure  of  a  good  deal  of 
money  for  purposes  of  drainage  and  ventilation. 

Q.  Would  you  then,  Doctor,  consider  it  fair  to  make  this 
comparison  in  this  report  here  in  regard  to  the  cost  of 
hoisting  the  ore  and  pumping  water  ? 

A.  The  statement  in  that  report  is  made  with  reference 
to  the  paying  rock  that  was  removed.  We  hadn't  the  data  to 


227 

arrive  at  anything  like  an  estimate  of  waste  rock,  and  it 
is  especially  stated  that  that  was  an  element  that  should  be 
included,  but  is  not. 

Q.  Yes;  but  not  being  included,  is  that  a  fair  compari- 
son, to  give  the  cost  of  working,  as  they  do,  at  $1,035,000, 
and  at  the  lowest  estimate  through  the  tunnel  at  $1,169,000. 
"Would  you  consider  that  a. fair  figure? 

A.  It  would  be  a  fair  figure,  if  we  could  bave  made  the 
addition  of  the  refuse  rock,  (there  are  three,  and  perhaps 
five  tons  of  refuse  rock  where  there  is  one  worked.)  I 
insisted  on  having  that  included  in  the  amount,  or  requested 
that  it  might  be  done  rather ;  but  we  couldn't  arrive  at  it, 
and  it  was  considered  sufficient  to  make  the  general  state- 
ment that  that  is  not  included,  and  that  it  is  a  large  amount. 

Q.  Well,  if  you  would  have  included  all  the  workings 
of  the  mines  which  had  no  or£,  wouldn't  that  sum  of 
$1,035,000  have  been  very  largely  increased?  Instead  of 
$1,000,000,  would  it  not  have  been  nearly  $3,000,000,  if 
you  had  included  the  expense  of  all  these  prospecting 
mines? 

A.  We  could  not  bring  the  elements  of  computation  to 
bear  upon  where  they  were  not  working  or  producing 
nothing.  We  got  from  the  superintendents  the  basis,  of 
the  calculations,  supposing  that  they  would  give  it  accu- 
rately. They  mentioned,  as  was  evident  to  our  eyes,  that 
vast  amounts  of  country  rock  had  to  be  raised  and  thrown 
off  and  clumped.  The  computation  was  really  for  work- 
ing where  the  rock  was  rich,  entirely  so,  with  no  refuse 
matter ;  and  it  was  so  stated  in  the  report.  It  doesn't  give 
a  fair  estimate  of  the  actual  expense. 

Q.  But  looking  at  the  statements  of  these  superinten- 
dents, from  the  general  information  that  you  could  gather, 
that  they  were  opposed  to  the  tunnel,  no  matter  whether 
from  their  own  opinions  or  from  the  opinions  of  others, 
would  it  be  fair  to  take  these  statements  altogether  for 
granted  as  correct? 

A.  We  had  to  get  the  best  material  we  could.  They 
looked  like  honorable  men,  honest  men,  strongly  prejudiced 


228 

against  the  tunnel.  We  gave  their  statements  for  what 
they  were  worth.  We  were  under  the  necessity  of  making 
an  estimate,  and  we  had  to  use  such  data  as  we  could  pro- 
cure. It  would,  in  my  opinion,  have  been  right  to  include 
the  waste  rock  that  was  raised  as  well  as  the  paying  ore. 

Q.  Well,  Doctor,  don't  you  think  there  are  honest  Re- 
publicans and  honest  Democrats?  Would  you  think  it 
would  be  fair  to  the  Republican  party  to  take  the  opinion 
of  a  Democrat  about  it,  or  the  reverse? 

A.  Well,  I  shouldn't  think  of  doing  such  a  thing. 

Q.  Well,  that  opinion  would  be  a  good  deal  like  the 
statements  of  these  superintendents  over  there,  who  are 
entirely  opposed  to  the  tunnel.  They  belong  to  a  different 
party,  and  it  would  hardly  be  fair  to  the  tunnel  to  accept 
their  statements  about  it,  and  make  them  the  basis  of  a 
report.' 

A.  We  were  obliged  to  work  from  the  figures  we  could 
procure. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  suppose  the  facts  are  the  same, 
whether  stated  by  a  Republican  or  a  Democrat. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  We  have  gone  through  those  facts  pretty 
well.  Doctor,  I  want  to  ask  you  one  or  more  questions  in 
connection  with  this  report  here.  Mr.  Day,  in  his  report 
here,  states,  that  there  will  be  great  difficulty  in  getting  in 
these  men  on  a  railroad;  that  there  will  be  great  confu- 
sion, etc.  Do  you  think  that  there  would  be  any  difficulty 
in  taking  in  a  thousand  men  at  a  time,  stopping  the  train 
at  each  shaft,  and  letting  off  the  cars  containing  these 
men? 

A.  I   shouldn't  think   there   would  be   any   difficulty. 
There  would  be  the  same  difficulty,  perhaps  a  little  more 
than  we  experience  in  receiving  and  landing  passengers  on 
a  railroad. 

Q.  He  furthermore  states,  that  they  will  have  to  climb 
up  ladders,  and  that  they  will  get  to  their  work  in  an  ex- 
hausted condition,  positively  unfit  and  unable  to  do  a  day's 
work.  Have  you  seen  $.  drawing  of  this  apparatus  for 
hoisting  men  and  lowering  rock? 


229 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Can  you  see  any  difficulty  in  its  operations? 

A.  No  more  difficulty  than  by  the  present  way  of  hoist- 
ing ore  and  lowering  men. 

Q.  Then  he  speaks  about  a  "tedious,  slow,  and  expensive 
route,"  over  which  the  timber  is  to  be  brought  in.  Do 
you  see  any  difficulty  in  carrying  in  timber  on  a  railroad 
train,  having  your  cars  loaded,  and  delivering  it  at  these 
shafts,  and  then  hoisting  up  the  timbers  the  same  as  they 
are  now  lowered  do*wn? 

A.  I  cannot  see  where  the  difficulty  would  exist,  or 
where  there  would  be  any  real  difference  between  hoisting 
and  lowering  the  timbers.  I  thought  a  good  deal  upon 
that  subject,  because  it  was  made  a  strong  point,  and  was 
pretty  thoroughly  discussed. 

Q.  Then  he  says  that,  in  case  there  should  be  a  cave 
threatened  in  the  mine,  the  order  would  have  to  be  sent 
down  a  ladder  to  get  to  the  tunnel,  and  then  away  out  to 
the  mouth,  five  miles,  and  that  a* great  deal  of  time  would 
be  lost  in  that  manner.  Do  you  consider  that  much  time 
would  be  lost  in  running  in  these  timbers  on  a  railroad 
train  going  at  the  rate  of  ten  miles  an  hour,  when  you  can 
carry  in  as  many  thousand  of  feet  as  required? 

A.  Well,  i  suppose  from  the  time  of  giving  the  order  to 
the  delivery  of  timber  there  might  be  from  thirty  to  fifty 
minutes.  That  is,  to  get  it  in. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  From  what  point,  Doctor? 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  Four  or  five  miles  off. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  To  any  one  of  the  mines  in  the  Corn- 
stock  ? 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  Anywhere  within  a  range  of  five  miles. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  The  tunnel  is  not  quite  four  miles  in  length, 
and  a  mile  or  a  mile  and  a. half  either  way  would  reach  any 
mine? 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  An  hour  would  be  the  outside  of  the 
time  required  to  get  timbers  in.  They  could  have  a  tele- 
graph established  between  the  interior  workings  of  the 
mine  or  the  tunnel  to  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel. 


230 

Q.  How  many  men  do  they  lower  at  a  time  into  these 
shafts  ? 

A.  Well,  now,  that's  a  peculiar  question.  It  depends 
entirely  upon  the  sizes  of  the  men. 

Q.  How  many  ordinary-sized  men?  How  many  do  they 
ordinarily  take  ? 

A.  I  think  there  were  six  when  we  went  down  in  the 
cage. 

Q.  Were  you  packed  in  pretty  close  ? 

A.  Well,  we  were  pretty  large-size^  men,  with  the  'ex- 
ception of  myself  and  two  others. 

Q.  How  long  do  you  think  it  would  take  to  let  a  cage 
down  with  a  lot  of  men,  taking  the  speed  at  which  they 
run  cages  when  men  are  on  them,  leave  the  men  at  the  bot- 
tom, and  hoist  up  another  lot? 

A.  How  deep  would  you  go? 

Q.  Say  2, 000  feet;  down  to  the  tunnel  level. 

A.  Well,  I  think  the  cages  would  average  six  men  each. 
I  have  tried  the  elevating  of  material,  not  men;  they  vary, 
but  I  have  a  sort  of  approximation. 

Q.  There  is  a  very  great  difference  between  lowering 
rock  and  lowering  men.  They  are  more  cautious  with  men  ? 

A.  I  am  aware  there  is  a  difference.  They  lower  slower 
with  men  on. 

Q.  How  much  time  do  you  think  it  would  take  to  lower 
a  set  of  men  to  a  depth  of  2,000  feet? 

A.  I  shouldn't  think  it  would  be  safe  \p  lower  a  cage 
down  that  far  certainly  in  less  than  five  minutes.  It  could 
be  done  quicker. 

Q.  Say  five  minutes  to  go  down  and  five  to  come  up. 
Is  that  your  statement  ? 

A.  If  loaded,  yes. 

Q.  Well,  there  is  ten  minutee;  and  you  say  six  men  go 
on  a  cage.  Suppose  you  have  to  let  down  a  thousand  men 
in  one  shaft. 

A.  There  are  six  men  on  a  cage,  but  they  can  carry 
more  than  that.  They  can  run  them  down  safely  in  two 
cages. 


231 

Q.  Have  you  ever  seen  a  double  set  of  men  go  down  ? 
How  many  men  have  you  ever  seen  on  a  cage  at  one  time? 

A.  I  have  seen  them  come  up  double. 

Q.  How  many  at  a  time  ? 

A.  Twelve.  I  think  there  could  not  have  been  more 
than  twelve.  Perhaps  it  might  have  been  a  less  number. 

Q.  Well,  taking  your  maximum  number,  twelve  even, 
it  would  take  them  eighty-three  trips  to  get  down.  That 
would  make,  at  ten  minutes,  fourteen  hours  to  take  down 
a  thousand  men  at  one  point.  Now,  in  going  down 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  want  to  know  if  the  Doctor  assents 
to  that:  If  lie  does,  all  right.  I  want  to  have  his  testi- 
mony. 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  I  don't  vouch  for  the  calculations. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  The  Doctor  has  stated  that  twelve  men  go 
down  at  one  trip,  as  a  maximum.  There  are  a  thousand 
men,  which  would  make  eighty-three  trips  and  a  fraction 
over.  Is  that  right? 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  It  would  be  a  little  over  eighty-three 
trips. 

Q.  At  ten  minutes  each,  it  makes  830  minutes,  don't  it? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Well,  that  makes  13  hours  and  50  minutes.  Is  that 
right? 

A.  It  would  be  13  hours  50  minutes. 

Q.  Now,  when  these  men  get  down  there,  why,  they 
have  got  to  go  to  their  respective  places  and  change  shift, 
and  then  the  other  men  have  got  to  come  to  the  cage  and 
be  hoisted  out;  that  would  take  as  long  again,  would  it 
not? 

A.  Unless  their  arrangements  were  so  perfected  that 
they  could  meet  at  the  shaft.  Unless  they  should  have  a 
specified  time,  and  take  that  time  from  the  work,  the  one 
force  would  be  under  the  necessity  of  going  to-the  heading 
to  relieve  the  other;  but  by  special  agreement  they  could 
meet  at  the  point  of  raising. 

Q.  Then,  if  they  were  to  meet  there,  it  would  take  only 


232 

13  hours  and  50  minutes  to  lower  down  1,000  men  and 
hoist  another  thousand  up  ? 

A.  Yes;  they  could  run  up  1,000  and  carry  down  1,000 
in  13  hours  and  50  minutes. 

Q.  But  if  .these  1,000  going  down  were  to  go  to  those  at 
work  and  change  shift,  it  would  take  another  13  hours  and 
50  minutes  to  get  the  1,000  up? 

A.  Yes.  The  time  spent  in  coming  from  the  heading, 
after  being  relieved,  might  be  long  or  short.  It  would 
depend  upon  the  distance.  There  is  no  computing  it  ac- 
curately. It  is  mere  supposition. 

Q.  Doctor,  I  want  to  ask  you  one  more  question  about 
drainage:  Can  you  see  any  difficulty  in  making  bore-holes 
from  these  shafts,  to  connect  with  the  tunnel  below,  sup- 
posing the  tunnel  to  be  completed — bore-holes  such  as  are 
made  in  the  oil  regions? 

A.  There  is  no  sp'ecial  difficulty  that  I  can  conceive. 

Q.  Supposing  that  were  done,  would  it,  not  at  once  re- 
lieve the  mines  from  all  necessity  of  pumping? 

A.  Certainly  it  would. 

Q.  While  they  are  prospecting  and  taking  out  no  ores, 
these  mines  would  get  that  drainage  and  their  ventilation 
for  nothing,  would  they  not? 

A.  For  nothing,  as  I  understand  it. 


HEARING  MONDAY,  FEBRUARY  26. 

Cross-examination  of  Professor  Newcomb. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  My  examination  to-night,  Doctor,  will 
have  to  be  a  little  desultory.  I  will  ask  you,  first,  if  you 
visited  the  Sierra  Nevada? 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  We  did,  sir;  but  we  didn't  go  into  any 
of  the  diggings  except  on  the  surface.  We  looked  at  those. 

Q.  Are  there  any  diggings  except  on  the  surface? 

A.  Well,  from  the  books  we  learn  that  they  have  made 
excavations  without  finding  anything  of  value  below  the 
surface. 

Q.  The  mining  is  on  the  surface? 

A.  Yes,  and  it  is  altogether  for  gold. 

Q.  Was  there  any  water  in  that  mine  ? 

A.  I  don't  know  how  it  has  been  this  winter. 

Q.  Well,  when  you  were  there? 

A.  Of  course  there  was  none  on  the  surface. 

Mr.  PAYNE.  Is  this  a  mine  or  a  mountain  that  you  are 
talking  about? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  It  is  a  mine.  It  is  a  mine  that  now  em- 
braces not  only  the  Sierra  Nevada  originally,  but  a  great 
many  others  tbat  have  been  mentioned  here,  among  which 
are  the  Allen  and  the  Sacramento—all  the  mines  north  of  a 
certain  ravine  there,  except  an  old  shaft  north  of  the  Sierra 
Nevada,  the  one  that.  Mr.  Sutro  opened.  It  was  located  in 
1860,  and  named  after  Mr.  Sutro. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  They  opened  it  and  took  out  some  ore  there, 
but  I  don't  think  it  has  been  worked  for  some  years. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  The  Sierra  Nevada 

i.Ir.  NEWCOMB.  The  Sierra  Nevada  is  emphatically  a 
gold-mining  company,  working  from  the  surface.  That 
tells  the  whole  story. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  It  has  consolidated  with,  and  acquired 
by  purchase,  all  the  mines  north  of  the  ravine,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  one. 

233 


234 

Mr.  SUTRO.  It  hasn't  got  the  Allen  or  the  Utah. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  It  hasn't  got  the  Utah,  but  it  has  got 
the  Allen. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  wasn't  aware  of  that. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  The  Allen  and  the  Utah  and  the  Sac- 
ramento and  the  Meredith,  and  I  don't  know  how  many 
others,  belong  to  it. 

Mr.  PAYNE.  You  say  it  hasn't  got  the  Utah? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  No,  it  hasn't. 

Mr:  SUNDERLAND.  That  is  farther  north,  and  probably 
don't  conflict  with  it  at  all. 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  It's  of  no  consequence  about  that  class  of 
mine.  It  yields  tolerably  well  from  surface  digging. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  You  wouldn't  call  that  a  placer  mine?  That 
is  not  a  part  of  the  Coinstock. 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  It  would  come  nearer  to  placer  digging 
than  to  actual  mining. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  In  other  words,  they  take  off  the  surface  and 
work  it.  It  isn't  a  part  of  the  Comstock  proper.  It  isn't 
really  the  Comstock  lode. 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  "Well,  we  understand  that  the  Comstock 
extends  even  beyond  that  point. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  But  is  this  not  of  the  character  of  placer 
diggings  where  they  are  taking  that  ore  from  ? 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  It's  surface  digging.  That's  enough. 
They  are  excavating  from  the  surface,  and  working  for 
gold,  not  silver. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Do  you  consider  the  Sierra  Nevada 
mines  a  part  of  the  Comstock  or  not? 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  It  is  a  part  of  the  Comstock,  or  it  is  on 
the  Comstock,  whichever  you  choose. 

Mr.  KENDALL.  You  would  consider  it,  Professor,  ^the 
croppings  of  the  Comstock  lode,  perhaps? 

A..  The  character  of  the  rock  is  different  from  what  we 
get  as  we  pass  down.  It  is  very  likely  washed  from  some 
little  distance.  It  is  emphatically  gold  mining ;  nothing 
else. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  would  like  to  ask  one  question  right  here, 


235 

in  explanation  of  this  reference  to  the  Sierra  Nevada 
mine.  I  wish  you  to  say  whether  you  consider  that,  under 
our  contract,  we  can  collect  our  royalty  from  the  Sierra 
Nevada  mine? 

A.  That  would  be  a  matter  to  be  decided  by  the  courts. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Isn't  that  a  body  of  quartz  there? 

A.  Well,  it  is  broken-up  rock,  as  near  as  my  memory 
serves  me.  It  is  a  mixture  of  rock  of  different  kinds :  not 
rock,  but  broken-up  material.  There  is  quartz  in  it,  of  a 
reddish  color,  if  I  recollect  right.  We  didn't  examine  it 
very  critically. 

Q.  Of  a  reddish  color? 

A.  I  think  so. 

Q.  Don't  you  know  that  always  on  the  surface  of  the 
Comstock  tho  rock  has  been  red,  and  distinguished  by  the 
pitch  and  by  the  color  from  the  other  bodies  of  the  lode — 
called  red  ledge  ? 

A.  I  know  there  is  what  is  called  the  red  ledge,  and 
that  there  is  what  is  called  the  red  quartz,  on  the  Com- 
stock. 

Q.  Isn't  this  similar  to  the  red  ledge  on  other  portions 
of  the  Comstock? 

A.  I  didn't  make  the  comparison.  I  should  judge  that 
it  was  the  same,  as  near  as  my  memory  serves  me,  but  I 
will  not  be  positive. 

Q.  I  think  you  stated  on  Saturday  night  that  that  ore 
yielded  from  $15  to  $20  a  ton,  did  you  not? 

A.  I  didn't  say  what  the  Sierra  Nevada  yielded.  We 
made  inquiries  in  regard  to  it.  The  yield  is  small,  but  I 
consider  it  to  be  profitable  working,  because  of  the  sim- 
plicity with  which  operations  there  may  be  carried  on. 

Q.  I  will  read  now  from  Mr.  King's  report,  page  167  : 

"  During  1869  the  company  produced  and  milled  18,000  tons  of  rock,  yield- 
ing $155,791  36,  or  an  average  of  $8  66  per  ton.  The  expenses  per  ton  were 
as  folloVs : 

For  mining $1  92 

For  milling 3  03 

For  incidentals 77 

Making  a  total  of -. $5  72 

and  leaving  a  profit  of  $2  94  to  the  ton."  • 


236 

Of  what  benefit  to  that  mine  could  the  Sutro  tunnel  be? 

A.  None  at  all,  as  I  consider,  sir;  not  a  particle. 

Q.  Now  I  will  call  your  attention  to  the  Chollar.  That, 
I  suppose,  you  visited  and  examined  thoroughly? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  the  Chollar  Potosi. 

Q.  When  I  mention  the  Chollar,  I  mean  the  Chollar 
Potosi.  How  deep  are  they  working  that  mine  at  present? 

A.  Mining  was  not  carried  on  when  we  were  there  on  low 
levels.  It  was  on  the  upper  levels  that  they  had  produc- 
tive rock. 

Q.  How  deep  are  they  working  at  present? 

A.  We  did  not  go  into  any  of  the  lower  levels.  We  went 
into  the  upper  levels  alone.  I  haven't  marked  down  the 
depth  to  which  they  have  run.  I  think  it  was  stated  by 
Mr.  Requa  that  they  had  sunk  shafts  to  a  depth  of  1,100 
or  1,200  feet.  It  is  merely  a  matter  of  memory  with  me. 

Q.  It  is  almost  1,250.  But  they  are  not  working  except 
on  the  surface? 

A.  They  were  not  working  except  on  the  upper  levels. 
They  had  a  body  of  ore  that  they  were  working  that  paid 
remarkably  well.  It  was  upon  the  upper  levels;  and  they 
expended  their  force  upon  it  during  the  year,  and  made 
their  profits. 

Q.  Now,  can  you  tell  me  how  deep  they  were  working 
when  you  were  there  ? 

A.  I  cannot.  About  500  feet,  I  suppose.  I  don't  recol- 
lect exactly. 

Q.  Do  you  think  it  exceeded  300  ? 

A.  It  might  not  have  been.  It  may  have  been  300,  400, 
or  500  feet  that  we  went  down. 

Q.  Was  there  any  water  in  the  mine  ? 

A.  None  to  produce  any  disturbance. 

Q.  "\V"as  there  any  to  require  pumping  ? 

A.  I  think  not. 

Q.  How  was  that  ore  taken  out.  Was  it  through  a  shaft 
or  through  a  tunnel? 

A.  Through  a  shaft. 

Q.  All  of  it? 

A.  All  that  we  knew  about. 


237 

• 

Q.  From  what  depth  was  that  hoisted  in  the  shaft? 

A.  It  was  taken  out  from  the  levels  upon  which  they 
were  working.  I  don't  recollect  whether  they  were  300  or 
400  or  500  feet  deep. 

Q.  It  was  178  feet,  as  stated  by  Mr.  Kequa  in  his  report 
to  you  ? 

A.  Well,  I  don't  recollect  the  precise  number.  I  can't 
carry  all  the  figures  in  my  mind. 

Q.  Could  the  Sutro  tunnel  be  of  any  benefit  to  that 
mine,  so  far  as  there  is  any  ore  in  sight;  so  far  as  you 
could  see  any  ore? 

A.  It  would  be  cheaper  to  raise  the  ore  there 'to  the 
surface  than  to  pass  it  through  the  tunnel,  if  the  reduction 
works  could  be  made  equally  valuable  with  the  reduction 
works  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel. 

Q.  I  am  talking  about  the  mining  and  the  drainage  ? 

A.  The  mining  could  be  accomplished  as  ..cheaply  by 
elevating  the  ore  from  that  depth  as  it  could  if  it  were 
dumped  into  the  tunnel,  and  carried  out  to  its  mouth. 

Q.  How  would  you  lower  the  ore  from  the  Sierra  Ne- 
vada or  the  Chollar  Potosi,  from  the  points  where  it  is 
found  in  those  mines,  to  the  level  of  the  tunnel,  taking  into 
consideration  the  dips  of  the  west  wall  of  the  vein? 

A.  So  far  as  the  Sierra  Nevada  is  concerned,  it  would  be 
preposterous  to  throw  the  ore  from  the  surface  down  into 
the  tunnel.  It  would  require  a  great  deal  of  excavation, 
in  order  to  get  at  the  tunnel,  in  the  first  place.  It  is  a  sur- 
face working.  With  reference  to  the  other  mine,  unless 
ore  is  discovered  in  low  levels,  as  it  may  be  in  the  future, 
it  would  be  of  no  great  utility. 

Q.  Would  it  be  of  any  utility  at  all? 

A.  Mr.  Requa  states,  in  his  report,  that  there  is  enough 
of  ore  in  sight  to  make  it  profitable  for  the  coming  year.  At 
the  rate  of  the  previous  year's  workings,  by  the  close  of  the 
year  the  ore  would  all  be  worked  out  of  the  upper  levels. 

Q.  I  have  not  his  last  report.  Somebody  has  borrowed 
it,  I  think,  from  my  room.  I  believe  there  were  83,000 


238 

• 

tons  worked  the  year  previous  to  the  time  you  were  there. 
The  report  was  made  probably  when  you  were  there  ? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  The  royalty  on  that  would  be  how  much  ? 

A.  Two  dollars  a  ton,  of  course. 

Q.  That  would  be  $166,000,  would  it  not? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  "Would  there  be  any  recompense  to  the  company  for 
that  royalty? 

A.  Well,  there  would  be  none  unless  deeper  diggings 
are  made.  If  they  find  a  bonanza  upon  a  lower  level, 
there  might.  They  confine  themselves  now  comparatively 
to  the  surface.  The  advantages  that  would  accrue  from 
the  tunnel  would  be  to  enable  them  to  examine  their  mine 
with  greater  facility  than  they  can  now,  saving  them  ex- 
tensive drifting,  saving  them  going  down  in  their  different 
shafts,  that  they  sink  for  the  purpose  of  exploring  and 
working  from.  It  would  determine  for  that  mine  whether 
the  ore  exists  at  a  depth  of  nearly  2,000  feet. 

Q.  You  say  it  would  save  extensive  drifting.  Do  you 
know  how  near  the  west  wall  Mr.  Sutro's  contracts  require 
him  to  go  ? 

A.  I  did  know.     I  think  150  feet. 

Q.  It  is  500  feet. 

A.  Well,  you  can  go  any  distance  within  500  feet. 

Mr.  SUTEO.  It  is  optional. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Are  men  in  the  habit  of  doing  more 
than  their  contracts  require  when  working  under  con- 
tracts? 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  Not  as  a  general  rule;  but  there  are  ex- 
ceptional cases. 

Q.  If  Mr.  Sutro  gets  the  same  royalty  by  going  within 
500  feet  of  the  west  wall  as  by  going  nearer,  would  you 
expect  him  to  go  any  nearer  with  his  tunnel  ? 

A.  It  would  cost  no  more. 

Q.  Why  not  ? 

A.  Why  should  it? 

Q.  1  ask  you  the  question.     You  don't  ask  me. 


239 

A.  I  will  explain  here  that  the  only  point  made  in  con- 
nection with  it  is  the  dip  of  the  lode.  The  lateral  tunnel 
running  along  the  ledge  should  be  placed  at  a  sufficient 
distance  to  give  working  operation^  directly  down  upon 
the  lode  at  lower  depths.  It  is  important  that  the  position 
should  he  so  far  from  it  as  to  enable  direct  shafts,  instead 
of  inclines,  to  be  run  for  the  purpose  of  working  favorably 
in  making. investigations  at  lower  depths  than  2,000  feet. 
If  placed  at  150  feet  distant,  it  would  strike  the  lode  at  a 
depth  of  150  feet,  if  the,  angle  of  the  rock  is  45  degrees. 
But  if  farther  removed,  say  at  500  feet,  why  it  would  give 
that  depth  perpendicular;  so  that  it  is  left  optional,  as  I 
understand  it,  with  Mr.  Sutro,  in  running  through  the 
propylite,  to  go  within  500  feet,  or  nearer  to  itj  as  he  finds 
the  most  advantageous. 

Q.  Where  do  you  learn,  Professor,  that  it  is  optional 
with  Mr.  Sutro  whether  he  will  go  500  feet  or  not?  Where 
did  you  get  that  idea  of  150  feet? 

A.  Because  we  talked  the  matter  over  in  the  commis- 
sion, and  made  minutes  in  reference  to  it.  I  may  be  mis- 
taken about  the  150  feet;  but  we  determined  upon  a  point 
intermediate. 

Q.  Did  your  determination  compel  Mr.  Sutro  to  run 
within  150  feet  of  the  west  wall? 

A.  No,  sir.  I  suppose  it  will  be  according  as  he  finds 
it  of  utility.  Men  are  generally  governed  by  their  inter- 
ests, and  they  will  work  undoubtedly  for  their  interests  in 
connection  with  this  matter. 

Q.  How  do  you  say  it  woi/ t  cost  any  more  to  run  within 
150  feet  of  the  west  wall  than  to  run  within  500  feet?  That 
is  a  difference  of  350  feet.  At  the  size  he  is  required  to 
make  his  tunnel,  what  would  it  cost  to  run  it  350  feet? 

A.  It  might  cost  more  to  run  it  in  consequence  of  keep- 
ing upon  the  vein  of  ore.  Otherwise,  if  the  divergence  of 
the  vein  were  toward  the  syenite,  or  to  the  west,  instead 
of  to  the  east  of  the  vein,  he  might  run  it  in  a  direct  line, 
right  upon  the  vein,  still  farther  to  the  north.  In  running 
to  the  south,  this  vein  matter  is  not  entirely  in  a  right  line. 


240 

It  varies  a  little  from  a  right  line.  It  is  a  matter  for  the 
parties  working  to  determine  what  will  be  for  their  inter- 
ests and  the  interests  of  the  miners,  because  both  their  in- 
terests will  become  identical. 

Q.  Have  the  owners  of  the  Comstock  anything  to  say 
about  where  he  shall  run  his  tunnel,  if  he  runs  it  within 
500  feet  of  the  west  wall? 

A.  They  might  object  to  its  running,  if  it  isn't  run  in 
the  vein  matter. 

Q.  Have  they  anything  to  say  about  what  distance  he 
shall  run  it  towards  the  west  wall,  if  he  runs  it  within  500 
feet? 

A.  Not  that  I  am  aware  of. 

Q.  Then  it  is  left  to  Mr.  Sutro  to  say  whether  he  will 
run  it  within  500  feet  or  100. 

A.  To  the  Sutro  Tunnel  Company. 

Q.  You  were  speaking  the  other  night  about  the  use  of 
compressed  air  as  a  motive  power  for  any  machinery  lo- 
cated on  the  level  of  the  Sutro  tunnel  as  a  base  of  ope- 
rations for  a  deeper  working. 

A.  It  was  to  manufacture  compressed  air,  and  use  it 
together  with  the  water  power  furnished  by  the  water 
found  in  the  mines. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  the  regularity  of  the 
water  found?  Is  there  any  regular  supply  in  any  one  of 
the  mines?  ( 

A.  I  think  it  is  very  variable,  and  that  variation  is  due 
in  great  measure  to  the  amount  of  rain  and  snow  that  falls 
in  the  winter.  It  would  be  large  in  one  season  and  small 
in  another. 

Q.  Do  you  not  know,  Professor,  that  the  supply  of  water 
is  more  owing  to  the  tapping  of  reservoirs  of  water  under- 
ground, and  exhausting  these  reservoirs,  than  to  anything 
else? 

A.  I  know  that  when  they  strike  a  clay  seam  it  is  not  a 
very  uncommon  event  to  be  flooded.  I  think  it  com- 
menced in  the  Savage,  and  extended  in  the  drifts  be- 


241 

tween  that  mine  and  the  Hale  and  Norcross  while  we  were 
there,  arid  flooded  both. 

Q.  The  Hale  and  IsTorcross  was  lower  than  the -Savage, 
and  the  water  from  the  Savage  ran  in.  That  was  lower 
when  you  were  there? 

A.  Not  so  that  we  could  enter  the  mines.  It  was  under- 
stood to  be  under  control  while  we  were  there. 

Q.  Do  you  know  how  deep  the  Savage  shaft  was  when 
you  were  there. 

A.  I  do  not. 

Q.  Do  you  know  how  deep  it  is  now  ? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  have  no  means  of  knowing,  because  I 
didn't  visit  the  mines  at  all. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  your  own  information  whether  they 
have  been  sinking  it  since  you  left? 

A.  I  have  information  that  they  have  been  going  down, 
and  have  struck  a  bonanza. 

Q.  Do  you  think  that  the  supply  of  water  from  the  mines 
alone  is  sufficient  to  rely  upon  for  any  motive  power?  Do 
you  think  it  is  sufficiently  regular? 

A.  Not  without  the  formation  of  reservoirs.  They  may 
form  reservoirs  on  the  300-foot  level  to  catch  all  that  comes 
down.  "Where  you  have  a  column  of  water  1,500  or  1,600 
feet  high,  it  requires  a  very  small  amount  of  it  to  move  a 
turbine  wheel. 

Q.  Then  would  you  rely  upon  the  water  in  the  mines  to 
any  considerable  extent  for  power  at  the  mouth  of  the 
tunnel? 

A.  No.  I  think  there  is  enough  water  poured  out  from 
the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  however,  to  do  a  great  deal  to- 
wards concentrating  and  working  the  ores.  There  was  a 
pretty  large  stream  of  water  running  from  the  tunnel  at  the 
time  we  were  there,  but  I  should  judge  not  sufficient  for 
water  power. 

Q.  Did  you  examine  any  of  the  tunnels  that  had  been 
or  were  being  run,  while  you  were  there,  by  the  Virginia 
City  and  Gold  Hill  Water  Company,  to  procure  water  for 
the  Comstock? 
16 


242 

A.  I  was  in  one  tunnel  that  they  had  purchased;  at 
least  the  party  told  me  that  he  had  sold  the  water-right. 

Q.  Do  you.  recollect  the  name  ? 

A.  Whatever  it  is,  it  lies  right  back  of  the  Crown  Point, 
in  the  Crown  Point  ravine. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  ahout  the  regularity  of  the 
flow  of  water  in  those  tunnels  that  have  been  or  are  now 
being  run  by  the  water  company  ? 

Q.  I  should  judge  it  would  vary  very  materially,  for  the 
reason  that  I  assigned  with  reference  to  the  other  matter. 

Q.  You  regard  the  water  found  there  as  surface  water, 
do  you  not? 

A.  The  greater  part  of  it,  with  the  exception  of  that 
which  has  been,  for  we  know  not  how  long,  inclosed  in 
those  pockets  that  we  have  spoken  of.  I  know,  in  descend- 
ing the  shafts  in  some  places,  the  waste  water  dripped  upon 
us;  it  came  down  in  quite  a  stream,  as  we  were  going  down 
the  shafts,  from  the  upper  surface. 

Q.  You  found  no  subterraneous  streams  anywhere  that 
you  visited,  did  you? 

A.  'Not  there. 

Q.  Anywhere  on  the  Com  stock? 

A.  ~No.  The  accumulations  of  water  would  be  in  some 
cases  running,  but  there  were  not  properly  called  subter- 
ranean streams.  They  were  the  results  of  the  excavations 
where  I  saw  running  streams.  I  will  try  to  give  you  the 
name 

Q.  It  isn't  material.  I  just  wanted  to  know  its  location; 
that  is  all.  For  the  purpose  of  compressing  air,  if  there 
was  a  sufficient  supply  of  water  on  the  surface  of  the  Com- 
stockj  with  sufficient  fall,  couldn't  that  be  bettor  utilized 
than  anywhere  else  in  the  Comstock  or  at  the  mouth  of 
the  tunnel  ? 

A.  It  is  to  be  utilized  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  as  I 
•understand  the  proposition.  It  is  to  be  utili,  1  in  the 
mines  for  further  excavations. 

Q.  That  is  one  of  the  propositions? 

A.  The  compressed  air,  as  I  understand  it,  is  carried 


243 

from  month  of  the  tunnellnto  the  mines.   It  is  compressed 
by  water  power. 

Q.  Would  it  not  be  much  cheaper,  having  water  on  the 
surface,  or  at  a  sufficient  elevation  at  the  tops  of  these 
shafts,  to  compress  the  air  by  means  of  that  water  power 
there  and  send  it  down  below,  and  afterwards  use  the  power/ 
for  any  purposes  required? 

A.  That  would  be  pumping  the  water  up.  The  question 
is  one  of  profit  and  loss  in  the  transaction.  The  proba- 
bility is  that  it  would  take  as  much  steam  power  to  raise 
the  water  as  you  would  get  water  power  advantage. 

Q.  Supposing  you  have  water  power,  Professor,  on  the 
Comstock  to  compress  the  air  and  send  it  down  to  the  tun- 
nel level,  would  it  not  be  much  cheaper  than  to  compress 
the  air  by  water  power  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  and 
send  it  in  four  or  five  miles?  Wouldn't  the  loss  be  much 
less? 

A.  There  is  friction  in  the  air  passing  through  tubes ; 
there  would  be  loss  of  power  in  sending  it  in  through  the 
mouth  of  the  tunnel,  yet  the  directness  of  it,  with  the  use 
of  an  abundance  of  water  power,  which  is  the  cheapest  of 
all  power  that  we  are  acquainted  with,  would  render  it  an 
object  to  send  vast  bodies  of  air  through  the  whole  extent 
of  the  mines,  which  is  perfectly  practicable  from  the 
mouth  of  the  tunnel;  and  that  would  be  cheaper  than  to 
manufacture  it  by  steam  power  and  send  it  down  by  the 
shaft. 

Q.  What  did  you  say  that  the  loss  was  at  the  Hoosac 
tunnel  in  a  mile? 

A.  That  I  have  forgotten. 

Q.  I  think  you  stated  about  15  per  cent. 

A.  Almost  15  per  cent,  in  running  a  mile  and  a  half. 

Q.  What  would  be  the  loss,  then,  for  the  length  of  that 
tunnel  ? 

A.  That  would  be  a  matter  of  speculation.  It  would 
depend  upon  the  size  of  the  tube  that  you  send  it  through. 
There  would,  of  course,  be  considerable  increase  over  that 
amount. 


244 

Q.  Wouldn't  it  be  the  same  per  mile? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Why  not? 

A.  In  sending  it  that  distance  the  tube  would  be  very 
much  larger.  The  water  power  would  cost  nothing.  If 
you  take  a  small  tube,  of  course  friction  upon  the  surface 
and  sides  would  be  much  more  than  in  a  large  tube. 

Q.  Then  you  would  improve  upon  the  tube  used  at  the 
Hoosac  tunnel? 

A.  That  tube  was  large  enough.  They  sent  it  from  a 
distance  of  a  mile  and  a  half,  and  were  then  generating  it 
by  steam. 

Q.  I  am  talking  now  about  the  use  of  water  power  alone 
for  compressing  the  air.  What  would  be  the  difference  in 
distance  from  the  top  of  these  shafts  down  to  the  2,000- 
foot  level,  and  from  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  into  each 
mine  on  the  Comstock? 

A.  Well  you  might  make  an  average  of  five  miles.  It 
would  be  about  that. 

Q.  From  that  should  be  deducted,  say  1,600  feet,  the 
average  depth  of  the  different  shafts.  Would  the  percent- 
age of  loss  be  the  same,  in  proportion  to  the  distance  from 
the  mouth  of  the  shaft  down,  as  it  would  from  the  mouth 
of  the  tunnel  in? 

A.  That  is  a  question  that  I  am  not  clear  upon.  If  it 
were  passing  in  horizontally,  it  would  go  with  greater 
facility  than  by  forcing  it  down.  It  seems  the  resistance 
would  be  greater,  and  yet  it  may  be  a  mistake. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Mr.  Sunderland,  will  you  permit  me  to  ask 
one  short  question.  How  are  you  going  to  get  water 
power  at  Virginia  City,  at  the  top  of  the  Comstock? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  will  ask  that  question  myself.  Did 
you  hear  anything,  Professor,  about  a  project  to  bring 
water  in  from  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  moun- 
tains to  Virginia  City  while  you  were  there? 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  Yes,  sir;  it  was  talked  of  by  the  water 
company.  Whether  it  has  been  accomplished  or  not,  I 
don't  know. 


245 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything,  about  the  practicability  of 
that  project?  Did  you  examine  it  to  ascertain? 

A.  No,  I  did  not.  It  didn't  belong  to  our  particular 
province  to  investigate  it. 

Q.  Suppose  that  water  should  be  brought  in  by  the 
water  company  in  an  abundant  supply,  would  it  not  be 
cheaper  then  to  use  that  water  for  compressing  air  and 
sending  it  down  the  shafts  than  to  use  the  water  of  Carson 
river  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  and  send  it  in,  on  account 
of  the  great  difference  in  distance? 

A.  I  should  think  it  would,  if  they  had  an  abundant 
supply  of  water  without  cost. 

Q.  Yes,  sir;  but  I  don't  suppose  you  would  get  the  Car- 
eon  river  without  cost. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  They  sell  water  now  at  Virginia  City  at  §1,000 
an  inch  per  month. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  don't  think  any  body  will  get  the 
water  without  cost. 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  I  am  only  speaking  on  general  principles. 
Water  power  is  generally  cheap. 

Q.  But  the  Carson  river  is  private  property  wherever  it 
has  any  fall,  and  will  not  be  acquired  by  any  body  without 
cost. 

A.  I  think  that  proposition  of  yours  will  hold  good.  I 
think  it  will  cost  a  good  deal. 

Q.  You  mentioned  the  Monte  Christo  mine,  or  the 
Monte  Christo  ledge;  which  is  it? 

A.  The  Monte  Christo  lode, 

Q.  That  is  the  ledge  upon  which  you  suppose  the  Lady 
Bryan  mine  to  be  located? 

A.  Yes,  sir.  The  tunnel  would  be  of  no  service  to  that 
without  a  branch  tunnel  upon  the  lode;  that  is  the  Lady 
Bryan  mine. 

Q.  How  far  would  the  tunnel  be  from  the  Lady  Bryan 
mine  ? 

A.  I  should  judge  a  considerable  distance. 

Q.  Two  miles? 

A.  I  don't  know.     I  have  no  idea  of  it. 


246 

Q.  You  mentioned  the  Lady  Bryan  several  times  the 
other  evening,  Doctor,  and  therefore  I  want  to  make  some 
explanations. 

A.  Only  with  reference  to  the  prohable  yield  upon  the 
lode. 

Q.  That  is  north  of  the  Seven  Mile  canon,  is  it  not? 

A.  I  don't  think 

Q.  That  is,  below  the  Gould  and  Curry  mill? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  that  lode  has  been  traced  south 
of  the  canon  anywhere?  Did  you  find  it  anywhere? 

A.  Let  me  see.  I  think  there  is  another  mine  upon  the 
Monte  Christo,  upon  the  line  of  the  tunnel — the  St.  John 
mine.  I  think  that  is  on  the  Monte  Christo. 

Q.  "Why  do  you  think  that  is  upon  the  Monte  Christo? 

A.  Because  their  croppings  indicate  it. 

Q.  Are  not  the  St.  John  and  the  Occidental  on  the  same 
lode?  Cannot  you  follow  the  crpppings  from  one  to  t]ie 
other?  ' 

A.  I  didn't  trace  the  croppings  through.  It  is  possible 
they  may  be  followed. 

Q.  You  didn't  examine  very  particularly,  then,  to  see 
whether  the  Occidental  and  the  St.  John  are  upon  the  same 
lode  or  not,  did  you  ? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  did  not.  It  was  a  matter  of  secondary 
importance.  We  followed  over  the  track  of  the  tunnel. 
The  Lady  Bryan  lode  is  laid  down  upon  the  map  here  as 
not  being  upon  the  Monte  Christo  lode,  but  upon  the  Great 
Flowery  range;  and  the  St.  John  is  on  the  Monte  Christo. 

Q.  Has  any  connection  ever  been  traced  between  any 
..  mines  north  of  the  canon,  Doctor,  and  those  south  of  it, 
without  naming  them  at  all?  Is  there  any  connection  at 
all  between  them? 

A.  I  can't  say  there  is,  because  it  was  a  matter  that  we 
didn't  feel  in  a  condition  to  investigate  at  the  time. 

Q.  Then  do  you  think,  as  far  as  the  Lady  Bryan  is  con- 
cerned, that  the  Sutro  tunnel  would  be  of  any  benefit  to  it? 

A.  No;  I  should  not  think  it  would  be  of  any  service 


247 

scarcely,  unless  they  discover,  in  crossing  the  track  of  the. 
Great  Flowery  lode,  the  presence  of  rich  rock,  that  might 
pay  for  extending,  as  a  distinct  and  separate  operation,  the 
tunnel  along  the  track  of  the  Great  Flowery,  up  to  the 
Lady  Bryan. 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  amount  of  base  metal  there  is  in 
the  Lady  Bryan  mine? 

A.  I  do  not. 

Q.  Did  you  notice  that  the  metal  is  base  ? 

A.  No,  not  particularly.  I  have  specimens  of  it,  but  I 
haven't  analyzed  them  at  all. 

Q.  The  mining  there  has  generally  been  done  near  the 
surface,  has  it  not  ? 

A.  Oh,  it  is  an  immense  amount  of  quartz.  It  is  on  the 
surface — on  a  mountain  that  rises  up.  They  have  extended 
it  in  places  by  perforating  the  hill.  Whether  it  is  profit- 
able or  not  I  can't  say.  When  we  were  there  they  had 
struck  through  the  great  mass  of  the  rock  into  an  interior 
cavity  that  was  open  to  the  air;  the  excavations  there  were 
very  large,  and  they  had  moved  it  through  a  sort  of  an 
opening  or  tunnel  to  the  outer  side.  It  may  be  called,  if 
you  please,  surface  digging. 

Q.  What  was  your  information  as  to  the  success  that  com- 
pany had  had  in  mining  ? 

A.  Well,  the  company  had  gone  to  the  dogs,  and  had 
passed  into  new  hands,  as  I  understood  it. 

Q.  It  had  been  unsuccessful,  had  it  not? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  so  I  understood.  It  had  passed  into  new 
hands. 

Q.  Yes.  Sorry  for  it.  Well,  now,  Doctor,  we  have  had 
considerable  information  from  you  about  mines  and  mill- 
ing. I  will  ask  you  what  is  the  extent  of  your  experience 
either  in  mining  or  milling  ores  ?  Where  have  you  mined  ? 

A.  I  have  had  considerable  experience  in  placer  mining. 

Q.  I  am  talking  now  about  lodes,  quartz  lodes,  contain- 
ing precious  metals.  Where  have  you  worked  any  mine 
of  that  character,  or  where  have  you  milled  any  ore  of  that 
character? 


248 

A.  I  haven't  worked  in  any  lode  whatever,  either  as  a 
miner  or  as  a  mill-man.  I  have  examined  a  great  many 
mines,  but  never  have  worked  in  them. 

Q.  You  have  never  superintended  the  working  of  a  mine 
or  mill?  I  am  talking  now  about  a  quartz  mine  or  mill. 

A.  E~o,  sir. 

Q.  You  spoke  the  other  evening  about  the  concentra- 
tion of  ore  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  and  said  that  by  that 
means,  with  proper  machinery  and  abundance  of  water, 
the  expenses  of  reducing  ores  would  be  much  less  than  by 
the  present  mode.  I  will  ask  you,  Doctor,  what  machinery 
you  speak  of  when  you  say  "proper  machinery?" 

A.  I  mean  the  machinery  that  they  have  in  operation 
extensively  in  Europe,  especially  on  the  southwest  end  of 
England,  where  they  are  digging  a  good  deal  of  ore,  and 
the  machinery  that  they  have  in  Germany,  where  they 
work  ore  that  is  represented  as  yielding,  by  assay,  from 
$7  to  $10  a  ton  at  a  profit,  or  even  less. 

Q.  What  machinery  is  necessary  to  concentrate  ores? 

A.  It  should  be  of  different  kinds,  of  an  automatic  char- 
acter, so  as  not  to  require  the  use  of  hands.  The  saving  in 
the  question  of  labor  is  one  important  item. 

Q.  Just  explain  to  the  committee  what  kind  of  machin- 
ery you  mean,  and  what  is  the  process?  You  say  it  is  of 
various  kinds;  commence  with  the  first,  then,  if  you  please. 

A.  It  is  hardly  worth  while,  sir,  to  give  all  the  different 
modes  that  are  proposed.  In  Europe  they  have  it  systema- 
tized in  such  a  manner  that  the  ore  passes  through  a  regu- 
lar series  of  operations,  so  that  what  one  part  of  the  ma- 
chine loses  another  saves.  I  have  witnessed  the  process  in 
the  zinc  mines  of  the  East.  One  of  the  machines  that  they 
use  in  Germany  is  so  arranged  that  a  constant  stream  of 
water  passes  in  from  below  upward,  keeps  the  matter  agi- 
tated, and  throws  the  lighter  substances  out.  A  succession 
of  these  machines  is  required  for  working  the  precious 
metals.  Then  there  are  turn-tables,  by  which  is  maintained 
a  circular  movement,  to  stir  the  metal  particles ;  a  small 
amount  of  water  pouring  upon  them  to  wash  away  the  un- 


249 

productive  portions.  There  are  various  concave  and  con- 
vex pans  of  this  description.  We  should  use  all  the  im- 
proved appliances  in  connection  with  this  system. 

Q.  That  is  just  what  I  want  to  know.  I  want  to  know 
what  those  appliances  are,  because  we  on  the  Comstock 
are  anxious  to  find  out  how  we  can  save  the  metal? 

A.  You  will  require  more  than  you  have  at  any  of  your 
mills  to  accomplish  that  purpose  at  the  present  time,  I  sup- 
pose. Their  works  in  Europe  cover,  in  some  portions,  a 
large  extent  of  surface;  they  have  very  gradual  descents, 
that  I  don't  know  of  any  of  your  mills  possessing, that  are 
located  in  the  ravines.  You  don't  get  the  fall  which  is 
necessary,  in  order  to  have  an  automatic  process  of  work- 
ing- 

Q.  I  believe  you  say,  in  your  report,  (page  12,)  that,  in 
all  the  mines  you  have  visited,  you  haven't  found  any 
means  for  concentration  used  that  are  applicable  to  the 
concentration  of  the  ores  on  the  Comstock? 

A.  I  started  with  the  commissioners  to  investigate  the 
matter  of  the  reduction  of  zinc,  the  concentration  of  the 
ores.  They  have  their  concentrators  at  a  place  in  New 
Jersey  called  Franklin,  where  these  mines  exist.  We  saw 
the  different  operations  carried  on  there,  not  with  any  de- 
gree of  nicety,  for  the  simple  reason  that  the  ore  was  scarce- 
ly worth  the  trouble.  I  am  acquainted  with  the  party  who 
put  the  machines  up.  He  was  a  mining  engineer,  and  has 
worked  many  years  in  the  mines  of  Germany.  He  said 
that  for  gold  and  silver  he  could  bring  his  machines  down 
so  as  to  work  them  closely.  In  zinc  there  is  quite  a  loss 
of  the  material  by  the  process;  but  if  they  were  to  go  to 
working  it  finer,  they  couldn't  work  so  rapidly. 

Q.  Well,  do  you  still  uphold  your  report,  when  it  is  said 
in  it  that  you  haven't  seen  any  machines  at  the  mines  that 
you  visited  that  are  applicable  to  the  concentration  of  the 
ores  on  the  Comstock?  Is  that  so,  or  not? 

A.  The  machinery  that  we  saw  is  not  apblicable,  ex- 
cepting with  this  improvement.  With  this  improvement, 


250 

I  believe,  it  would  be  applicable  to  the  mines  on  tlie  Corn- 
stock. 

Q.  Have  you  ever  seen  gold  or  silver,  or  gold  and  silver 
ores  concentrated  anywhere  ? 

A.  I  have  seen  them  on  the  Comstock  lode.  There  they 
are  at  work  all  the  time  concentrating. 

Q.  By  the  machinery  that  you  speak  of? 

A.  By  the  machinery  you  have  there.  It  is  a  sort  of  a 
concentration. 

Q.  But  it  is  not  the  improved  machinery  of  which  you 
speak  ? 

A.  No,  sir.     I  didn't  see  any  of  that  there. 

Q.  Your  recommendation  in  the  report,  Doctor,  I  be- 
lieve, is  upon  the  supposition  that  the  ore  will  be  taken 
from  the  Comstock  through  the  tunnel  and  reduced  at  its 
mouth? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  Otherwise,  it  would  be  of  no  considerable  benefit  to 
the  Comstock? 

A.  At  the  present  time  I  think  the  tunnel  would  be  an 
entire  failure,  to  just  take  the  ore  and  dump  it  at  the  mouth 
of  the  tunnel.  I  believe  it  would  be  more  difficult,  really, 
to  take  the  ores  from  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  and  deliver 
them  at  the  mills,  especially  in  the  canons,  carting  them 
up  hill,  etc.,  than  to  hoist  through  the  shafts  as  at  present. 
That  is  the  conclusion  that  we  arrived  at  unanimously. 
But  the  circumstances  are  entirely  changed  when  you  have 
your  reduction-works  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel. 

Q.  Now,  what  do  you  know  of  the  practicability  of  the, 
Sutro  Tunnel  Company,  or  anybody  else,  getting  control 
of  the  waters  of  the  Carson  river,  so  as  to  erect  reduction 
works  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel. 

A.  I  don't  know  anything  about  it  particularly,  except 
that  men  generally  act  from  interested  motives,  and  if  they 
can  get  a  very  much  larger  percentage  of  their  ore  saved 
to  them,  and  superior  accommodations  to  anything  they 
now  have,  I  suppose  they' would  be  willing  to  make  an 
.exchange  of  their  positions  on  the  Carson  river  for  posi- 


251 

tions  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel.  It  is  merely  supposi- 
tion, reasoning  upon  the  principle  laid  down  in  human 
nature. 

Q.  Do  you  know  that  all  the  water  power  on  the  Carson 
river  above  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  is  now  taken  up  ? 

A.  "Well,  I  know  that  a  considerable  amount  of  it  is, 
but  how  much  I  cannot  say.  I  don't  think  the  whole,  by 
any  means. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  any  considerable  fall  in  the  river 
there  sufficient  for  a  water  power  that  is  not  now  occu- 
pied? 

A.  "Well,  I  cannot  say  that  there  is  any.  It  would  re- 
quire a  lengthy  survey  of  the  whole  extent  of  it. 

Q.  Is  it  not  cheaper  to  utilize  that  power  on  the  river, 
by  a  succession  of  dams,  than  it  would  be  by  building  one 
large  dam,  and  take  all  the  water  out  at  one  place? 

A.  It  is  much  cheaper  to  build  small  darns  than  large 
ones.  That  we  understand,  if  that  is  what  you  mean. 

Q.  Is  it  not  much  cheaper  to  use  the  water  power  by 
a  succession  of  dams  than  to  build  one  immense  dam? 

A.  Well,  if  you  get  the  same  amount  of  fall,  one  is  as 
good  as  the  other. 

Q.  I  am  not  talking  about  how  good  they  are.  I  am 
talking  about  the  cost. 

A.  It  depends  upon  how  many  dams  you  construct. 
It's  an  open  question.  There  are  no  elements  of  computa- 
tion. 

Q.  You  think  not? 

A.  I  don't  see  that  there  are  any.  A  hundred  small 
dams  may  cost  more  than  one  large  dam. 

Q.  You  speak  of  building  a  dam  here  that  will  form  a 
reservoir,  and  dam  up  the  water.  I  believe  the^e  are  eleven 
miles  in  the  distance;  that  is  my  recollection. 

A.  Up  to  the  Mexican  mills. 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  property  that  will  overflow  and 
destroy? 

A.  I  don't  know  of  any  very  valuable  property  on  the 
route. 


252 

Q.  Are  those  mills  that  yon  destroy  of  any  considerable 
value  ? 

A.  The  mills  that  yon  take  the  water  power  from  are 
some  of  them  of  considerable  value. 

Q.  Don't  you  take  the  water  power  from  all  the  mills  on 
the  Carson  river? 

A.  No,  sir;  you  don't  disturb  the  Mexican  mill.  That 
is  one  of  the  most  important. 

Q.  Did  you  visit  the  Eureka  mill,  that  was  in  process  of 
construction  while  you  were  there? 

A.  No;  I  think  it  was  just  commenced. 

Q.  Do  you  know  the  estimated  cost  of  that  mill? 

A.  No. 

Q.  You  were  not  told  ? 

A.  No;  I  was  told  they  were  putting  up  a  fine  mill. 

Q.  You  don't  know  its  capacity? 

A.  I  don't  know  its  capacity. 

Q.  Did  you  visit  the  Brunswick  mills? 

A.  I  think  I  did.  I  think  we  visited  the  Brunswick, 
and  it  Was  a  very  pretty  mill,  too. 

Q.  The  Brunswick  was  being  reconstructed  while  you 
were  there.  It  was  the  second  below  the  Mexican  mill. 

A.  I  think  we  were  taken  there,  but  I  won't  be  positive. 

Q.  The  dam  was  raised  and  the  capacity  of  the  mill 
doubled.  It  was  in  process  of  reconstruction  while  you 
were  there.  It  was  not  completed. 

A.  I  think  we  were  there. 

Q.  It  is  on  the  line  of  the  railroad.  You  run  between 
the  mill  and  the  river  ? 

A.  "We  probably  stopped  there.  "We  had  a  special  train 
to  go  in.  We  stopped,  I  think,  at  the  Brunswick  mill. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  any  other  property  beside  the  mills 
that  you  destroy?  You  destroy  all  the  mill  power  below 
the  Franklin  dam;  you  take  all  the  power  away  from  the 
other  mills? 

A.  Certainly. 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  other  mills  are  below? 


253 

A.  No.  General  Foster  took  a  memorandum  of  them. 
I  did  not. 

Q.  He  says  he  turned  it  over  to  the  commission.  He 
suffered  it  to  be  in  the  hands  of  General  Wright.  I  asked 
him  a  good  many  of  these  questions,  and  he  made  that  an- 
swer. Do  you  know  anything  about  the  feasibility  of  form- 
ing reservoirs  in  the  mountains,  by  means  of  small  dams  at 
favorable  places,  where  the  water  may  be  preserved  until 
it  gets  low  in  the  river  ? 

A.  I  haven't  been  in  the  mountains  sufficient  to  deter- 
mine that  matter,  but  generally  where  there  are  deep  ra- 
vines and  small  streams  of  water  these  reservoirs  can  be 
formed.  It's  a  matter  I  didn't  investigate. 

Q.  Would  you  think  it  probable  that  the  water  could  be 
as  well  preserved  in  the  dry  season  that  way  as  by  build- 
ing this  immense  dam  that  you  speak  of? 

A.  Well,  if  you  furnish  the  power  at  the  mouth  of  the 
tunnel  you  attain  the  same  result  that  you  do  by  building 
one  big  dam.  I  don't  think  you  would  have  water  enough 
in  the  ravines  that  are  there  to  effect  the  object. 

Q.  The  ravines  form  the  river,  don't  they? 

A.  Yes.  You  would  have  to  conduct  the  water  in  your 
sluices  from  a  great  distance. 

Q.  Why  sluices?  Why  not  let  the  water  run  down  the 
channel  it  runs  in  now  ? 

A.  Reservoirs  may  be  formed  to  a  limited  extent  in  the 
way  you  say,  undoubtedly. 

Q.  Suppose  dams  were  erected  at  favorable  locations  in 
the  mountains,  and  the  water  retained  there  in  reservoirs 
until  the  dry  season,  wouldn't  they  furnish  water  for  the 
running  of  the  present  mills  in  as  great  abundance  as  it 
would  be  furnished  by  the  reservoirs  contemplated  in  this 
large  dam  ? 

Q.  If  you  could  secure  all  the  water  advantages,  there  is 
no  doubt  about  that — if  you  would  save  it  and  give  no  more 
surface  for  evaporation. 

Q.  Do  you  suppose  this  dam  would  save  all  the  water 
which  runs  down  the  Carson  during  the  wet  season  ? 


254 

A.  !N"o,  sir;  I  hardly  think  it  would.  It  would  save  a 
vast  amount,  but  not  all  of  it.  It  becomes  a  turbulent 
stream  sometimes. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  What  is  the  fall  per  mile? 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  "Well,  it  varies. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  think,  according  to  the  statement 
of  Mr.  Day,  it  is  about  250  feet  in  15  miles,  by  the  mean- 
dering of  the  river.  It  isn't  that  distance  (15  miles)  in  a 
straight  line.  I  don't  now  remember  myself.  I  suppose 
Mr.  Day's  statement  is  correct.  At  any  rate,  I  don't  care 
about  disputing  it.  Do  you  not  know,  Doctor,  that  Empire 
City  would  be  destroyed  by  the  erection  of  this  dam  to  the 
height  contemplated? 

Mr.  E~EWCOMB.  It  would  depend  upon  the  height  of  the 
dam. 

Q.  You  have  given  the  height  of  the  dam  here. 

A.  I  think  it  would  flood  the  city,  but  my  remembrance 
of  that  place  is,  that  the  loss  couldn't  be  very  great  if  the 
whole  of  it  were  submerged.  The  most  of  it  is  the  mill 
and  a  few  houses.  » 

Q.  I  don't  know  how  valuable  it  may  be  to  the  Sutro 
Tunnel  Company.  I  know  it  is  very  valuable  when  a  rail- 
road runs  through  it.  I  have  had  some  experience  in  that. 
There  are  two  or  three  hundred  inhabitants  there,  are 
there  not? 

A.  There  are  200  or  300,  I  suppose,  working  in  the 
mills.  % 

Q.  Living  in  the  town? 

A.  Living  in  the  town,  on  the  hill-sides,  in  the  valley; 
yes,  I  should  think  there  were  fully  that  number. 

Q.  You  stated  the  other  evening  that  there  was  no  room 
in  the  ravines,  where  these  steam  mills  are  located,  for  the 
placing  of  this  machinery  for  concentrating.  Do  you  mean 
to  extend  that  assertion  to  the  Carson  river? 

A.'  The  mills  on  the  Carson? 

Q.  Yes,  sir;  with  their  locations? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  have  stated  very  particularly  that  they 
could  use  it  as  far  as  their  fall  went,  and  just  in  the  same 


255 

manner.  The  fall  is  scarcely  sufficient  to  accomplish  the 
object,  as  I  understand  it. 

Q.  What  fall  is  necessary  for  the  successful  working  of 
ore  by  this  process  of  concentration  ? 

A.  "Well,  it  would  require  a  hundred  acres$  at  least,  to 
make  a  commencement. 

Q.  A  hundred  acres? 

A.  I  should  judge  so,  for  working  the  ores  of  the  lode. 
It  would  not  be  a  small  amount. 

Q.  Suppose  you  worked  a  twentieth  part  of  the  ore  at 
one  place,  how  large  a  fall  would  you  require  there?  How 
much  fall  for  concentrating  the  ores,  more  or  less? 

A.  Well,  all  that  you,  can  get  would  be  desirable,  with  a 
graduated  current.  Too  rapid  a  current  or  fall  is  not  de- 
sirable, but  a  gradual  fall  is  a  very  important  item  for  work- 
ing here. 

Q.  Ain't  the  fall  along  the  river  where  the  mills  are  now 
located  just  as  great  as  the  fall  would  be  if  the  water  were 
taken  out  under  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel? 

A.  Yes;  the  united  fall  would  be  just  as  great,  I  sup- 
pose. 

Q.  What  is  the  formation  on  each  side  of  the  river,  at 
the  point  where  it  is  proposed  to  build  this  dam? 

A.  I  think  it  is  trachyte  rock,  isn't  it,xMr.  Sutro? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Yes,  I  believe  it  is. 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  I  won't  state  it  as  a  positive  thing. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  expect  that's  right;  I  don't  know. 
You  stated  the  other  evening  that  ore  ought  to  be  worked 
up  to  within  ten  per  cent,  of  its  assay  value  ? 

A.  I  think  it  is  possible. 

Q.  I  believe  you  stated  here,  Professor,  on  page  20  of 
the  commissioners'  report,  that 

"  In  the  report  of  the  Savage  mine  of  this  year  we  find  that  the  loss  in  work- 


ings in  the  Occidental  mill,  under  the  direct  control  of  the  Savage  company, 
and  includes  all  savings  from  slime  and  tailings  secured  to  the  company.  In  the 
Customs  mills  the  report  shows  a  less  favorable  result  on  the  silver  product, 
as  follows:  Gold  loss,  23^;  silver  loss,  44  per  cent." 


256 

Where  did  you  get  that  information  from  ? 

A.  From  the  report  of  the  superintendent,  sir. 

Q.  I  just  want  to  show  you  that  report  now,  and  see 
whether  you  are  not  mistaken.  This  is  the  report  of  the 
Savage  company  for  1871,  page  14.  After  giving  the  assay 
value  of  the  ore  by  wagon  samples,  and  the  average  yield 
of  the  ore  reduced,  the  per  cent,  of  the  assay  value,  the  re- 
port says : 

"  The  percentage  returned  of  gold  and  silver  contained  in  oro  is,  gold,  75 
per  cent. ;  silver,  61T97  per  cent.' 

Just  look  it  over.     I  want  your  authority  for  it. 

A.  The  saving  of  the  silver  is  given  at  56  per  cent. ;  gold, 
76  i9^  per  cent. 

Q.  The  average  is  61TV 

A.  The  proportion  of  gold  is  greater  than  the  proportion 
of  silver  in  the  reduction  works.  That  is  the  percentage. 
The  ohject  of  that  was  simply  to  show  that  there  was  more 
gold  saved  than  there  was  of  silver  in  proportion.  Then 
it  explains  why  it  is  so. 

Q.  Will  you  mention,  as  testimony,  then,  what  months 
that  is  for?  Just  look  at  that  table  and  mention  the 
months. 

A.  September,  October,  November,  December,  January, 
and  June.  That  is  under  the  head  of  "  detailed  statement 
of  expenses,  etc.,  of  the  year  ending  June  30,  1871." 
Whether  that  was  the  entire  result,  or  whether  it  was  the 
result  only  of  those  months,  I  can't  say. 

Q.  That  yield  is  given  at  61^  on  an  average  ?  Is  that 
right  ? 

A.  I  think  that  is  correct,  sir.  I  would  state  that  the 
mill  is  required  by  contract  to  return  (as  I  was  informed 
by  the  miller)  nearly  65  per  cent,  of  the  assay  value  of  the 
ore;  that  is,  taking  the  gold  and  silver. 

Q.  I  havn't  time  now  to  look  for  the  large  amount  of 
money  paid  for  reclamation.  I  propose  to  read,  Doctor, 
from  Mr.  King's  report,  page  241 : 

"  The  following  statements,  taken  from  the  annual  reports  of  the  Savage 
Mining  Company  for  the  years  ending  July  1,  1868,  and  July  1,  1869,  exhib- 
iting some  of  the  results  of  milling  operations :  The  tables  show  the  assay 


257 

value  of  tho  ore,  both  by  the  wagon  samples  and  mill  samples  ;  the  yield  of 
the  ore  and  the  relation  of  yield  to  assay  value ;  the  proportion  of  gold  and 
silver,  both  in  the  ore  and  m  the  bullion,  and,  finally,  the  total  product  in 
bullion  of  tho  quantity  treated.  The  operations  of  each  month  are  shown  in 
the  statements,  but  the  figures  of  the  tables  for  any  single  month  represent 
the  average  result  obtained  during  that  month,  not  from  one,  but  from  all 
mills  employed  by  the  company  in  the  reduction  of  its  third-class  ore.  The 
second-class  ore,  treated  in  the 'last  half  of  1867,  of  which  the  results  are  also 
given,  was  all  worked  in  one  mill.  It  should  be  observed,  concerning  the 
comparatively  lower  percentage  of  value  obtained  from  the  second-class  ore, 
as  shown  in  the  table,  that,  being  richer,  it  resembles  more  in  character  the 
first-class  ore,  referred  to  in  the  commencement  of  this  chapter,  in  which  the 
precious  metals  are  combined  with  zinc,  lead,  copper,  antimony,  <fec.,  render- 
ing the  extraction  of  the  gold  and  silver  more  difficult,  and  unfitting  it  for 
profitable  treatment  by  the  pan  process." 

Did  you  notice  any  of  the  base  metals  mentioned  here  in 
any  of  the  ores  there? 

A.  I  did  in  some  of  them.  I  saw  the  ore  that  was  de- 
livered to  the  mill  from  the  Savage  company.  I  didn't  see 
any  in  place. 

Q.  Will  you  state  whether  it  is  more  expensive  to  reduce 
ores  with  any  of  the  base  metals  mentioned  here  than  it  is 
free  ore? 

A.  It  depends  upon  the  quantity  of  base  metal.  If  there 
is  a  small  quantity  contained  in  it,  it  lessens  the  value. 

Q.  Well,  suppose  you  have  any  considerable  quantity  of 
either  lead,  zinc,  or  antimony,  can  you  reduce  the  ore  by 
what  is  called  the  pan  process  without  roasting? 

A.  iTot  well. 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether,  in  roasting  ores  containing 
from  J  to  \  in  value  of  gold,  there  is  much  greater  loss  of 
the  gold  than  there  is  in  the  ordinary  pan  process  ? 

A.  On  that  point  I  cannot  give  you  a  satisfactory  answer. 
I  don't  believe,  if  they  secured  all  the  gold,  that  there  is  a 
loss  of  any  at  all  by  the  action  of  heat. 

Q.  If  they  secure  it  all.     But  suppose  they  don't  ? 

A.  Well,  if  it  is  done  carelessly,  they  won't.  If  well 
done,  they  ought  to  secure  the  whole. 

Q.  By  what  means  can  you  save  all  the  gold  in  any  ore 
after  roasting? 

A.  I  see  no  reason  why  you  shouldn't  save  it  all. 

Q.  Well,  I  want  to  know  by  what  means  you  can  secure 
all  gold  in  roasting  the  ore? 
17 


258 

A.  I  know  of  no  reason  why  you  should  not,  with  your 
mercury,  succeed  in  reducing  equally  well,  after  roasting, 
crushed  rock. 

Q.  The  loss  is  not  in  the  amalgamation,  but  in  the  roast- 
ing. 

A.  What  becomes  of  it? 

Q.  That  is  what  I  ask  you. 

A.  Is  it  driven  off? 

Q.  Yes,  sir. 

A.  By  heat? 

Q.  Yes,  sir. 

A.  I  don't  believe  a  word  of  it.  Gold  has  been  kept 
melted  for  months  in  small  particles  without  the  loss  of  a 
single  atom,  and  why  there  should  be  any  evaporation  here 
is  a  matter  that  I  cannot  account  for. 

Q.  Then,  your  answer  is  that  you  don't  believe  there  is 
any  loss  of  gold  in  the  roasting  process? 

A.  I  don't  believe  there  is  any  loss  from  evaporation,  or 
from  being  forced  off  by  heat.  There  are  a  great  many 
different  opinions  upon  that  subject. 

Q.  Well,  I  know  from  the  reports,  that  the  percentage  of 
saving  of  gold  in  the  ordinary  process  is  much  greater 
than  the  saving  of  the  silver.  I  know  that  in  the  process 
called  the  Freiberg,  roasting  in  reverbatory  furnaces,  and 
also  in  the  perpendicular  furnace,  the  loss  in  gold  is  twice 
and  three  times  what  it  is  in  the  ordinary  pan  process. 

A.  It  may  be  from  some  imperfection  in  the  reduction, 
but  as  for  driving  off  the  gold  with  simple  heat,  almost 
every  other  substance  will  be  driven  off  and  leave  that' 
behind.  I  will  state  that  you  may  melt  that  gold  a  thou- 
sand times  without  the  loss  of  a  particle  of  it. 

Q.  Is  there   no  loss  at  the  mints  of  the  United  States  ? 

A.  There  is  a  percentage  of  loss,  but  not  on  account  of 
evaporation.  It  is  from  handling.  There  is  necessarily 
some  of  the  gold  sticking  to  the  workmen's  clothes,  so  that 
they  take  and  burn  them,  and  get  back  the  metal  in  that 
way. 

Q.  How  does  that  escape,  if  not  in  the  melting? 


259 

A.  It  is  in  the  process  of  handling.  Fine  particles  of 
gold  are  worn  off. 

Q.  Isn't  gold  found  in  the  chimneys,  or  stacks,  of  all 
mints,  and  sometimes  upon  the  roofs? 

A.  "Well,  it  is  in  proof  that  that  is  the  fact,  but  my  opin- 
ion is  that  the  gold  went  into  a  large  vineyard,  instead  of 
in  the  chimneys,  in  stacks,  and  on  the  tops  of  houses. 

Q.  I  read  now  from  page  245  of  the  same  work: 

"The  impression  generally  existing  that  only  65  per  cent,  of  the  value  is 
obtained  by  the  pan  process,  and  that  35  per  cent,  is  lost,  is  erroneous;  for 
the  return  of  65  per  cent,  is  based  on  the  result  in  treating  the  ore  in  the 
pan,  and  collecting  the  amalgam  in  the  settler ;  in  some  mills  the  additional 
product  of  the  agitator  is  returned  with  that  of  the  pan  and  settler,  while  in 
other  mills  this  is  not  done,  especially  if  the  required  standard  of  65  per 
cent,  has  been  already  reached  by  pan  and  settle  without  further  addition. 
Moreover,  the  return  of  65  per  cent,  includes  nothing  of  what  is,  or  may  be, 
obtained  from  the  subsequent  treatment  of  slimes  and  tailings;  and,  further- 
more, it  is  to  be  considered  that  the  ore,  as  charged  to  the  account  of  the  mill, 
contains  an  average  of  six  or  seven  per  cent,  of  moisture,  for  which,  in  the 
return,  no  allowance  is  made;  the  sample  for  assay,  by  which  the  return  is 
made,  being  previously  dried,  65  per  cent,  of  the  dry  sample  is  really  equiva- 
lent to  69  or  70  per  cent,  of  the  wet  rock.  This  may  be  illustrated  by  the 
following  data  concerning  the  operations  of  the  Savage  mills  during  the  six 
months  ending  December  31,  1867." 

A.  Let  me  ask  you  one  question  in  connection  with 
that:  In  taking  the  samples  for  assa}7,  is  the  moisture  re- 
tained, or  does  it  go  in  as  an  element  of  computation  when 
the  assay  is  made  ? 

Q.  The  ore  that  is  sent  to  the  mill  is  weighed  with  the 
moisture  in  it. 

A.  If  the  samples  are  taken  moist  to  be  assayed,  carried 
to  the  mills  so,  and  worked  in  connection  therewith,  I  can- 
not see  any  reason  for  the  introduction  of  an  element  of 
that  kind. 

Q.  Very  well,  I  will  ask  you  about  that  indirectly.  This 
is  what  Mr.  King  says : 

"During  that  time  5,830  tons  were  worked.  The  average  value  of  this  ore 
was  $318,639  80  per  mill  samples,  and  $324,206  72  per  wagon  samples;  or 
$54  51  per  ton  by  mill  sample,  and  $55  61  per.  ton  by  wagon  sample.  The 
total  of  it  obtained  was  $220,785  17,  equal  to  69^  per  cent,  by  mill  samples, 
and  68^  per  cent,  by  wagon  samples." 

Mr.  SHOBER.  What  is  meant  thereby  "wagon  samples?" 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  "When  a  wagon  is  ready,  a  man  at  the 

mines,  employed  for  that  purpose,  if  the  ore  is  fine,  has  a 


260 

trier,  such  as  you  try  lard  with,  and  runs  it  in  the  wagon 
and  takes  it  out.  It  is  taken  as  a  sample  for  the  assay.  The 
mill  samples  are  always  lower  than  the  wagon  samples,  for 
the  reason  that  no  man  taking  samples  for  assay  in  a  mine 
can  select  ore  that  is  as  low  as  the  lower  average.  I  never 
saw  the  man  that  could  do  it.  I  ne%er  could. 

"This  yield  was  obtained  by  the  ordinary  operation  of  crushing,  amalga- 
mating in  the  pan,  and  collecting  the  amalgam  in  the  settler ;  this  much  consti- 
tuting the  process  to  which  all  ore  is  submitted  in  all  mills.  It  will  be  ob- 
served that  the  required  standard  of  65  per  cent,  was  already  exceeded  by 
this  alone,  without  including  the  product  of  the  tailings,  or  allowing  any- 
thing for  moisture.  During  the  six  months  to  which  these  figures  relate,  the 
product  in  bullion  from  the  tailings  was  $12,730  71 ;  and  if  this  be  added  to 
the  yield  of  the  ore  originally  obtained  by  the  first  operation,  we  have  a 
total  product  of  $233,015  88,  equal  to  71.87  per  cent,  instead  of  68.1  per 
cent.,  by  wagon  samples;  or  72.12  per  cent,  instead  of  69.2  per  cent,  by  mill 
samples.  If,  in  addition  to  this,  we  now  allow  for  7  per  cent,  of  moisture  on 
the  ore,  not  taken  into  account  in  the  assay  sample  to  which  the  foregoing 
percentages  are  referred,  we  have  an  actual  return  of  77.27  per  cent,  by 
wagon  samples,  and  78.62  per  cent,  by  mill  samples. 

"Finally,  it  is  to  be  observed  that  the  product  from  the  tailings  above 
given  is  not  all  that  is  obtained  from  that  source.  The  amount  here  stated 
comes  chiefly  from  the  agitator.  The  stream  of  tailings  passing  from  the  set- 
tler, in  which  the  bulk  of  amalgam  is  collected,  enters  the  agitator,  where 
much  of  the  amalgam  and  quicksilver  that  has  escaped  the  settler  has  further 
opportunity  to  deposit  itself.  At  intervals  of  four  or  five  days  this  vessel  is 
emptied,  and  the  accumulations  are  reworked  in  an  ordinary  pan,  yielding 
$18  or  $20  a  ton.  The  yield  thus  obtained  is  nearly  $2,000  per  month,  and 
forms  nearly,  if  not  quite,  all  the  product  represented  in  the  foregoing  state- 
ment. After  leaving  the  agitator  the  stream  passes  on,  the  tailings  still  car- 
rying enough  value  to  make  them  worth  further  treatment;  for  which  pur- 
pose they  are,  in  fact,  sold  by  the  mill  to  second  parties,  who  do  a  profitable 
business  in  working  them  again ;  but  this  last  product  is  not  included  in  the 
figures  already  given.  The  yield  obtained  by  this  final  working  of  tailings  is 
not  definitely  known  to  the  writer,  but  is  generally  stated  at  about  $5  50  per 
ton,  which  would  add  about  ten  per  cent,  more  to  the  results  of  the  process  in 
the  mill,  as  already  shown.  Some  mills  claim  to  have,  obtained  more  than  80 
per  cent.,  and  even  88  per  cent.,  of  the  assay  value  of  the  ore  by  the  ordinary 
methods,  without  including  the  product  of  the  tailings  or  allowing  anything 
for  moisture." 

A.  The  item  of  moisture  is  contained  in  the  working 
ore  as  well  as  the  assay  ore.  Why  he  should  bring  it  in 
as  an  element,  I  don't  understand.  It  is  weighed  in  the* 
assay  room. 

Q.  What  is  weighed  ? 

A.  The  amount  of  ore  that  is  taken  for  assay.  And  it 
contains  the  same  amount  of  moisture  as  that  in  the  wagon. 

Q.  Does  a  small  quantity  of  ore,  Doctor,  thrown  into  a 
box,  as  you  saw  it  there,  exposed  to  the.  air,  retain  the 


261 

moisture  as  it  does  in  a  loaded  wagon,  or  a  large  dump, 
where  several  hundred  tons  may  be  together  at  the  same 
time? 

A.  The  repeated  handling  of  it  in  wagons  gives  it  an  op- 
portunity to  dry. 

Q.  What  do  you  say  as  to  the  accuracy  of  Mr.  King's 
report  here? 

A.  Part  of  it  I  agree  with. 

Q.  With  what  parts,  and  with  what  parts  do  you  dis- 
agree ? 

A.  Some  portions  of  it  I  don't  quite  agree  with :  say 
where  he  designates  the  Cornstock  as  a  gash  vein. 

Q.  I  am  speaking  of  that  portion  which  I  have  read.  I 
don't  dispute  your  proposition  that  the  Comstock  is  a  fissure 
vein  at  all ;  I  never  did  dispute  it.  I  always  believed  it. 

A.  Well,  as  far  as  that  is  concerned,  I  cannot  say.  He 
has  gone  into  a  computation  there  that  may  be  correct  or 
not.  I  will  not  pretend  but  what  it  is  correct. 

Q.  Do  you  know  where  Winfield  mill  is  situated? 

A.  !N"o ;  I  don't  recollect. 

Q.  It  is  north  of  Virginia,  in  a  .cation ;  there  are  three 
mills  close  together.  It  is  called  Seven  Mile  canon.  Now^ 
I  will  ask  you  if  below  that  and  above  the  mouth  of  the 
canon  there  are  not  dams  to  save  all  the  tailings  that  have 
not  been  previously  concentrated  ? 

A.  There  are  a  great  many  places"  where  the  tailings 
are  caught  for  the  mills.  There  are  mills  especially  for 
working  the  tailings,  and  in  some  cases  they  are  quite  suc- 
cessful. These  tailings  are  worked  over  and  over  again  in 
some  cases,  and  with  about  the  same  result  each  time,  or 
until  they  get  clear  down  on  to  Carson  valley,  and  there  they 
get  it  again.  I  saw  immense  bodies  of  tailings  down  the 
valley  and  near  the  river,  and  there  they  are  being  worked 
again.  If  you  take  the  tailings  from  that  by  assay,  you 
get  a  large  amount  of  ore. 

Q.  Are  not  the  appliances  there  now,  Doctor,  down  that 
canon  and  about  the  Carson  river,  for  the  saving  of  tailings, 


262 

about  as  complete  as  you  could  make  anything  at  the  mouth 
of  the  tunnel  ? 

A.  No^sir ;  I  don't  think  so. 

Q.  What  escapes  now  that  is  of  sufficient  value  to  be 
worked,  and  where  does  it  escape  to  ? 

A.  It  is  not  an  uncommon  thing  during  the  freshets,  you 
are  aware>  for  the  whole  amount  of  the  tailings  to  be  swept 
off  into  the  Carson  river.  That  is  one  of  the  elements  of 
loss. 

Q.  Have  you  ever  seen  it  ? 

A.  No.  But  the  inhabitants  there  told  me  that  that  is  a 
fact;  those  that  are  working  the  tailings  say  the  same 
thing. 

Q.  Did  you  see  large  bodies  below  the  Gould  and  Curry 
mill  ? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  Were  you  not  informed  that  those  were  part  of  the 
tailings  saved  from  the  Gould  and  Curry  mill  immediately 
after  the  mill  started  ? 

A.  This  was  a  case  where  the  wash  alone  swept  it  away, 
and  they  have  some  few  positions  of  that  character.  But 
I  saw  many  of  the  tailings  in  positions  where  they  would 
be  carried  off  and  lost. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  any  tailings  mills  at 
the  Dayton  ? 

A.  Yes,  there  is  a  very  extensive  mill  there — the  Bird- 
sail  mill. 

Q.  What  capacity  has  that  mill? 

A.  I  don't  know.  It  is  a  very  large  building.  I  didn't 
go  inside  of  it. 

Q.  Did  you  hear  any  statement  ? 

A.  I  heard  a  statement  that  they  were  saving  from  tail- 
ings $50,000  or  $60,000  a  month.  That  was  the  yield  of 
it.  That  was  the  representation  made. 

Q.  Are  there  any  tailings  escaping  from  the  reservoir 
there  ?  Did  you  see  any  ?  They  have  got  a  large  reser- 
voir there,  have  they  not  ? 

A.  They  have  got  immense  embankments. 


263 

Q.  Enough  to  last  a  great  many  years,  ain't  there? 
A.  It  depends  upon  how  rapidly  it  is  worked,  of  course. 
Q.  Well,  I  don't  know  whether  they  axe  working  their 
mill  up  to  its  full  capacity.     It  has  a  capacity  of  400  tons 
a  day. 

A.  I  know;  it  is  a  very  extensive  concern. 
Q.  Now,  you  have  expressed  an  opinion  that  the  owners 
of  mills  on  the  Carson  river  would  be  very  foolish  if,  when 
the  tunnel  is  completed,  they  don't  remove  their  mills  to 
its  mouth  ? 

A.  Is  that  the  expression  ? 
Q.  Well,  that  is  what  I  have  got  it  down. 
A.  I  will  state  it.  It  would  be  very  greatly  to  the  in- 
terests of  the  owners  of  the  mills  upon  the  Carson  river  to 
relinquish  their  water  powers  and  transfer  their  mills  to 
the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  if  they  could  have,  without 
charge,  the  use  of  the  water  of  the  Carson  as  they  have 
now,  and  at  the  same  time  have  the  additional  facilities 
granted,  without  the  expense  of  supporting  hands.  I  think 
that  men  will  be  actuated  by  their  interests,  and  they  might 
be  induced  to  make  the  change,  if  it  could  be  made  with- 
out cost. 

Q.  Who  is  going  to  build  and  repair  this  dam  ? 
A.  The  Sutro  tunnel  is  bound  to  do  it. 
Q.  How  are  they  bound  ?     Where  do  you  get  that  from? 
A.  They  will  be  bound  by  the  contract  that  they  would 
enter  into  with  the  mill-owners. 

Q.  Where  is  that  contract,  Doctor?  I  would  like  to 
have  you  refer  me  to  it? 

Q.  Show  me  the  bargain,  and  I  will  show  you  the  con- 
tract. 

Q.  Your  expression  the  other  evening  was  that  the  mi- 
ners would  be  very  foolish,  etc.  I  recollect  the  expression, 
for  I  took  it  down  at  the  time.  You  talk  about  mill-own- 
ers getting  mill  rights  and  mills  down  there  for  nothing. 
The  Sutro  Tunnel  Company,  as  I  understand  you,  builds 
this  dam  and  furnishes  water  there  free  of  charge — mill 
rights? 


264 

A.  Mill  sites  in  exchange  for  the  mill  sites  they  have 
now. 

Q.  "Where  did  yon  get  the  idea  from  that  the  Sutro  Tun- 
nel Company  is  going  to  do  anything  of  that  kind? 

A.  I  think  the  constructing  of  the  dam  and  the  neces- 
sity of  receiving  the  titles  of  those  who  own  the  water 
power. 

Q.  Didn't  you  get  that  idea  from  Mr.  Sntro  ? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  did  not.  The  most  I  have  heard  Mr.  Sutro 
say  ahout  it  was,  that  he  could  secure  it.  He  didn't  say  how. 

Q.  Mr.  Sutro,  in  a  pamphlet  issued  in  1866,  estimates 
the  value  of  the  grant  of  land  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel 
for  mill  sites  and  town  lots  at  $3,000,000.  Does  that  look 
like  giving  us  mill  sites  there  free  ? 

A.  If  he  gets  any  equivalent  return  for  it,  yes. 

Q.  What  do  you  call  an  equivalent  ? 

A.  By  their  giving  up  this  water  power  in  exchange  for 
the  power  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel. 

Q.  Then  we  abandon  all  our  mills,  to  commence  -with, 
for  nothing  ? 

A.  I  didn't  state  that.  Abandoning  and  transferring 
are  two  separate  and  distinct  things. 

Q.  Then,  if  it  is  giving  value  for  value,  it  isn't  getting 
the  water  power  and  mill  sites  for  nothing  at  the  mouth  of 
the  tunnel,  is  it  ? 

A.  Certainly  it  is. 

Q.  If  you  give  property  that  is  worth  $6,000,000,  as  he 
states  there,  for  our  mill  sites  and  water  power,  iit  is  getting 
it  for  nothing? 

A.  Does  that  take  up  the  whole  of  the  ground? 

Mr:  SUTRO.  Why,  Mr.  Sunderland,  that  means  that  there 
is  a  town  to  be  built  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel. 

Mr.  ISTBWCOMB.  It  don't  matter  anything  about  the  town. 
I  stated  that  if  they  could  have  a  mill  site  and  a  mill  upon 
the  place,  and  could  be  relieved  from  the  risk  of  the  dam 
being  carried  away  by  freshets,  and  keeping  in  repair,  they 
would  be  acting  against  their  own  interests  decidedly  if 


265 

they  were  not  willing  to  make  the  transfer.  I  would  make 
the  transfer. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  "Will  you  allow  me  to  state  right  here,  that 
within  the  last  sixty  days  a  number  of  those  dams  have 
been  carried  off  by  a  freshet? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  So  far  as  I  am  concerned,  I  don't 
want  to  be  interrupted.  When  you  express,  Doctor,  that 
you,  as  owner  of  a  mill  on  the  Carson  river,  would  freely 
accept  the  proposition  to  remove  that  mill  to  the  mouth  of 
the  tunnel,  does  that  authorize  the  opinion,  that  the  own- 
ers of  the  mills  upon  the  Carson  would  be  very  foolish  not 
to  do  it? 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  Well,  if  you  take  the  expression  'of 
"very  foolish,"  I  should  say  yes;  that  men  would  be  act- 
ing very  foolish  not  to  accept  it,  because  they  would  be 
operating  against  their  own  interests.  If  you  want  it  in 
that  form  I  will  give  it  so,  because  I  believe  it  would  be 
for  their  interests  to  accept. 

Q.  Don't  you  think  the  owners  of  mills  and  mill  rights 
upon  the  Carson  river  have  a  right  to  determine  for  them- 
selves, without  any  advice  from  anybody  else,  as  to  what 
they  will  do  with  their  mills  and  their  mill  rights? 

A.  I  havn't  questioned  that  right  at  all,  sir. 

Q.  I  read  now  from  page  23  of  this  pamphlet  of  Mr. 
Sutro,  published  in  1866 : 

"  The  mills,  which  are  at  present  scattered  in  a  circuit  of  fifteen  miles  around 
the  mines,  and  have  cost  from  $5,000,000  to  $6,000,000  in  their  erection,  will 
all  have  to  be  removed  to  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel.  At  that  place  they  will 
have  to  pay  nothing  for  transportation,  since  the  ore,  Without  rehandling, 
may  be  dropped  from  the  cars  which  bring  it  out  of  the  tunnel  right  in  front 
of  the  stamps.  Mills  situated  at  a  distance  could  not  reduce  ore  at  the  same 
price,  after  paying  several  dollars  a  ton  for  transportation;  and,  conse- 
quently, could  not  compete  with  those  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel.  The 
only  recourse  left  to  them  is  to  remove  to  the  tunnel  company's  land." 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Mr.  Sunderland,  that  is  a  statement  pub- 
lished to  show  the  value  of  the  rights  connected  with  this 
tunnel  enterprise,  in  order  to  induce  capital  to  enter  it. 

Mr.  SONDERLAND.  I  understand  it  Part  of  the  value 
of  that  land  was  the  sale  of  mill  rights  to  different  mill 
companies  or  owners  of  mills.  If  Mr.  King  be  correct  in 


266 

saying  that  from  80  to  88  per  cent,  of  the  assay  value  of 
the  ores  is  saved  by  the  different  processes  used,  which  I 
have  read,  do  you  think  that  the  loss  of  the  metal  now  is 
so  great  a  disgrace  to  the  country  as  you  expressed  the 
other  evening? 

A.  If  88  per  cent,  is  saved,  it  isn't  as  great  a  disgrace  as 
though  35  per  cent,  is  lost. 

Q.  Do  you  think  that  35  per  cent,  is  lost,  Doctor? 

A.  I  don't  know  about  the  full  amount,  because  a  por- 
tion of  it  is  picked  up;  but  I  think  that  the  amount  saved 
is  not  over  5  per  cent.  It  is  my  opinion  that  the  loss  is 
not  over  30  per  cent. 

Q.  Mr.  King  says  in  this  connection: 

"  The  following  table  shows  some  of  the  comparative  results  of  a  number 
of  different  mills,  all  working  on  Savage  ore,  at  sundry  times  between  July  1, 
1867,  and  March  1,  1868.  The  statement  is  furnished  from  the  records  in  the 
office  of  the  Savage  Mining  Company.  The  careful  manner  in  which  Mr. 
Bonner,  the  superintendent  of  this  company,  and  his  assistant  officials,  have 
collected  and  preserved,  in  comprehensive  form,  the  various  results  of  milling 
and  mining  experience,  is  worthy  of  high  praise  and  extended  imitation  among 
others  similarly  engaged." 

I  will  a^k  you  if,  while  you  were  there,  you  asked  to 
have  access  to  any  of  the  books  of  any  company,  to  ascer- 
tain what  they  did  save  and  what  they  lost? 

A.  We  asked  the  superintendents  and  the  mill-owners, 
and  they  said  that  the  amount  of  the  yield  was  required  to 
be  65  per  cent.  They  stated  that  in  some  cases  they  re- 
ceived even  a  larger  percentage  than  that.  They  were 
entitled  to  the  excess  of  the  working  of  the  ore,  but  the 
general  return,  as  represented  by  some  of  the  parties,  was, 
that  they  got  the  65  per  cent,  and  no  more.  The  miner 
made  that.  With  reference  to  the  slime  and  the  tailings, 
why  they  were  either  taken  up  by  the  mill  and  reworked, 
or  by  other  parties,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent.  • 

Q.  Well,  the  tailings  and  the  slime,  Doctor,  belong  to 
the  mill,  do  they  not? 

A.  It  is  stated  so  there.  But  the  moment  it  passes  off 
of  the  boundary  of  a  mill  company,  washed  down,  it  ceases 
to  belong  to  the  mill. 

Q.  Well,  it  is  caught  by  somebody,  isn't  it  ?   Is  there  not 


267 

somebody  all  along  the  ravines  and  canons  there  catching 
these  tailings? 

A.  Yes. 

^Q.  Now,  then,  if  the  process  that  Mr.  King  describes 
here  yields  from  80  to  88  per  cent,  of  the  metal  in  the  ores, 
and  the  mine  or  the  mining  company  gets  65  per  cent, 
alone,  what  difference  does  it  make  to  the  Government, 
or  to  any  man  who  is  not  a  stockholder  in  the  mining  com- 
pany, whether  the  mine  gets  it  or  the  mill? 

A.  It  makes  no  difference  to  the  Government,  that  I 
a«n  aware  of,  if  the  bullion  is  obtained. 

Q.  Does  it  make  any  difference  to  Mr.  Sutro  or  the 
Sutro  Tunnel  Company,  who  don't  own  any  stock  in  any 
mine  on  the  Comstock  ? 

A.  I  am  not  so  sure  about  the  correctness  of  your  state- 
ment. I  have  reason  to  think  otherwise. 

Q.  I  have  no  doubt  you  know  from  Mr.  Sutro.  I  am 
not  in  the  confidence  of  Mr*  Sutro  at  all. 

A.  I  don't  know  from  Mr.  Sutro.  I  don't  know  that 
Mr.  Sutro  owns  any  stock,  but  I  know  that  several  wealthy 
men  in  the  company  own  heavily  in  mining  stock.  I  don't 
know  that  the  Sutro  company  owns  stock  as  a  company ; 
but  I  know  that  individuals  of  the  company  own  large 
mining  stocks. 

Q.  I  believe  you  stated  the  other  night  that  the  cost  of 
the  reduction  of  ore  varied  from  $11  to  $13  on  the  ton  of 
ore  ? 

A.  It  was  represented  so  to  us.  That  included  the 
transportation. 

Q.  You  read  this  report  of  the  Savage  company,  I  be- 
lieve, did  you  not?  That  is,  you  had  access  to  it  when 
you  were  there? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  I  read  now  from  page  9  of  the  report  of  the  super- 
intendent of  the  Savage  company  to  the  stockholders : 

"The  average  yield  of  the  ore  reduced  is  $21  13  per  ton.  The  average 
cost  of  production,  which  includes  labor,  materials,  and  all  incidental  ex- 
penses, is  $11  06,  and  the  average  cost  of  reduction  is  $9  95  per  ton;  leaving 
a  profit -of  42  cents  per  ton." 


268 

A.  I  would  ask,  in  connection  with  that,  if  they  do  not 
have  one  of  their  own  mills,  at  which  a  pretty  large  portion 
of  their  ore  is  reduced? 

Q.  Well,  I  will  answer  that.  I  didn't  expect  to  call 
attention  to  that.  I  will  answer  it  by  the  report  of  the 
superintendent : 

"  A  small  portion  of  the  ore  has  been  reduced  at  the  company's  mills  at 
Washoe.  It  has  been  running  but  six  months  out  of  the  twelve  The  Sav- 
age mill  can  be  run  at  some  profit  during  the  summer  months,  but  it  is  ques- 
tionable whether  a  profit  can  be  shown  for.  the  whole  year,  on  accouni  of 
the  necessity  of  retaining  watchmen  and  paying  insurance  on  half  of  the 
year,  while  it  is  idle." 

That  is  the  answer.     I  read  now  from  page  14 : 

11  Average  cost  of  reduction,  $9  95." 

A.  "What  is  the  cost  of  transportation  to  the  Washoe 
mill? 

Q.  That  includes  the  transportation  always.  There  is 
no  mill  (as  you  were  probably  informed  while  you  were 
there)  that  don't  undertake  to  reduce  ore  for  so  much  a 
ton,  including  the"  transportation.  I  will  venture  to  say 
that  you  didn't  hear  of  anything  else. 

A.  Yes ;  but  this  was  not  a  customs  mill.  The  Washoe 
mill  belongs  to  that  company. 

Q.  I  was  aware  of  that? 

A.  Whether  the  transportation  is  included  in  that  cost 
of  reduction  I  didn't  know. 

Q.  I  will  get  you  to  look  at  that  table  in  this  report,  and 
first  state  the  cost  of  redaction  of  ore.  You  will  find  every- 
where, in  every  report  that  has  been  made,  (I  have  got  all 
70  of  them,)  that  the  cost  of  reduction  includes  the  cost  of 
transportation,  from  the  year  1867  down  to  the  year  1871. 

A.  Do  you  want  the  total  cost  or  the  cost  of  reduction  ? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  What  page  is  that  on? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Page  14. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Year  1871? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  tn  1867  the  report  gives  here  $14  04; 
1868,  $13  74;  1869,  $12  22;  1870,  $10  01;  1871,  $9  95. 
That  last  is  the  latest  report  given  here. 


\ 


269 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  simply  introduce  that  to  show  the 
gradual  reduction  of  the  price  of  reduction  of  ores. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  "Won't  you  read  the  next  table  of  the  cost 
of  production,  to  see  how  that  runs? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  don't  propose  to  introduce  that.  I 
propose  now  to  read  from  the  238th  page  of  Mr.  King's 
report : 

"  This  price  of  working  ores  daring  two  or  three  years  past  has  varied  be- 
tween $13  and  $15  per  ton,  including  the  cost  of  hauling  the  ore  from  the 
mine  to  the  mill.  Quite  lately  it  has  been  reduced  somewhat,  though  dur- 
ing 1869  the  average  was  but  little,  if  at  all,  below  $13.  Since  the  beginning 
of  the  present  year,  according  to  late  advices  from  Virginia  City,  some  of  the 
mills  of  the  district  have  reduced  the  price  to  $9  per  ton." 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  There  was  no  working  for  $9  that  I  was 
aware  of  when  there.  The  man  who  was  running  on  Sav- 
age ore  made  the  statement,  that  the  amount  paid  was  $11, 
and  that  it  was  the  cheapest  of  any.  When  carried  by 
railroad  they  exacted  §13. 

Q.  Did  he  run  any  mill  that  was  supplied  by  railroad? 

A.  His  was  supplied  by  wagon. 

Q.  I  would  like  to  know  his  name. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Going  to  knock  his  head  off? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  No,  sir.     It  ain't  true;  that  is  all. 

Mr.  JTEWCOMB.  It's  the  Occidental  mill. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  They  charge  $11,  do  they? 

A.  They  charge  $11  per  ton,  taking  the  ore  from  the 
dump  of  the  mine.  It  costs  the  mill  $1  per  ton  for 
cartage. 

Q.  Does  he  say  how  much  for  reduction  at  the  mill? 

A.  He  says  $11,  including  $1  for  carting. 

Q.  What  does  he  say  it  costs  the  mill  company  to  reduce 
the  ore  at  the  mill  ? 

A.  He  don't  state.  He  stated  the  amount  of  quick- 
silver to  a  charge,  and  the  loss  of  quicksilver,  and  the  cost 
of  quicksilver. 

Q.  Just  state  that,  won't  you,  please?  What  is  the  loss 
per  ton? 

A.  He  puts  in  a  charge  of  200  pounds  of  quicksilver 


270 

with  If  tons  of  ore,  and  the  actual  loss  of  the  quicksilver 
is  1J  pounds  to  the  ton. 

Q.  What  does  the  quicksilver  cost  per  pound? 

A.  80  cents,  delivered. 

Q.  Could  you  reduce  the  ores  at  the  mouth  of  the  tun- 
nel with  a  less  amount  of  quicksilver? 

A.  No,  I  suppose  not.  I  suppose  it  would  take  the 
same  amount. 

Q.  The  loss  of  quicksilver  would  be  the  same  ? 

A.  There  is  a  possibility  of  its  being  greater,  because 
the  more  it  is  moved  or  worked,  the  greater  the  loss  by 
oxidation. 

Q.  Doctor,  the  advantages  you  mentioned  the  other 
night  of  moving  Virginia  City  and  Gold  Hill,  or  the  in- 
habitants of  those  places,  to  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel 

A.  I  haven't  proposed  any  such  thing,  sir. 

Q.  Did  you  not  state,  in  answer  to  Mr.  Sutro,  that  for 
the  miners  to  live  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  would  be  of 
advantage  to  them  on  account  of  the  great  healthfulness  of 
the  place  ? 

A.  Yes;  but  that  is  an  entirely  different  proposition,  on 
account  of  its  being  convenient  to  raise  vegetables  and 
keep  cows. 

Q.  And  the  great  healthfulness  of  the  locality? 

A.  Yes;  but  that  doesn't  remove  Gold  Hill  and  Virginia 
City. 

Q.  What  would  be  left  of  Gold  Hill  and  Virginia  City  if 
the  mines  were  not  worked  through  the  shafts,  and  all  the 
miners  lived  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  ? 

A.  It  would  take  a  pretty  large  population  away  un- 
doubtedly. 

Q.  What  would  there  be  left  there?  What  business  or 
what  object  would  there  be  for  anybody  to  remain  there? 

A.  That  is  for  the  citizens  to  decide. 

Q.  Well,  what  I  wanted  to  get  at  specially  was  as  to  its 
being  more  healthly  than  it  is  at  Virginia  City? 

A.  The  elevated  region  of  Virginia  City  is  very  likely  to 
affect  the  mucous  membranes  seriously.  Some  that  were  af- 


271 

fected  with  asthma  were  benefited,  on  the  other  hand.  The 
climntc  is  somewhat  different;  it  is  warmer  at  the  mouth 
of  the  tunnel.  The  winds  are  less  there,  as  I  was  informed, 
and  as  far  as  I  saw.  There  are  less  transitions  of  temper- 
ature. 

Q.  Are  not  the  extremes  of  heat  and  colA  on  the  Carson 
river  greater  than  they  are  at  Virginia  City  ? 

A.  There  is  greater  heat;  I  think  not  so  great  cold.  At 
the  same  time  I  cannot  say;  I  havn't  made  a  register? 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  or  not  it  is  healthy  along  the 
Carson  river? 

A.  They  say  that  Dayton  is  much  more  healthy  than 
Virginia  City. 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  there  is  fever  and  ague  along 
the  river  ? 

A.  I  didn't  see  anything  of  it  while  I  was  there.  There 
may  he. 

Q.  Do  you  know  or  not  whether,  while  you  were  there, 
the  men  engaged  in  repairs  upon  the  Franklin  mill  were 
all  taken  sick,  and  work  had  to  he  suspended  according 
to  the  sickness  there? 

A.  I  didn't  hear  anything  about  it. 

Q.  Were  you  at  the  Franklin  mill? 

A.  I  don't  recollect  of  hearing  any  such  remarks.  I 
think  I  was  at  the  Franklin  mill. 

Q.  Is  it  at  or  near  this  Franklin  mill  where  they  propose 
to  build  this  new  dam  ? 

A.  It  isn't  far  from  the  railroad. 

Q.  No,  it  is  right  above  Dayton.  It's  the  second  mill 
above  the  Birdsall.  There  is  the  Ophir  or  Woodworth  mill 
and  the  Franklin  mill. 

A.  Whose  mill  is  that? 

Q.  It  belongs  to  the  Union  Mill  Company. 

A.  I  think  we  were  at  that,  and  one  that  was  working 
for  tailings. 

Q.  Then  you  know  nothing  about  any  sickness  there 
at  all? 

A.  I  heard  nothing  about  it  while  I  was  there. 


272 

Q.  I  believe  you  said  the  miners,  so  far  as  you  saw  them, 
appeared  to  be  healthy,  both  at  Virginia  City  and  Gold 
Hill,  did  you  not? 

A.  They  claimed  to  be  healthy.  I  asked  the/rn  how  they 
liked  it  in  the  mines,  and  they  said  they  liked  it  better 
there  than  they  did  above;  they  preferred  working  there 
to  working  above. 

Q.  You  didn't  see  any  great  distress  among  the  miners, 
did  you  ? 

A.  Occasionally. 

Q.  In  and  under  what  conditions  did  you  see  any  dis- 
tress among  them — a  little  too  much  whiskey?  They  got 
too  much  money,  I  guess,  or  they  wouldn't  have  drank  so 
much.  You  found  one  mine  very  hot;  which  was  it? 

A.  The  Yellow  Jacket  was  the  hottest. 

Q.  On  what  level  ? 

A.  I  think  it  was  the  1,100-foot  level.     I  am  not  sure. 

Q.  That  was  north  of  the  shaft  ? 

A.  When  you  get  down,  except  by  the  compass,  you  cau 
hardly  tell  which  way  you  travel. 

Q.  Did  you  go  to  the  end  of  the  tunnel  on  that  level, 
Doctor? 

A.  He  took  us  through,  I  think,  very  generally,  and 
showed  us  the  mine  very  kindly,  and  showed  us  the  hot- 
test place  in  the  mine. 

Q.  There  was  nobody  at  work,  was  there,  in  that  hottest 
place  ? 

A.  No;  they  were  at  work  in  the  neighborhood.  I  will 
mention,  in  connection  with  this,  that  at  the  headings,  where 
the  blowers  were  playing,  it  was  comparatively  comfort- 
able. The  atmosphere  was  comfortable,  and  they  were 
able  to  work.  Although  they  were  dripping  with  perspi- 
ration, they  didn't  stop. 

Q.  That  is  what  I  want  to  get  at.  Now,  it  is  below  that 
point,  where  the  blowers  are  in  operation,  and  where  no- 
body is  at  work,  that  the  extreme  heat  exists? 

A.  The  drift  that  we  found  the  hottest  point  in  led  off 
to  one  side. 


273 

Q.  There  was  nobody  at  work  there  ? 

A.  Not  while  we  were  there. 

Q.  If  they  were  at  work,  wouldn't  it  be  just  as  easy  to 
turn  the  pipe  in  there  and  discharge  the  air  as  at  the  head- 
ing, where  the  men  were  at  work  ? 

A.  No  doubt  of  that 

Q.  "Well,  that  was  done  while  men  were  at  work  there. 
That  was  where  you  saw  the  thermometer  at  103°  ? 

A.  I  didn't  see  it  so. 

Q.  I  think  you  mentioned  it? 

A.  No.  General  Wright  stated  it,  and  the  superintend- 
ent stated  it,  I  think.  The  highest  I  registered  was  97°. 

Q.  Was  there  anybody  at  work  where  it  was  at  97°  ? 

A.  Well,  they  were  passing  back  and  forth  there.  There 
was  nobody  at  work. 

Q.  I  understood  you  to  say  the  other  evening  that  the 
1,000-foot  level  was  where  the  thermometer  stood  at  103°. 
The  heat  would  increase  at  the  rate  of  1  degree  to  every 
40  feet. 

A.  No ;  I  didn't  state  so.  The  increase  from  the  1,000-foot 
level  down  will  be  an  increase  of  1  degree,  I  think,  in  50 
feet,  until  you  get  to  the  2,000-foot  level,  when  the  increase 
would  be  very  much  greater  in  proportion. 

Q.  Then  for  every  40  feet  below  the  2,000-foot  level  the 
heat  will  increase  1  degree  ? 

A.  Probably  as  much  as  that;  and  yet  we  cannot  deter- 
mine. They  vary  in  different  mines. 

Q.  Well,  ain't  there  a  rule  established  for  the  increase 
of  heat  in  different  depths? 

A.  Observations  have  established  a  sort  of  a  rule,  that 
varies  in  different  localities.  It  ranges  from  55  feet  to  60 
feet  in  our  latitude. 

Q.  Why  should  the  increase  be  greater  on  the  Comstock 
than  anywhere  else  ? 

A.  You  are  assuming  again.         « 

Q.  You  say  that  in  this  country  it  is  from  55  to  60  feet 
descent  for  every  degree  ? 

A.  That  is,  down  to  a  certain  point;  and  I  have  explained 
18 


274 

that,  when  you  get  below  that  point,  the  ratio  of  increase 
is  greater.  It  is  so  in  other  countries,  and,  so  far  as  obser- 
vation goes,  it  is  so  in  this.  There  is  the  report  of  the 
mining  engineers  of  England,  that  at  the  depth  of  4,000  feet 
tiae  heat  would  be  so  increased  that  we  cannot  work  below 
it, 

Q.  I  understood  you  to  say  the  other  evening,  that  at 
the  depth  of  2,000  feet  the  thermometer  would  stand  at 
123°? 

A.  Yes,  sir.  That  is,  figuring  it  at  an  increase  of  one 
degree  in  50  feet, 

Q.  Now,  I  understand  you  to  say  that,  with  good  air, 
the  working  capacity  of  the  men  will  be  increased  25  per 
cent.  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  How  many  men  did  you  see  working  in  the  Corn- 
stock  in  an  atmosphere  that  was  either  debilitating,  un- 
healthy, or  unpleasant  ? 

A.  I  saw  them  in  this  very  mine  that  I  have  been  speak- 
ing of,  the  Yellow  Jacket,  stripped,  and  with  the  perspi- 
ration reeking  from  their  bodies.  I  don't  pretend  to  say 
in  regard  to  the  healthiness,  because  the  men  pronounced 
themselves  healthy. 

Q.  Do  you  mean  to  say  that,  in  the  Yellow  Jacket,  if 
the  air  was  better,  the  mining  capacity  of  the  men  would 
be  increased  25  per  cent.  ? 

A.  I  don't  say  that.  By  the  aid  of  artificial  ventilation, 
it  would  be  increased  very  much  beyond  that  amount; 
and  it  would  be  still  further  increased  if  the  ventilation 
could  be  increased. 

Q.  Did  you  see  men  working  anywhere  in  the  Yellow 
Jacket  where  there  was  not  good  air? 

A.  From  the  position  that  I  occupied,  the  air  was  suffo- 
cating. The  men  were  not  at  work  at  that  point. 

Q.  At  any  place  wkere  the  men  were  at  work  in  the 
mine? 

A.  At  the  headings  it  was  comparatively  comfortable. 

Q.  "Where  you  saw  the  men  working  in  the   i^ellow 


275 

Jacket,  was  their  working  capacity  25  per  cent,  lower  than 
it  would  have  heen  upon  the  surface,  or  anywhere  where 
the}7  could  have  had  the  freshest  air? 

A.  IST^,  I  think  not;   but  if  they  go  down  another 

Q.  Well,  I  am  talking  about  what  you  saw  there.  Did 
you  see  anybody  working  anywhere  on  the  Comstock, 
where  the  heat  was  so  great  as  to  reduce  their  working 
capacity  25  per  cent.  ? 

A.  I  saw  men  who  said  the  heat  was  very  great,  but  they 
could  stand  it.  I  inquired  of  a  number  of  these-  men  how 
they  liked  it,  and  they  said  they  liked  it  very  well,  and 
passed  by  it  without  any  further  remark. 

Q.  Did  you  state  the  same  evening  that,  where  these 
men  were  at  work,  you  found  it  very  comfortable  for  your- 
selves? N 

A.  Yes,  sir;  we  got  the  full  benefit  of  the  blowers.  It 
was  quite  comfortable,  especially  after  being  subjected  to 
this  intense  heat  that  we  met. 

Q.  Did  you  take  the  degree  of  heat  at  the  headings  where 
the  men  were  at  work,  and  if  so,  how  high  did  you  see  the 
thermometer  where  the  men  were  actually  at  work? 

A.  Well,  I  don '£  recollect.     I  think  something  over  80°. 

Q.  I  think  you  stated  80°  or  85°  the  other  evening. 

A.  Where  they  get  the  full  current  of  air  upon  them  it 
is  very  refreshing. 

Q.  Well,  one  of  the  advantages  of  this  tunnel  is  claimed 
to  be  ventilation.  Would  it  improve  the  ventilation  of  the 
Sierra  Nevada  or  Chollar  Potosi? 

A.  They  don't  need  any  improvement  where  they  are 
working  at  the  present  time.  It  would  improve  the  Chol- 
lar, by  forming  communication  with  the  lower  levels. 

Q.  Where  they  are  working  at  present,  could  the  ven- 
tilation be  increased  at  all  in  the  Chollar  or  the  Sierra 
Nevada  ? 

A.  They  could  build  a  shed  over  the  Sierra  Nevada. 

Q.  I  understood  you  to  state  that  the  blowers  would  not 
be  sufficient  to  ventilate  the  mines  below  the  2,000  feet. 
Was  that  so? 


276 

A.  That  is  my  opinion. 

Q.  Why  not? 

A.  Well,  you  would  need  compressed  air  thrown  in. 

Q.  How  much  more  power  does  it  take  to  send  a  quan- 
tity of  air  down  2,000  than  1,000  feet?  What  loss  is  there 
in  power  or  in  the  air? 

A.  There  is  considerable  loss,  but  how  much  I  cannot 
decide.  Your  patent  blowers  operate,  perhaps,  somewhat 
differently  than  others,  and  it  would  be  necessary  to  make 
a  test  of  them,  in  order  to  determine  with  accuracy. 

Q.  Then  it  is  a  mere  matter  of  opinion  with  you? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  see  blowers  used  anywhere,  except  in 
the  Comstock,  for  ventilation  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir,  in  a  good  many  places. 

Q.  How  deep  have  you  ever  seen  them  used? 

A.  Oh,  some  hundreds  of  feet;  but  never  yet  as  deep  as 
in  the  Comstock.- 

Q.  Didn't  they  operate  as  well  at  the  deepest  levels  on 
the  Comstock  as  they  did  on  the  higher  levels? 

A.  Yes;  but,  as  far  as  that  was  concerned,  there  was  no 
comparison  to  be  made,  because  on  the  upper  levels  they 
needed  none;  the  rock  had  been  cooled  off.  If  you  want 
my  opinion  in  regard  to  it  altogether,  I  believe  every  ap- 
pliance that  can  be  brought  to  bear  will  be  required  below 
the  2,000  feet — blowers,  circulating  mediums,  communi- 
cating shafts,  and  everything  of  that  description. 

Q.  What  facility  will  the  construction  of  the  tunnel  give 
that  cannot  be  had  now  for  ventilation  ? 

A.  If  you  use  the  same  amount,  it  will  be  an  increase  of 
it.  Use  the  amount  of  power  to  ventilate  now,  this  will  be 
additional. 

Q.  Will  it  dispense  with  the  present  means  used  for 
working  the  mines  ? 

A.  It  will  not  dispense,  in  my  opinion,  with  mechanical 
appliances  for  cooling  the  mines.  It  will  aid,  but  that  is 
all.  It  is  an  adjunct,  but  not  sufficient  of  itself. 


277 

Q.  You  know,  Doctor,  that  when  a  level  is  worked  out, 
it  is  timbered  up  and  filled  in  with  refuse  ? 

A.  Yes. 

Q,  After  the  whole  level  is  worked  out  and  filled  up  in 
that  way,  is  it  possible  to  ventilate  it,  or  would  it  be  any 
object  to  ventilate  it? 

A.  No ;  there  is  no  farther  use  for  it,  after  it  is  closed 
up.  It  becomes  like  the  original  rock,  as  far  as  ventilation 
is  concerned.  There  is  no  necessity  for  it. 

Q.  It  has  been  claimed  here  that  timbers  would  stand, 
I  believe,  for  30  years  in  a  mine,  if  it  were  well  ventilated. 
Is  it  possible  to  ventilate  a  level  after  it  has  been  filled  up 
in  that  manner,  so  as  to  preserve  the  timbers  ? 

A.  After  it  is  filled  up,  no;  but  your  passageways, 
which  are  timbered,  require  ventilation.  They  have  to  be 
preserved. 

Q.  Why  so?  Why  preserve  them  after  the  level  is 
worked  out? 

A.  For  communication  with  the  different  parts  of  the 
mine. 

Q.  Why  do  you  want  communication  with  different  parts 
of  the  mine  after  you  have  worked  it  out?  Why  do  you 
keep  any  open  space  after  you  have  worked  out  every  level? 

A.  In  the  first  place,  we  are  not  aware  that  every  level 
has  been  worked  out.  We  want  it  for  further  prospecting. 

Q.  Would  the  tunnel  assist  in  the  further  prospecting  of 
one  of  these  levels  ? 

A.  Not  the  upper  levels;  no. 

Q.  On  the  subject  of  stock-jobbing,  I  believe  you  stated 
the  other  evening  that  it  had  been  the  practice,  when  a 
bonanza  of  ore  was  found,  to  gouge  it  out  and  put  up  the 
stock,  and  then  sell  out. 

A.  Mr.  Sutro  made  a  statement,  and  I,  to  a  limited  ex- 
tent, accepted  it. 

Q.  I  first  wanted  you  to  explain  to  the  committee  what 
is  a  bonanza? 

A.  It  is  a  Spanish  word,  signifying  a  body  of  paying  ore. 


278 

Q.  Then  you  don't  affirm  that  stock-jobbing  has  been 
the  practice,  Doctor? 

A.  Oh,  I  know  that  there  is  stock-jobbing  continually, 
and  that  the  parties  who  are  considered  as  being  in  the 
ring  have  the  advantage  of  all  outsiders. 

Q.  What  ring  do  you  speak  of  ? 

A.  Well,  it  is  designated  in  California  and  in  Virginia 
City  as  "the  mining  ring." 

Q.  Are  there  not  a  good  many  rings  spoken  of  there? 

A.  I  didn't  know  of  a  great  many. 

Q.  Ain't  there  more  than  one  mining  ring? 

A.  I  don't  know  but  one,  and  I  don't  know  that  except- 
ing from  report. 

Q.  You  stated  (I  don't  tliink  I  am  misstating)  that  when 
a  bonanza  was  struck  the  mines  were  worked  for  legiti- 
mate purposes,  but  that  when  there  was  no  ore  in  the 
mines  they  were  worked  in  San  Francisco.  What  authority 
have  you  for  saying  that,  Doctor? 

A.  It  is  a  self-evident  fact.  The  report  of  the  stock 
board  will  be  sufficient  to  establish  it. 

Q.  Do  you  think  that  the  running  of  the  tunnel  would 
prevent  a  mine  being  worked  in  San  Francisco? 

A.  No,  sir;  unless  it  thoroughly  laid  the  lode  open  to 
view.  In  that  case  the  value  of  the  stock  could  be  deter- 
mined, approximately  at  least,  and  the  buyer  and  seller 
would  be  placed  upon  terms  of  equality.  They  would  un- 
derstand the  business  transactions,  instead  of  making  it  a 
gambling  speculation,  as  much  of  it  is  now. 

Q.  Is  there  any"  reason  why  the  branch  tunnel,  which 
would  be  run  from  the  north  to  the  south  end  of  the  lode 
on  one  level  alone,  should  expose  the  bodies  of  ore,  and 
lay  them  open  as  you  speak  of,  any  more  than  now? 

A.  It  would  expose  the  lode  very  much  better  and  at 
very  much  less  expense. 

Q.  Explain  how  it  will  expose  it? 

A.  Simply  by  passing  along  your  tunnel,  and  running 
in  a  drift  every  hundred  feet  from  that  tunnel. 

Q.  Who  is  going  to  run  these  drifts? 


279 

A.  I  suppose  the  mining  companies,  if  they  want  to  de- 
termine the  value  of  their  ore. 

Q.  Suppose  they  don't  want  to  ? 

A.  Of  course,  then,  they  are  not  obliged  to  do  it. 

Q.  Suppose  they  want  to  work  their  mines  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, as  you  speak  of? 

A.  Well,  they  will  probably  do  it. 

Q.  Then  what  frauds  in  San  Francisco  would  this  tun- 
nel prevent? 

A.  Those  who  have  facilities  for  making  investigations 
are  likely  to  improve  them,  and  it  would  open  the  ore-bed 
at  a  depth  of  2,000  feet  through  the  whole  extent  of  the 
lode  where  the  transverse  tunnel  is  run. 

Q.  In  all  the  mines  you  were  in,  are  not  drifts  run  and 
cross-cuts  made  in  prospecting  and  developing  ore  ? 

A.  I  don't  know  but  there  are  hundreds  of  miles  of 
drifts  in  all. 

Q.  Ain't  everything  exposed  there  to  the  view  of  every- 
body, so  far  as  you  know? 

A.  So  far  as  I  was  concerned,  I  had  the  privilege  of  all 
that  I  could  see  in  visiting  the  mines. 

Q.  Did  you  ask  to  see  anything  that  you  didn't? 

A.  Well,  that's  a  little  bit  of  a  question.  We  were  to 
have  visited  one  or  two  mines  that  we  did  not.  I  put  the 
construction  upon  it  that  it  was  an  accidental  omission  on 
the  part  of  the  superintendents.  Whether  it  was  inten- 
tional I  don't  know.  The  Savage  and  the  Hale  and  $"or- 
cross  are  the  two  to  which  I  refer. 

Q.  Oaptain  Fair  told  me  at  one  time  that  he  wasn't  pre- 
pared to  receive  you,  and  at  another  time  he  told  me  to 
tell  you  that  he  was  prepared,  and  that  he  had  informed 
General  Foster? 

A.  I  didn't  receive  the  word. 


HEARING  TUESDAY  MORNING,  FEBRUARY  27in. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND,  (continuing  cross-examination  of  Pro- 
fessor Newcomb.)  Professor,  I  believe  we  closed  last  night 
on  the  subject  of  stock-jobbing.  You  had  before  stated 
that  the  construction  of  the  tunnel  would  tend  to  consoli- 
date the  mines  or  the  mining  companies.  Ain't  the  con- 
solidation and  control  of  the  Comstock  now,  mostly  by  one 
company,  what  is  most  complained  of?  It  is  the  cry  of 
monopoly,  ain't  it?  Ain't  that  the  great  objection  to  the 
present  mode  ? 

A.  I  don't  know  where  the  monopoly  comes  in  quite  as 
to  the  ownership  of  the  mines,  because  there  were  a  great 
many  different  mines  ruled  by  different  bodies  df  trustees 
or  superintendents:  they  may  be  influenced  possibly  by  a 
particular  interest. 

Q.  Would  you  think  it  desirable  to  have  the  Sutro  tun- 
nel and  the  entire  Comstock  consolidated  into  one  com- 
pany, and  controlled  by  a  single  corporation  or  a  single  set 
of  men  ? 

A.  It  is  my  opinion  that  the  Sutro  tunnel  should  be 
owned  by  the  mining  companies,  instead  of  their  being 
separate  companies,  in  order  to  make  the  matter  perfectly 
satisfactory.  I  think  the  Mexican  rule  in  regard  to  that 
was  a  good  one. 

Q.  What  was  that,  Doctor? 

A.  It  was  that,  in  cases  of  running  tunnels  for  the  gen- 
eral benefit,  it  is  better  for  the  mines  to  own  the  tunnel, 
than  for  the  tunnel  to  be  held  by  a  separate  and  distinct 
company. 

Q.  There  was  no  rule  in  Mexico  authorizing  the  running 
of  a  tunnel  by  a  party  who  did  not  own  the  mines,  and 
then  compelling  the  mines  to  pay  royalty  for  it? 

A.  IsTo,  it  was  supposed  they  would  know  enough  for 
their  own  interests  to  run  the  tunnel  and  operate  through 
it. 

280 


281 

Q.*The-owners  of  the  mines  ? 

A.  The  owners  of  the  mines,  I  think,  would  be  benefited 
by  owning  the  tunnel  or  owning  an  interest  in  it. 

Q.  The  owners  of  the  mines  in  Mexico,  then,  were  per- 
mitted to  run  a  tunnel  or  not,  as  they  chose:  there  is  no 
rule  compelling  them  to-run  a  tunnel,  is  there? 

A.  No. 

Q.  Or  to  pay  royalty  to  any  one  else  that  did? 

A.  JSTone,  except  that  of  self-interest.   e    • 

Q.  Don't  you  think  in  the  working  of  mines,  as  in  any 
other  business,  it  is  best  to  let  the  owners  of  mines  work 
as  they  think  best  ? 

A.  Not  where  they  are  working  wastefully,  I  think  not; 
because  we  are  entitled  in  our  country  to  the  greatest 
results  that  can  be  produced  from  the  mining  interest. 
Every  man  has  an  interest  in  it. 

Q.  Suppose  an  iron  mine  in  Pennsylvania  could  not  be 
worked  according  to  your  standard,  what  would  you  think 
of  Congress  interfering  to  have  that  mine  worked  in  some 
other  manner. 

A.  I  should  think  that  in  the  case  of  an  iron  mine  the 
circumstances  would  be  entirely  different.  The  right  of 
eminent  domain  belongs  to  the  Government  of  the  United 
States,  and  these  mines  are  presented  to  them,  where  they 
take  out  their  patents,  for  a  nominal  sum,  and  for  the  pur- 
pose of  being  worked,  and  worked  judiciously.  The  bul- 
lion that  is  taken  out  goes  into  the  circulation  of  the 
country,  enriching  the  country  in  proportion  to  the  amount 
of  the  product.  In  that  respect  it  becomes  a  national  affair. 
With  reference  to  the  iron  mines,  they  are  particularly 
individual  property,  that  the  Government  does  not  inter- 
fere with.  They  are  not  sold,  as  mineral  lands  are  sold, 
when  the  precious  metals  are  concerned.  The  distinction, 
I  think,  is  a  very  clear  one. 

Q.  Will  you  give  me  the  difference  between  the  wealth 
added  to  the  nation  by  the  extraction  of  $20,000,000  of 
bullion,  and  the  extraction  of  $20,000,000  of  iron  from  an 
iron  mine? 


282 

A.  There  is  a  distinction  that  is  drawn  between  them. 
The  results  to  individuals  would  be  the  same.  It  may  be 
greater  in  the  case  of  the  iron  product,  because  it  is  a  mat- 
ter of  mechanical  necessity,  whereas  the  bullion  is  quite 
another  thing.  In  another  respect  the  bullion  increase 
would  be  more  important  to  the  general  interest,  because 
it  forms  the  basis  of  value  as  a  circulating  medium.  In 
the  one  case  they  hold  their  property  on  sufferance;  in  the 
other  case,  they  own  the  right  entirely,  as  I  understand  the 
mining  laws  of  the  country. 

Q.  You  state  that  the  mines,  the  gold  and  silver  mines, 
are  sold  by  the  Government  for  a  nominal  sum? 

A.  Subject  to  certain  conditions. 

Q.  "What  are  those  conditions  ? 

A.  Well,  one  condition  that  is  made  in  the  patents  that 
have  been  granted,  subject  to  the  Sutro  tunnel  act,  is,  that 
whenever  they  shall  strike  the  lode,  the  mining  companies 
shall  pay  a  royalty  upon  every  ton  of  ore  extracted  and 
carried  out  through  the  tunnel.  Another  condition  in  con- 
nection with  it  is,  that  an  exclusive  right  has  been  granted 
to  the  Sutro  Tunnel  Company,  by  the  State  of  Nevada,  to 
run  from  the  plains  of  the  Carson  a  drainage  tunnel — for 
the  purpose  of  working,  or  ventilating,  or  draining,  or 
other  purposes — from  the  Carson  Valley  to  the  mines,  hav- 
ing the  exclusive  right  for  a  term  of  years. 

Q.  What  authority  did  the  State  of  Nevada  have  for  au- 
thorizing that  tunnel?  What  interest  in  the  soil,  or  what 
rights  to  the  public  lands  did  the  State  of  Nevada  have, 
that  it  could  give  to  Mr.  Sutro  such  privileges? 

A.  The  State  of  Nevada,  as  the  State  of  New  York,  or 
Virginia,  has  the  right  of  regulating  matters  of  that  de- 
scription, just  as  they  would  have  of  making  a  mining  law 
for  the  benefit  of  the  miners. 

Q.  The  State  has  the  power  .of  regulating  some  things, 
but  it  has  not  the  power  to  give  away  that  which  it  has 
not.  The  State  of  Nevada  never  had  any  right  to  the 
public  lands,  the  title  being  with  the  United  States  the 
same  as  the  mines,  and  I  ask  you  what  power— — 


283 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  object  to  that  question.  There  is  such  a 
law  on  the  statute-book,  authorizing  the  construction  of  a 
tunnel,  and  giving  exclusive  right  to  construct  that  tunnel. 
The  Doctor  is  not  here  as  an  expert  in  law. 

ML\  KENDALL.  Do  you  see  any  similarity  between  the 
policy  of  the  Government  in  preventing  waste  of  precious 
metals  and  the  policy  of  the  Government  in  preventing 
waste  of  timber  upon  the  public  lauds? 

Mr.  XEWCOMB.  I  think  there  is  a  correspondence  between 
the  two.  I  think  it  is  right  that  this  property  should  not 
really  belong  altogether  to  the  companies  who  have  it,  to 
do  with  it  as  they  please.  They  have  no  moral  right,  al- 
though they  may  have  a  legal  right,  to  leave  the  treasures 
there  when  the  necessities  of  the  Government  require  their 
development. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  How  many  silver  mines  are  there  on 
the  western  coast? 

A.  Those  that  have  been  entered  as  silver  mines  are 
countless. 

Q.  Is  the  number  of  gold  mines  nearly  as  great? 
A.  The  gold  mining  is  very  extensive  as  well  as  the  sil- 
ver mining. 

Q.  Has  the  Government,- in  any  instance,  undertaken  to 
regulate  the  working  of  any  of  these  mines  on  the  entire 
coast  from  the  Rocky  mountains  to  the  Pacific  ocean? 

A.  I  am  not  aware  that  there  is  any  law  upon  the  sub- 
ject, excepting  that  they  have  the  right  to  make  the  pur- 
chase of  their  mineral  lands  under  act  of  Congress.  They 
have  been  thrown  into  the  market — the  gold  mines  as 
well  as  others.  I  think  there  is  a  law  of  that  description 
that  hns  been  enacted  within  a  few  years  past;  formerly  the 
idea  was  founded  upon*  Senator  Benton's  statement,  that 
he  wished  it  would  be  worked  out  as  rapidly  as  possible, 
and  thrown  open  to  the  community — the  placer  diggings. 
It  was  operated  upon  that  principle,  and  a  law  was  enacted 
granting  the  privilege  of  purchasing  mineral  lands. 

Q.  ]^~ow,  then,  you  state,  in  answer  to  Mr.  Kendall,  that 
you  saw  no  difference  betwpen  protecting  the  loss  of  metal 


284 

in  a  mine  and  the  loss  of  timber  upon  the  public  lands.  Is 
there  any  law  for  the  protection  of  timber  upon  lands  after 
a  pre-emptor  has  gone  upon  the  lands — before  he  attains  the 
title? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  object  to  that,  Mr.  Sunderland.  The  Doc- 
tor is  not  here  as  an  expert,  to  expound  the  laws  of  the 
United  States. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  "Well,  he  can  answer  and  go  right  along. 

Mr.  JSTEWCOMB.  I  don't  know  what  the  law  is  upon  that 
subject  of  the  pre-emptor  going  on.  I  know  there  is  a  law 
made  for  the  protection  of  timber  upon  the  public  lands. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  For  timber  upon  lands  belonging  to 
the  United  States,  and  unoccupied  by  individuals,  is  it  not? 

A.  I  should  suppose  so. 

Q.  Now,  these  mines  are  all  under  occupancy  by  some- 
body, are  they  hot  ?  They  must  be  possessed  by  some- 
body. 

A.  Yes,  they  are. 

Q.  Well,  now,  do  you  see  any  similarity  between  the  case 
of  a  mine  that  is  being  worked,  and  therefore  in  the  pos- 
session of  somebody,  and  the  case  of  public  lauds  not  in 
possession  of  anybody,  and  where  no  one  has  made  appli- 
cation to  pre-empt  that  land  ? 

A.  I 'suppose  application  could  be  made  by  the  parties 
that  are  trespassing  upon  the  public  lands,  precisely  in  .the 
way  that  I  have  mentioned  in  the  Crown  Point.  Since  I 
was  there  they  may  have  obtained  a  patent.  When  I  was 
there  they  had  not  done  so ;  it  was  the  property  of  the 
United  States.  They  were  just  as  much  trespassers  upon  the 
land  technically  as  a  man  cutting  public  timbers  would  be, 
without  the  privilege  of  the  Government.  That  is  the 
view  that  I  take  of  it,  at  all  events.  I  advised  the  superin- 
tendent, at  tiie  time,  to  get  his  patent  as  soon  as  he  could. 
"Whether  he  has  done  so  or  not  I  don't  know. 

Q.  I  suppose,  likely,  he  thought  that  he  would  determine 
he  would  take  it,  did  he  not? 

A.  I  suppose  so ;  he  had  a  right  to  determine  that  mat- 


285 

ter  for  himself,  and  to  risk  the  title  to  his  property  if  he' 
chose. 

Q.  Did  he  tell  you  why  he  didn't  take  it? 

A.  Oh,  he  said  he  did  no,t  think  it  was  worth  while  just 
then. 

Q.  Didn't  he  tell  you  it  was  because  of  the  condition  of 
the  Sutro  tunnel  project  that  he  did  not  take  out  his  pat- 
<ent? 

A.  I  don't  recollect  that  he  did.  We  were  not  referring 
to  the  Sutro  tunnel  at  the  time  the  conversation  occurred. 

Q.  Do  you  know  other  companies  that  have  refused  to 
take  their  patents  on  that  account? 

A.  I  don't  know  of  any  besides  that.  I  don't  recollect 
of  any  others. 

Q.  I  think  you  said  there  were  some  40  companies  now 
at  work  on  the  Comstock? 

A.  I  did  not  state  how  many.  I  don't  know  the  num- 
ber. I  cannot  tell  without  counting  them  Tip.  The  num- 
ber may  be  40  or  50,  or  only  30. 

Q.  Don't  you  think  it  is  better  to  have  a  number  of  com- 
panies at  work  on  that  Comstock  than  to  have  the  work 
all  in  the  hands  of  a  single  party,  or  a  single  corporation, 
who  would  then  control  everything?  Don't  you  think  it 
is  better  for  the  people  that  it  should  be  so? 

A.  Well,  a  good  deal  can  be  said  upon  both  sides  of  that 
question.  In  the  first  place,  if  worked  economically,  an 
immense  corporation  would  produce  an  immense  amount 
of  wealth  to  the  individuals  of  the  corporation.  If  divided 
into  numerous  corporations,  there  would  not  be  that  con- 
cert of  action,  that  system  of  reduction,  that  would  result 
from  one  management.  With  numerous  companies  it 
would  not  be  so  economical;  the  expenses  would  be  greatly 
increased  over  those  of  a  single  company,  owing  to  the 
multiplicity  of  officers. 

Q.  Would  not  the  ownership  of  the  entire  Comstock  cre- 
ate a  power  which  would  be  dangerous  to  the  welfare  of 
the  people  of  that  section  of  the  State,  and  to  the  State 


286 

itself.    Wouldn't  it  aggregate  more  than  half  of  the  wealth 
of  the  State? 

A.  I  should  say  that  you:  put  the  matter  a  little  low  in 
regard  to  the  aggregate.  I  conceive  the  wealth  of  that  lode 
to  be  the  chief  wealth  of  the  whole  State.  That,  with 
the  other  mining  interests,  would  he  about  all  the  wealth 
there  is  in  Nevada,  although  there  is  some  little  agricul- 
ture. 4 

Q.  Do  you  think  it  would  be  safe  to  create  a  corporation 
with  such  power  in  any  State? 

A.  We  have  such  powers  created  in  the  East,  that  wield 
a  great  deal  of  political  influence;  we  have  the  extension, 
of  railroads,  and  the  tendency  to  reunite  them  for  the  ac- 
commodation of  the  public,  but  mainly  for  the  benefit  of 
the  individuals  that  run  the  roads;  we  have  grand  trunks 
extending  north 'and  south.  Take  the  concentration  of 
the  Hew  Jersey  roads,  and  the  Erie  road  in  its  connections, 
its  branches,  ahd  the  same  thing  holds  good.  Wherever 
you  go,  if  men  can  work  more  economically  for  the  bene- 
fit of  the  public  in  general,  why  it  is  an  advantage  to  them, 
although  dangerous  in  the  power  that  they  may  wield  or 
exert  in  the  community  politically. 

Q.  Well,  I  understood  you  to  say  that  you  thought  the 
completion  of  this  tunnel  would  stimulate  exploration  and 
prospecting.  Do  you  mean  in  the  Comstock? 

A.  I  mean  in  the  Comstock  as  well  as  in  the  lateral  lodes 
that  are  running  nearly  parallel  with  it. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  more  than  one  lode  which  that  tun- 
nel would  cross  before  it  would  get  to  the  Comstock? 

A.  According  to  the  map  on  which  it  is  laid  down,  and 
the  more  careful  survey  that  I  examined  in  the  connection 
which  is  mentioned  in  the  report  of  Baron  Richtofen, 
there  are  others  on  the  track.  I  could  trace  only  two,  al- 
though three  are  laid  dawn. 

Q.  It  is  an  easy  matter  to  make  a  thing  on  a  map,  but 
it  is  not  so  easy  to  find  it  on  the  ground? 

A.  I  traced  the  track  of  the  tunnel  in  connection  with 
the  geological  report  of  the  Baron's. 


287 

Q.  Did  you  sec  more  than  one  lode  there? 

A.  I  saw  two  lodes,  as  I  conceived,  distinct  from  each 
other.  • 

Q.  You  mean  on  the  line  of  the  tunnel? 

A.  On  the  line  of  the  tunnel. 

Q.  Well,  now,  sir,  we  come  hack  to  the  Comstock.  As 
far  as  the  Comstock  is  concerned,  do  you  think  that  in- 
spection and  prospecting  could  be  carried  on  hy  any  pos- 
sibility more  vigorously  than  now? 

A.  I  do,  most  decidedly.  There  is  nothing  that  has  ar- 
rived at  that  degree  of  perfection  that  it  may  not  be  bet- 
tered. On  general  principles,  it  is  carried  on  with  a  great 
deal  of  activity  at  the  present  time,  yet  that  activity  could 
be  redoubled  by  increasing  the  force  applied. 

Q.  About  how  deep  is  the  deepest  mining  now  done  in 
any  silver  mine? 

A.  Three  thousand  feet. 

Q.  How  long  has  that  company,  to  which  you  refer,  been 
in  getting  down  three  thousand  feet? 

A.  Well,  the  mine  that  I  refer  to  especially— the  Samp- 
son mine — 'has  been  hundreds  of  years. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  Where  is  that  located? 

A.  In  Germany. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  In  the  Harz  mountain,  ain't  it? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  They  have  been  hundreds  of  years  getting  down 
3,000  feet?  How  long  has  the  Comstock  been  mined? 

A.  Some  10  or  11  years. 

Q.  If  the  same  energy  that  has  been  evinced  heretofore 
in  working  the  Comstock  should  continue,  how  lo"ng  would 
it  take  them  to  get  down  3,000  feet  ? 

A.  Probably  in  the  course  of  5,  6,  or  8  years  they  might 
get  down  to  the  depth  of  3,000  feet. 

Q.  Is  there  any  instance  on  record  anywhere  in  the 
world  where  the  same  energy  has  been  displayed  in  min- 
ing as  has  been  displayed  on  the  Comstock,  where  work 
has  been  pushed  to  such  an  extent?  '  I  speak  of  silver 
mines. 


288 

A.  Oh!  there  has  been  a  vast  amount  of  energy  dis- 
played there,  probably  more  than  in  any  other  mines  in 
the  world.  * 

Q.  What  is  your  observation  of  the  intelligence  of  the 
men  who  are  working  these  mines,  the  superintendents 
especially  ? 

A.  Well,  I  think  the  superintendents,  as  a  class,  are  very 
superior  men.  I  think  they  are  men  of  energy,  and  gen- 
tlemen in  their  address.  Some  of  them  are  quite  polished 
in  their  manners  and  extremely  hospitable.  They  are  very 
excellent  men,  as  far  as  my  knowledge  of  them  extends. 

Q.  Now,  what  do  you  say  of  their  adaptability  to  the 
business  that  they  are  engaged  in  ? 

A.  That  I  cannot  answer.  They  are  generally  intelli- 
gent gentlemen.  They  have  been  selected  with  reference 
especially  to  their  mining  knowledge,  and  with  reference 
to  their  general  ability  for  conducting  the  business.  They 
are  business  men — mechanics. 

Q.  Is  it  riot  the  habit  of  superintendents  to  visit  and  go 
through  all  the  parts  of  the  mines  that  are  being  worked 
once  every  day? 

A.  Well,  that  is  the  case  with  some;  with  others  it  is  not. 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  these  men  were  miners  before 
they  were  made  superintendents? 

A.  I  know  some  of  them  were  interested  in  mining  pre- 
vious to  their  being  appointed  superintendents,  especially 
in  placer  mining.  I  know  that  is  the  case  with  Mr.  Requa. 
With  reference  to  the  previous  history  of  these  men,  I  am 
not  acquainted. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  Mr.  Eequa's  knowledge 
of  milling,  whether  he  is  a  practical  mill-man  ? 

A.  I  should  think  he  was.  He  is  a  man  of  very  general 
information  with  reference  to  mines  and  mining  and  mill- 
ing, and  everything  pertaining  to  those  branches. 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  he  knows  anything  about 
machinery,  such  machinery  as  is  used  in  hoisting  works  or 
in  mills  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 


289 

Q.  What  is  the  character  of  these  men  ?  What  charac- 
ter do  they  sustain  in  the  community  where  they  are 
known? 

A.  They  are  considered,  in  society,  as  very  respectable 
men. 

Q.  Have  you  any  reason  to  doubt  the  correctness  of  their 
reports  that  you  published  in  connection  with  your  report? 

A.  I  have  reason  to  doubt  some  of  them ;  because  some 
of  the  statements  in  them  are  not  correct. 

Q.  What  are  they  ? 

A.  Those  that  are  given  merely  as  matters  of  opinion. 
My  opinion  does  not  correspond  with  theirs. 

Q.  I  refer  now  to  where  they  profess  to  state  facts.  Have 
you  any  reason  to  doubt  the  facts  as  stated  ? 

A.  Where  they  state  facts  as  facts,  I  should  believe  them. 
Where  they  state  them  as  matters  of  opinion,  in  some  cases 
I  should  not. 

Q.  Where  they  state  that  it  has  cost  so  much  a  foot  to 
sink  a  shaft  or  to  run  a  drift,  giving  the  time  and  cost  of 
such  ? 

A.  I  should  rely  upon  it  with  perfect  safety ;  but  where 
they  state  that  they  can  draw  up  from  the  depth  of  3,000 
or  2,500  feet  as  cheaply  as  they  can  draw  up  from  a  depth 
of  500  feet,  I  don't  quite  believe  it;  I  don't  think  it  is  a 
possible  thing. 

Q.  I  believe  you  stated  you  were  once  interested  in  min- 
ing stocks  on  the  Comstock.  What  company  was  that  ? 

A.  It  was  in  the  one  that  Mr.  Requa  has  control  of,  and 
several  others. 

Q.  What  are  they. 

A.  There's  the  Overman  for  one,  if  you  want  to  put 
that  down ;  there's  the  Overman,  and  there's  the  Chollar 
Potosi. 

Q.  Did  you  know  anything  about  how  those  mines  were 
worked  at  that  time  ? 

A.  Well,  I  bought  merely  as  an  investment.  I  studied 
the  proceeds  that  had  been  paid,  the  amount  that  was  being 

19 


290 

monthly  distributed,  especially  with  reference  to  the  Chol- 
lar  Potosi,  and  did  it  as  an  investment. 

Q.  l)o  you  know  what  it  cost  at  that  time  to  mill  ore,  or 
to  reduce  ore  at  the  mill  ?  Do  you  know  what  they  charge 
at  the  mills  for  the  reduction  of  ores  ? 

A.  No,  I  don't.     I  had  no  personal  knowledge  of  it. 

Q.  About  what  year  was  that? 

A.  It  was  about  5  or  6  years  ago. 

Q.  Then  that  would  be  covered  by  this  report  that  I 
showed  you  last  night?  Did  you  read  Mr.  Requa's  last 
report  ? 

A.  I  have  rea(J  it. 

Q.  Did  you  notice  that  in  that  report  he  says  that  the 
cost  of  mining  and  milling  in  the  Chollar  has  been  reduced 
about  $1  50  a  ton  since  the  year  1870 — in  his  last  report 
from  the  previous  year,  I  mean? 

A.  It  may  be  so  stated;  I  don't  recollect. 

Q.  Well,  don't  you  know  that  it  might  be  done,  or  were 
you  not  told,  when  you  were  there,  by  reliable  men,  that 
the  cost  of  both  mining  and  milling  is  constantly  being  re- 
duced? 

A.  I  know  it  is  reduced  from  what  it  was  originally,  in 
consequence  of  the  greater  cheapness  of  milling;  and  the 
cost  of  labor  was  reduced  from  what  it  was  when  miners 
were  paid  enormous  wages. 

Q.  You  are  mistaken  about  that.  Wages  are  higher 
now  than  they  ever  were  before.  , 

A.  I  will  refer  you  to  the  report  of  the  United  States 
Geologist  on  mining,  in  connection  with  that,  where  it 


"They  demanded  tjieir  $16  a  day  and  got  it." 

Xow  it  is  $4  a  day. 

Q.  Sixteen  dollars  a. day? 

A.  Sixteen  dollars  a  day. 

Q.   Who  makes  that  report?     I  should  like  to  know. 

A.  Well,  I  happen  to  know,  because  I  paid  that  for  it. 

Q.  Paid  $16  a  day? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 


291 

Q.  For  mining?     Where? 

A.  At  Mormon  Island. 

Q.  I  am  speaking  about  the  Comstock,  Doctor? 

A.  We  are  speaking  of  mining  generally.  Specify  what 
you  want. 

Q.  I  will  now  ask  you  whether  the  expense  of  both  min- 
ing and  milling  upon  the  Comstock  lode,  since  it  was  first 
worked,  has  been  reduced  every  year? 

A.  I  know  it  has  been  reduced.  Whether  it  has  been 
year  by  year  I  cannot  say. 

Q.  Are  you  not  aware  that  materials,  such  as  timber, 
lumber,  wood,  are  delivered  now  at  the  mines  at  a  much 
cheaper  rate  than  they  used  to  be,  in  consequence  of  the 
completion  of  the  road  between  Virginia  City  and  Carson? 

A.  I  should  think  that  that  was  undoubted.  Have  you 
the  report  of  the  Savage  mine  there? 

Q.  Yes.  In  that  connection,  Doctor,  I  will  just  get  you 
to  mark  there  a  single  sentence  in  the  report  of  last  year: 

"A  branch  track  of  the  Virginia  and  Truckee  railroad  is  being  laid  above 
the  mining  works,  which  will  be  a  great  convenience  in  the  delivering  of 
timber  and  wood  at  the  mines,  and  will  save  to  the  Savage  company  50  cents 
per  cord  on  wood,  and  the  same  sum  per  thousand  feet  on  timber." 

This  is  the  report  of  the  Savage.  I  presume  that  would 
be  correct. 

Q.  Well,  now,  did  you  want  to  refer  to  anything  else 
there,  Doctor? 

A.  I  want  to  refer  to  the  net  proceeds  of  the  Savage 
Mining  Company  for  the  last  }7ear. 

Q.  Well,  the  net  profit  is  about  $8,000,  if  that  is  what 
you  want  to  get  at.  I  think  you  will  find  it  in  Mr.  Holmes's 
(the  secretary)  report.  I  think  the  aggregate  cost  will  be 
given  in  the  report. 

A.  Here  it  is.  The  total  product  of  the  mine,  as  given 
here,  is  $827,230  46.  The  costs  of  reduction  of  ore  and  labor 
and  various  expenses  make  an  aggregate  of  $818,719  78; 
leaving  a  total  profit  of  $8,510  68.  They  had  a  balance  on 
hand  the  year  previous. 

•    Q.  Has  not  the  construction  of  that  railroad  had  the 
same  tendency  to  lessen  the  expense  of  transportation  ? 


292 

A.  It  has  lessened  transportation,  I  judge,  because  the 
wagoners  complain  of  the  railroad,  and  say  it  has  driven  a 
vast  number  of  teams  out  of  employment. 

Q.  In  looking  at  the  present  expenses  of  milling  and 
mining,  it  seems  that  you  have  taken  the  cost  to  the  min- 
ing company  of  milling,  and  not  the  actual  cost  of  reduc- 
tion at  the  mills.  Is  not  that  so  ? 

A.  I  have  taken  the  cost  as  given  by  the  superintend- 
ents— the  cost  to  the  mines. 

Q.  Weil,  don't  you  think  it  would  have  been  much  bet- 
ter, in  order  to  report  upon  some  better  mode  of  reducing 
the  ores,  for  you  to  have  ascertained  from  the  mills  the 
actual  present  cost  to  reducing  ores  ? 

A.  In  other  words,  to  have  asked  the  presidents  of  the 
companies  what  their  profits  were  in  reducing  ores.  We 
did  not  have  quite  cheek  enough  to  make  that  inquiry. 

Q.  You  were  not  refused  any  facilities  in  inspecting 
books,  papers,  or  anything  else  that  you  asked  for,  were 
you? 

A.  No,  sir;  but  I  should  have  considered  it  a  great  im- 
pertinence to  have  asked. 

Q.  Mr.  King  speaks  of  having  access  to  the  books  of  the 
Savage  company,  upon  which  he  founds  his  report.  I 
think  you  said  you  did  not  ask  to  see  the  books  of  any 
company  ? 

A.  Well,  we  had  the  books  exposed  to  us,  and  looked 
over  them ;  one  or  two  of  the  companies  did  this.  We 
just  glanced  over  them,  and  we  saw  they  were  very  hand- 
somely kept. 

Q.  Everything  is  kept  in  detail,  is  it  not? 

A.  It  seemed  to  be  kept  in  very  fine  order. 

Q.  So  that,  by  referring  to  the  books,  it  is  easy  to  ascer- 
tain the  cost  of  sinking  a  shaft,  or  running  a  drift,  or  the 
cost  of  pumping,  or  the  cost  of  any  one  thing  that  is  clone 
about  the  mines?  It  is  all  on  the  books?8* 

A.  In  the  most  of  cases  they  kept  these  matters  distinct; 
in  others,  according  to  their  reports  that  I  now  speak  from,' 
they  lump  them  together.     The  different  items  are  put 


293 

under  one  head.  It  is  possible  they  may  run  a  side  drift, 
and  the  side  drift  may  not  enter  as  a  separate  account,  but 
generally  you  are  correct  in  your  position. 

Q.  You  speak  of  the  importance  of  this  tunnel  in  a 
scientific  point  of  view.  Would  it  not  be  as  important  to 
run  to  any  other  mines  in  the  State  of  Nevada  in  a  scien- 
tific point  of  view  ? 

A.  If  the  -conditions  were  similar,  and  the  formations  the 
the  same,,  it  would  be.  If  you  can  find  the  same  conditions, 
it  would  be  just  as  well  to  run  one  as  another,  for  the  pur- 
poses of  establishing  the  principle  of  the  extension  of  min- 
eral clown  to  the  lowest  depths. 

Q.  I  understood  you  to  say  that  the  running  of  the  tun- 
nel would  induce  capitalists  to  invest  their  money  in  the 
Comstock,  or  in  .the  work  of  mining  or  milling,  I  don't 
know  which '! 

A.  Where  a  capitalist  is  sure  of  meeting  with  a  return 
for  his  investment,  he  is  a  good  deal  more  likely  to  put  his 
money  in,  than  when  it  is  a  risky  operation. 

Q.  Well,  don'.t  you  think  these  mines  are  selling  for  all 
they  are  worth  now? 

A.  I  think  some  of  them  are  selling  for  their  full  value, 
perhaps ;  yet  that  is  a  matter  of  conjecture  merely.  • 

Q.  Did  you  ever  notice  any  want  of  capital  there  for  the 
purchase  of  mining  stock  or  the  working  of  the  mines,  the 
erection  of  machinery  or  the  building  of  mills,  on  the 
Comstock?  ' 

A.  I  could  give  numerous  cases  where  there  has  been  a 
want  of  capital  on  the  Comstock  in  connection  with  the 
mills,  and  one  case  where  washerwomen  arid  others  were 
called  on  to  contribute  to  the  putting  up  of  a  mill;  that 
mill  soon  failed,  however,  from  a  refusal  to  furnish  it  with 
ore,  or  to  supply  it.  The  mill  failed,  in  consequence  of 
their  failure  to  fulfill  the  ideas  held  out  that  they  should  be 
supplied  with  all  the  one  that  the}7  could  work.  They  were 
compelled  to  sell  the  property  at  a  very  great  sacrifice,  and 
.  pass  it  into  the  hands  of  the  mill  company. 


294 

Q.  That  was  a  failure  on  the  part  of  the  parties  who 
erected  the  mill:  they  erected  the  mill,  didn't  they? 

A.  They  erected  the  mill,  and  were  for  a  time  supplie  I 
with  the  necessary,  ore. 

Q.  Couldn't  make  it  pay,  could  they  ? 

A.  Oh,  they  made  it  pay  as  soon  as  they  got  ore. 

Q.  Well,  how  did  they  fail,  so  long  as  they  made  the 
mill  pay  a  profit? 

A.  The  party  that  got  up  the  mill  was  Doctor  de  Tavel. 

Q.  Where  was  that  man? 

A.  He  was  in  Virginia  City  somewhere ;  whereabouts 
I  don't  know.  I  never  took  the  trouble  to  inquire.  I  know 
that  the  stockholders  lost  their  investment. 

Q.  He  called  on  the  washerwomen  for  money  to  build 
his  mill  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir  ;  the  washerwomen  and  all  the  French  resi- 
dents of  Oakland  and  the  surrounding  country. 

Q.  Did  he  profess  to  be  a  scientific  man  ? 

A.  Oh,  yes. 

Q.  Was  he  ? 

A.  I  don't  say  he  was. 

Q.  He  professed  to  be  ? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  I  suppose  so.  When  you  were  there  last,  Doctor, 
did  you  notice  any  improvements  going  on  anywheres — • 
any  mills  being  built,  or  any  evidence  that  there  was  capi- 
tal there  sufficient  to  carry  on  the  mines  ? 

A.  There  is  no  doubt  about  there  being  capital  sufficient 
to  work  the  mines.  There  was  evidence  of  improvement, 
in  consequence  of  the  strike  that  had  been  made  in  the 
Crown  Point,  stimulated  again  by  the  occurrence  that  took 
place  while  we  were  there,  of  striking  a  bonanza  in  the 
Belcher  mine. 

Q.  Don't  you  know  that  for  the  last  ten  years,  if  any 
mine  on  the  Comstock,  or  any  mining  company,  whether 
it  has  had  ore  or  not,  has  wanted  money,  it  has  always  been 
able  to  borrow,  whenever  necessary  to  prosecute  researches? 


295 

A.  They  are  levying  assessments  continually,  and  I  con- 
elude  from  that  they  want  money. 

Q.  "Well,  they  have  always  got  it,  haven't  they? 

A.  Well,  they  .have,  generally. 

Q.  What  benefit  would  an  additional  capital,  invested  in 
the  Comstock,  be  to  its  working? 

A.  Whatever  reduced  the  cost  of  the  reduction  of  ores 
and  increased  the  amount  of  the  paying  product,  or  favored 
the  investigating  of  lower  depth,  in  the  cheapest  possible 
manner  would  be  an  advantage  to  the  Comstock  lode,  an 
advantage  to  the  stockholders,  and  an  advantage  to  the 
whole  of  the  United  States. 

Q.  I  don't  understand  that  that  is  an  answer  to  my 
question  ? 

A.  I  think  it  is. 

Q.  Will  the  addition  of  capital  now  existing  bring  about 
the  cheaper  reduction  of  ores,  and  the  cheaper  mining  and 
more  extensive  explorations? 

A.  I  think  the  greater  facility  offered  at  the  mouth  of 
the  tunnel,  from  the  conformation  of  the  ground  and  the 
use  of  water  power  there,  would  decrease  the  cost  of  re- 
duction materially. 

Q.  Well,  does  additional  capital  necessarily  take  the  ore 
to  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel? 

A.  Additional  capital  facilitates  it,vbecause  it  requires 
capital  to  construct  the  tunnel. 

Q.  Hasn't  Mr.  Sutro  told  you  that  he  has  now  $1,000,- 
000  that  he  procured  in  Europe  for  the  construction  of  the 
tunnel  ? 

A.  !N~o,  sir. 

Q.  Has  he  told  you  that  he  had  any  money? 

A.  He  told  rne  that  he  had  obtained  capital  in  Europe, 
but  how  much  I  don't  know. 

Q.  He  did  not  tell  you  ? 

A.  I  don't  know  that  he  did.    He  didn't  say  $1,000,000. 

Q.  Well,  what  did  he  say? 

A.  I  understood  from  other  parties  that  he  had  raised  a 
half  million.  I  think  Mr.  Sutro  never  told  me  of  any 


amount  that  he  had  raised,  only  that  he  had  raised  money 
there. 

Q.  Did  he  tell  you  how  he  had  raised  it  ? 

A.  I  suppose  by  the  sale  of  stock. 

Q.  Well,  did  he  tell  you  ? 

A.  He  did  not  tell  me. 

Mr.  EICB.  Well,  may  it  please  the  committee,  I  don't 
think  that  what  third  parties  say  is  of  any  consequence  in 
this  examination. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  didn't  call  for  what  third  parties 
eaid. 

Mr.  RICE.  Well,  he  said  he  got  it  from  third  parties. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  would  -speak,  now,  about  getting  in- 
formation from  Mr.  George  Atwood.  Do  you  know  any- 
thing about  him  ? 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  I  know  that  he  is  said  to  be  the  superin- 
tendent of  the  Eberhardt  mine. 

Q.  Where  did  you  see  him  ? 

A.  I  saw  him  in  Oakland  and  in  San  Francisco. 

Q.  You  don't  know  that  he  was  superintendent  of  the 
Eberhardt,  do  you? 

A.  I  repeated  what  I  was  told  about  it. 

Q.  How  long  a  time  did  you  see  him  about  San- Fran- 
cisco and  Oakland? 

A.  I  was  there  but  a  short  time  myself:  I  saw  him  there 
two  or  three  days.  After  making  all  the  inquiries  I  wished 
in  respect  to  it 

Q.  He  is  a  scientific  man,  too,  ain't  he?  Or  he  professes 
to  be. 

A.  He  professes  to  be  acquainted  with  mining. 

Q.  You  say  that  he  told  you  that  he  was  willing  to  pay 
§2  50  per  ton  for  ore  taken  from  the  200-foot  level  of  the 
Crown  Point,  taking  fifty  tons  a  day  for  five  years? 

A.  He  would  take  it  out  at  his  own  expense;  he  would 
be  willing  to  pay  $2  50  a  ton  for  it,  and  agree  to  take  out 
that  quantity  for  that  length  of  time. 

Q.  He  was  at  one  time  employed  in  the  Crown  Point, 
was  he  not? 


297 

0 

A.  Ho  was  represented  to  be. 

Q.  Do  you  know  in  what  capacity? 

A.  I  do  not:  I  think  it  was  as  foreman  of  a  level. 

Q.  lie  also  told  you  that  he  knew  of  bodies  of  ore  in  the 
mine  that  the  present  superintendent  knew  nothing  about, 
did  he  not?  • 

A.  He  stated  so. 

Q.  What  would  you  think  of  the  good  faith  of  a  man 
that  is  employed  in  a  mine,  whoyfinds  ore  and  refuses  to 
disclose  its  whereabouts  to  the  company  ? 

A.  If  employed  by  me,  I  should  consider  him  as  being 
derelict  in  his  duty,  of  course. 

Q.  Well,  don't  you  think  it  is  a  good  deal  worse  than 
that? 

A.  Well,  that  is  a  pretty  heavy  charge.  I  should  not 
like  to  make  it  any  worse,  because  it  might  affect  many  of 
the  superintendents  out  there.  I  don't  want  to  make  it 
any  stronger. 

Q.  I  don't  think,  Doctor,  it  is  in  very  good  taste  to  make 
these  insinuations  against  those  superintendents. 

A.  No,  they  don't  consider  it  so.  One  of  the  superin- 
tendents told  me  that  they  were  in  the  habit  of  taking  the 
low-grade  ores,  which  would  not  pay  the  expense  of  mill- 
ing, and  mixing  them  with  good  ores,  to  furnish  the  reduc- 
tion works  with  material,  thus  cheating  the  mines  abso- 
lutely out  of  the  cost  of  that  reduction. 

Q.  Who  was  that  superintendent? 

A.  I  didn't  name  him. 

Q.  You  decline  to  give  his  name? 

A.  The  statement  was  made  in  the  presence  of  the  su- 
perintendent of  the  Crown  Point.  I  don't  wish  to  involve 
the  character  of  any  individual,  but  to  me  it  looked  as  though 
lie  was  derelict  iji  his  duty. 

Q.  Would  yoiPtake  for  granted  the  word  of  a-  man  to  be 
true  who,  at  the  same  time  that  he  told  you  what  he  said 
to  be  a  fact,  told  you  that,  while  employed  by  the  Crown 
Point  Company,  he  knew  of  bodies  of  ore  that  would  last 


298 

five  years,  and  yet  refused  or  declined  to  inform  the  com- 
pany where  those  bodies  of  ore  were  ? 

A.  J  don't  know  but  that  he  informed  the  company;  I 
cannot  say.  The  same  superintendent  is  not  there  now. 
It  may  have  been  known,  but  would  not  pay  for  getting  it 
out  at  that  time. 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  responsibility  there  is  about  Mr. 
Atwood,  as  to  his  being  able  to  comply  with  the  contract, 
such  as  he  proposed  to  make  with  the  Crown  Point  Com- 
pany ? 

A.  I  don't  know  anything  about  his  circumstances  at  all. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  his  career  as  a  mill-man  ? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  hear  anything  about  his  making  re- 
peated failures  there  in  running  mills? 

A.  No,  sir ;  I  never  heard  of  him  as  a  mill-man  at  all. 

Q.  Well,  there  are  a  great  many  other  things  that  I  want 
to  examine  the  Doctor  about,  but  I  have  taken  up  about  50 
minutes,  and  I  guess  I  will  close,  in  order  to  not  detain  the 
committee  and  the  witness  here. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Doctor,  I  will  ask  you  a  few  questions.  Mr. 
Stmderland  has  asked  you  whether  you  saw  the  water  in 
this  Sierra  Nevada  mine,  and  you  said  that  they  were  work- 
ing the  surface  simply  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Would  there  be  likely  to  be  any  water  on  the  sur- 
face ? 

A.  If  there  had  been,  it  would  have  been  drained  off  or 
evaporated. 

Q.  Could  the  surface  diggings  at  the  Sierra  Nevada 
mines  properly  be  called  a  part  of  the  Comstock  lode  ?  Are 
they  not  more  of  the  character  of  placer  diggings? 

A.  Well,  we  considered  it  in  that  light.  -They  wer<i 
working  from  the  surface,  and  working  for  gold. 

Q.  You  were  asked  whether  the  Sierra  Nevada  mine 
would  not  be  benefited  by  the  tunnel  as  they  were  work- 
ing now.  You  answered  that  it  would  not.  Would  not 


299 

the  Sierra  Nevada  mine  be  benefited  by  that  tunnel,  if  they 
tvere  to  penetrate  clown  in  depth  ? 

A.  "Well,  that  is  a  question  that  cannot  be  answered  posi- 
tively. It  might,  and  it  might  not.  It  is  possible  that  you 
might  strike  the  lode  as  rich  at  the  depth  of  2,000  feet,  or 
you  might  strike  bad  rock. 

Q.  Would  not  it  facilitate  their  prospecting  operations? 

A.  Not  in  their  working  on  the  surface. 

Q.  But  provided  they  would  connect  their  shaft  by  a 
bore-hole  with  the  drainage  tunnel,  would  it  not  aid  ex- 
plorations of  that  mine  in  depth? 

.   A.  It  would  aid  in  exploration  if  the  tunnel  ran  under 
it;  which  I  do  not  contemplate  that  it  ever  will. 

Q.  "Well,  there  is  no  telling  about  that. 

A.  That  is  true,  we  cannot  tell;  it  may  or  may  not. 

Q.  Why  didn't  they  work  in  depth  in  the  Chollar  mine? 

A.  They  had  struck  a  bonanza  upon  one  of  the  upper 
levels,  I  don't  recollect  what  one;  it  may  have  been  the 
300-foot  level  or  the  500-foot  level  that  they  had  been 
working  on.  By  the  report  of  the  superintendent,  they  had 
been  working  up  a  rich  bonanza  which  they  had  discov- 
ered. 

Q.  Did  they  not  gouge  out  that  ore,  so  that  they  might 
make  large  dividends  and  run  up  the  stock? 

A.  I  don't  know.  It  was  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Kequa  that 
there  was  no  rich  ore  in  the  mine  at  great  depths;  he  held 
that  the  mine  would  be  exhausted  when  the  upper  levels 
were  worked  out.  I  considered  it  an  entirely  mistaken 
opinion;  but  still  he  attempted  to  demonstrate  it  from  the 
maps  that  had  been  offered. 

Q.  What  is  the  modus  operandi  of  mining,  Doctor,  just 
as  it  is  done  there?  Do  they  not  go  down  in  their  shafts, 
and,  when  they  open  up  a  new  level,  then  work  upwards  to 
the  next  level  above? 

A.  Yes,  it  is  cheaper  to  work  upwards  than  downwards. 

Q.  Do  they  ever  work  downwards? 

A.  Only  in  shafts. 


300 

Q.  In  order  to  get  down  in  the  mine,  do  they  not  put 
their  shafts  down,  and  then  go  into  the  mine  and  work  up 
wards  invariably? 

A.  It  is  their,  rule.  They  run  their  drifts,  and  if  they 
discern  a  body  of  ore,  they  work  up  by  stopes. 

Q.  Then  let  the  ore  drop  down? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Then  carry  it  to  the  shaft  and  hoist  it  out? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Well,  supposing  you  go  in  by  the  tunnel  and  work 
upwards,  there  would  be  no  necessity  to  keep  sinking  these 
shafts  and  opening  up  one  level  at  a  time? 

A.  It  would  be  just  as  easy  to  work  upwards  from  the 
tunnel  as  to  work  up  from  these  preparatory  drifts.  It  is 
just  as  easy  to  work  from  the  tunnel  as  from  those  little 
drifts. 

Q.  Doctor,  does  not  the  opening  up  of  one  level  at  a 
time  keep  the  future  of  the  mine  entirely  in  the  dark? 

SA.  What  is  below  is  kept  entirely  in  the  dark  neces 
sarily  ? 

Q.  Well,  does  that  not  give  rise  to  all  kinds  of  slock 
jobbing  operations,  this  being  in  the  dark  and  not  knowing 
anything  about  it — the  owners  of  the  stock  not  knowing 
what  is  going  to  be  found,  and  the  managing  men  in  the 
mine  knowing  of  the  discovery  of  ore  first? 

A.  The  best  possible  answer  to  that  would  be  that  the 
Crown  Point  was  reported  at  $2  50  a  share ;  the  stock,  in 
consequence  of  the  discovery  that  was  made  of  the  bonanza, 
went  up  to  $300  a  share,  and  has  gone  up  to  still  double 
that,  as  I  understand.  Those  who  first  discovered  the  bo- 
nanza would  have  had  the  advantage  of  operating  by  tele- 
graphing for  the  purchase  of  stock. 

Q.  Is  it  not  common  report,  and  known  to  everybody, 
that  these  mines  are  managed  and  worked  not  so  much  for 
the  benefit  tof  the  stockholders  as.  for  the  benefit  of  thoso 
rings' who  control  them? 

O 

A.  Well,  it  has  been  so  represented.  I  will  not  give  it 
as  a  matter  of  absolute  knowledge  that  I  have  myself,  bitf 


301 

it  has  been  generally  understood  so,  and  I  have  had  my 
vio\vs  in  regard  to  it  for  many  years  that  that  was  the  un- 
derstanding, v 

Q.  Isn't  it  a -notorious  fact,  known  to  everybodjr,  that 
these  mines  are  simply  worked  for  stock-jobbing,  and  in 
order  to  bull  and  bear  the  market  ? 

A.  No,  I  think  it  is  for  the  bullion  as  well. 

Q.  Isn't  the  extraction  of  the  bullion  simply  a  secondary 
consideration? 

A.  I  should  consider  it  so  with  very  many  that  are  fol- 
lowing the  business  for  a  livelihood.  There  are  many  men 
that  follow  as  a  business  these  stock-jobbing  operations. 
It  makes  it  a  species  of  gambling.  They  really  care  noth- 
ing about  the  results,  if  they  can  buy  the  stock  at  a  low 
price  and  get  it  up. 

Q.  Do  these  people  hold  these  stocks  for  investment,  or 
do  they  buy  from  day  to  day,  and  have  new  sets  of  owners 
continually  coming  in  ? 

A.  I  know  I  invested  not  as  a  matter  of  speculation,  and 
!r»st  upon  it. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  the  amount  of  tjie 
speculation  in  stocks  in  the  stock  board  of  San  Francisco 
in  the  stock  of  these  mines? 

A.  It  is  very  fluctuating.  It  varies  with  the  feeling  of 
excitement  and  the  season  of  the  year  also. 

Q.  Does  it  not  amount  sometimes  to  $10,000,000  a 
month  and  more? 

A.  Well,  I  should  judge  it  might. 

Q.  Do  you  consider,  Doctor,  that  this  mode  of  mining — 
this  making  a  gambling  operation  of  mining — is  beneficial 
to  the  interests  of  the  Government  and  to  the  people  at 
large  ? 

A.  I  don't  think  it  is  beneficial  to  the  morals  of  the  peo- 
ple. 

Q.  Does  it  not  have  the  influence  of  keeping  people  who 
ire  at  a  distance,  and  have  capital — people  in  the  East — from 
investing  in  these  mines?  Are  they  not  afraid  that  they 
will  get  swindled? 


802 

A.  Well,  it  is  almost  proverbial  that  a  man  .who  is  not 
in  the  ring,  as  it  is  called,  who  invests  his  money,  is  pretty 
sure  to  lose  it. 

Q.  Doctor,  if  you  were  living  in  New  York,  would  yok 
own  stock  in  any  of  these  mines,  without  being  able  to 
watch  every  movement  that  is  going  on  there? 

A.  "Well,  I  would  not  want  to  own  stock- at  a  distance. 
I  would  rather  my  money  should  be  invested  at  7  per  cent., 
a  great  deal,  than  to  have  the  richest  stock  in  the  mines  at 
the  present  time,  as  they  are  now  conducted,  with  a  pros- 
pect of  doubling  my  money  every  six  months. 

Q.  Would  you  want  to  have  an  investment  in  those 
mines  without  being  near  them  ? 

A.  Losses  don't  trouble  me  very  much ;  I  have  been  ac- 
customed to  them  ;  so  I  sleep  pretty  well  generally. 

Q.  Doctor,  would  not  it  be  very  desirable  for  the  inter- 
ests of  the  Government  and  the  people  at  large  that  a  legiti- 
mate and  thorough  system  of  mining  should  be  introduced^ 
whereby  it  would  be  brought  down  to  a  regular  business, 
as  much  so  as  the  manufacture  of  iron  in  Pennsylvania? 

A.  I  think  it  would  be  of  very  great  advantage  to  the 
mining  interests  of  the  Government  and  of  the  country  aJ 
large  to  have  a  perfect  system  of  mining. 

Q.  Wouldn't  it  have  the  tendency  to  move  capital  in  that 
ilirection,  to  these  Western  States  and  Territories,  and  open 
up  the  mines  and  mineral  wealth? 

A.  It  would  have  that  tendency. 

Q.  Now,  I  will  go. back  to  some  questions  Mr.  Suncler- 
land  put  to  you.  He  asked  you  if  there  was  any  water  in 
the  Chollar  mine  where  they  were  working.  You  said 
there  was  none.  Why  was  there  no  water ;  was  it  near 
the  surface  ? 

A.  Well,  it  was  on  the  upper  levels;  if  there  was  any 
water  dripping,  it  would  get  into  the  deep  shaft. 

Q.  They  had  abandoned  that? 

A.  They  had. 

Q.  Because  it  was  very  expensive  to  work  it? 

A.  The  reason  Mr.  Requa  gave  for  not  working  it  was, 


303 

that  there  was  no  mineral  at  the  lowilevels;  that  the  mineral 
was  "being  exhausted  in  the  mine.  The  feeling,  before  this 
strike  was  made,  was  pretty  general  that  the  mines  were 
exhausted;  that  the  lode  was  worked  out.  That  was  the 
general  impression  previous  to  the  discovery  of  the  bon- 
anzas.  I  was  told  that  that  was  the  general  impression.  It 
renewed  their  courage  when  the  bonanza  was  struck  at 
this  low  level  in  the  Crown  Point.  It  was  increased  in 
intensity,  and  the  thing  began  to  change  pretty  thoroughly, 
when  the  adjoining  mine,  the  Belcher,  struck  a  very  rich 
bonanza;  and  that  is  still  further  confirmed  by  the  recent 
discovery  of  the  Savage  mine.  Our  report  was  made  with 
the  understanding  that  it  is  a  true  fissue  vein:  from  our 

O 

observations,  as  carefully  made  as  we  were  capable  of  mak- 
ing them,  we  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  a  true 
fissue  vein,  and  that  the  ore  would  be  found  at  great  depth. 
You  might  have  to  work  through  a  barren  field  in  order 
to  strike  it,  but  as  long  as  you  kept  within  the  walls  of  the 
country  rock,  on  the  one  side  and  the  other,  there  was  a  pos- 
sibility of  finding  rich  bodies  of  ore. 

Q.  In  regard  to  striking  water  in  depth,  Wheeler's 
Stock  Report  of  January  26,  1872,  says : 

"  The  superintendent  of  the  Crown  Point,  in  a  letter  of  the  7th  instant,  in 
«peaking  of  the  1,300-foot  level,  says:  'On  the  1,300-foot  level  nothing  is  be- 
ing done,  and  nothing  will  be  done,  until  the  water  is  drained  off,  which  will 
probably  take  three  weeks."  This  mine  has  one  of  the  most  powerful  pump- 
ing works  upon  the  Comstock,  and  yet  eo  great  a  headway  was  gained  by 
the  water,  that  work  was  forced  to  be  stopped  in  a  certain  portion  of  the 
mine." 

Do  you  consider  it  likely  that  they  will  strike  those  ac- 
cumulations of  water  at  any  point  arid  at  any  depth  ? 

A.  "Well,  they  may  occur  at  any  depth  where  they  strike 
a  clay  seam. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  That  report  don't  say  where  that  water 
comes  from. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  It  says  they  struck  it  there,  and  it  drowned 
them  out. 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  It  didn't  make  any  difference  whether  it 
came  from  the  surface  or  below.  If  they  get  a  wet  winter, 


304 

they  will  get  a  large  quantity  of  water ;  and  if  a  dry  winter, 
they  will  get  less  of  it;  and  in  a  succession  of  dry  seasons 
there  will  be  less  from  the  surface.  Common  sense  teaches 
that, 

Q.  He  says,  in  the  same  article: 

"Men  of  ingenuity  set  themselves  to  thinking,  and  pnmps  of  considerable 
more  force  were  invented,  which,  for  a  time,  were  successful  in  obviating  this 
difficulty  ;  but  now  shafts  have  been  sunk  to  such  depths,  that  more  power- 
ful machinery  must  be  put  in  use;  and  in  a  lew  years  another  change  will 
have  to  be  made,  for  the  power  will  then  be  too  light  for  the  depths  that  will 
be  attained.  Vast  outlays  of  money  will  be  required  to  put  this  machinery 
in  place,  and  work  in  the  mines  for  the  time  being  will  likely  be  stopped.  The 
aqueous  fluid  seems  to  have  turned  out  to  be  the  greatest,  obstacle  that  nature 
has  presented  to  human  skill  to  conquer  in  the  mines  of  the  Comstock." 

That  is  dated  January  26,  1872;  that  is  the  official  re- 
port. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  There  is  no  official  report  at  all. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  It  is  taken  as  authority  by  everybody  who 
has  anything  to  do  with  the  mines. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Mr.  Wheeler  states  what  he  thinks. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  He  states  furthermore  that 

"Considerable  portions  of  the  expense  incurred  in  mining  is  caused  by  the 
hoisting  and  draining  of  water,  and  he  who  will  devise  means  whereby  this 
difficulty  will  be  conquered,  and  which  will  prove  permanent,  will  not  only 
be  a  great  benefactor,  but  will  meet  with  such  a  compensation  as  will  place 
him  in  a  position  far  above  want." 

There  is  another  article  here  about  striking  water  in  th$ 
Belcher  mine.  They  struck  water  there,  and  they  had  U 
give  up  work  in  the  Belcher  mine  at  their  greatest  depth 
Now,  I  want  to  ask  you,  Doctor,  if  the  water  which  is  en- 
countered in  penetrating  the  crust  of  the  earth  is  not  all 
derived  from  the  surface,  from  rain  and  the  melting  of 
snow  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  necessarily  so.. 

Q.  Well,  if  the  water  which  we  find  penetrating  the 
crust  of  the  earth  is  derived  from  the  surface,  is  there  any 
limit  to  the  depth  at  which  it  may  be  found  in  large  quan- 
tities ? 

A.  The  limit  is  only  when  you  get  to  the  interior  or 
heated  portions  of  the  earth;  there  evaporation  will  ensue, 
and  the  water  will  be  driven  off  in  steam. 

Q.  Is  there  any  possibility  that  there  will  be  any  less 


305 

water  struck  in  going  down  4,000  feet  than  at  the  begin- 
ning? 

A.  I  think  it  will  be  lessened  in  quantity  after  passing 
down  to  a  depth,  because  the  pockets  that  exist  above  will 
hold  the  water.  Still  they  are  liable  to  occur  at  any  depths 
that  you  may  penetrate. 

Q.  Supposing,  at  a  depth  of  4,000  feet,  we  have  a  clay 
seam,  or  two  clay  seams,  coming  together  and  forming  one 
of  these  bowls  that  have  been  described  here,  of  immense 
size,  would  that  not  contain  water  just  as  much  as  it  would 
at  the  1,000-foot  level? 

A.  It  wouldn't  be  so  likely  to  occur  at  the  very  low 
depth  you  could  reach.  These  strikes  were  more  frequent  in 
which  the  early  stages  of  mining  than  in  the  lower  depths, 
is  an  evidence  that  they  decrease  in  number  as  you  descend. 

Q.  Mr.  Day,  in  your  report,  states  the  cost  of  working 
the'  Ophir  mine.  Mr.  Deidesheimer,  the  present  superin- 
tendent, furnishes  some  additional  figures  on  that  subject, 
taken  from  the  books ; 

"OFFICE  OPHIR  SILVER  MINING  COMPANY, 

"VIRGINIA  CITY,  February  16,  1872. 
"  ADOLPH  SUTEO,  Esq., 

"  Washington,  D.  0. 

"DEAR  SIR:  Your  telegram,  asking  for  figures  in  detail  and  cost  of  pump- 
ing, came  duly  to  hand. 

"  I  have  seen  Mr.  Graves,  superintendent  of  Imperial,  an-d  am  informed  by 
him  that  the  statements  you  desire  cannot  be  furnished  here. 

"Accompanying  this  please  find  detailed  statement  of  cost  of  Ophir  new 
works,  '  Buck's  shaft,'  from  time  of  breaking  ground,  in  1867,  to  January 
1,  1872;  also,  actual  cost  of  raising  water. 

"  The  indirect  cost,  as  noted,  we  estimate  as  being  the  amount  that  our  cur- 
rent expenses  would  be  reduced  had  we  no  water  to  contend  with. 

41  Trusting  that  these  will  meet  your  requirements,  and  be  ,of  service  to  you, 
I  remain,  very  truly,  yours,  PHILIP  DEIDESHEIMER, 

1  "Superintendent." 

This  is  the  statement : 

"Cost  of  Ophir  new  shaft  from  August,  1867,  to  January  1, 
1872,  including  pumps,  bobs,  air  conductors,  and  all  under- 
ground work  and  machinery $415,936  09 

Cost  of  building  over  shaft ,,....,        7,159  03 

Cost  of  machinery,  &c.,  including  labor  and  material 172,541  35 

General  expense,  &c.,  salaries  and  office  expense,  &c.,  August, 
1867,  to  January  1, 1872,  $38,824  32;  one  half  applied  to  cost 
of  new  works 19,412  16 


Total  cost  of  new  works,  4  Buck's  shaft,'  from  time  of  break- 
ing ground,  August,  1867,  to  January  1,  1872 $615,048  63 

20 


306 

Dimensions  of  shaft  outside  of  timbers,  18  feet  8  inches,  by  7  feet  4  inches. 
Depth  of  shaft,  January  1, 1872, 1,255  feet.  No.  of  feet  of  drift  and  winze 
to  January  1,  1872,  2,900  feet." 

Deducting  the  cost  of  machinery  and  other  expenses, 
we  find  that.it  has  cost  $415,936  09  to  construct  that  shaft. 
Don't  you  consider,  Professor,  that  the  bulk  of  the  expense 
of  making  that  Ophir  shaft  has  been  caused  by  the  trou- 
bles which  water  gave  them  ? 

A.  Well,  I  am  not  posted  upon  it  eo  as  to  give  a  decided 
answer.  I  know  that  that  is  one  of  the  great  expenses 
attending  the  sinking  of  shafts  generally. 

Q.  When  you  were  out  there,  you  made  application  to 
visit  the  Savage  mine  and  the  Hale  and  Norcross,  and  ob- 
stacles were  thrown  in  your  way  ? 

A.  I  don't  know  whether  they  were  obstacles  thrown  in 
our  way;  one  thing  after  another  occurred  to  prevent. 
They  represented  that  the  shaft  was  out  of  order  in  one 
case,  and  we  know  that  they  were  pumping  very  actively 
to  clear  the  mine  of  water  at  the  time,  and  it  slipped  by 
from  one  day  to  another.  The  superintendent  did  not  give 
us  the  notice  that  we  expected  from  him,  when  he  would 
be  in  readiness,  and  the  whole  time  passed  without  our 
receiving  it. 

Q.  While  you  were  there,  did  they  run  the  pumps  at  the 
Savage  mine  and  the  Hale  and  ISTorcross  to  their  full  capa- 
city, day  and  night,  in  order  to  get  their  water  out? 

A.  Not  the  whole  time.  They  did  a  considerable  por- 
tion of  the  time.  ,e 

Q.  How  powerful  is  the  machinery  in  the  Savage  mine, 
as  compared  with  the  machinery  in  other  shafts  ?  Is  it  not 
the  most  powerful  there  is  on  the  Comstock  lode  ? 

A.  It  is  considered,  I  believe,  one  of  the  best  pumps  on 
the  lode. 

Q.  Do  you  recollect  that  there  are  four  large  steam- 
engines  on  that  shaft — one  immense  steam-engine? 

A.  They  have  very  powerful  machinery  generally.  That 
is  about  all  that  I  recollect  about  it.  We  turned  the  ma- 
chinery part  over  to  the  investigation  of  General  Foster. 

Q.  Well,  all  that  ponderous  machinery  was  kept  going 


307 

on  both  those  shafts  ?  They  couldn't  work  on  the  lower 
level  on  account  of  the  influx  of  water? 

A.  I  heard  the  workmen  speaking  of  how  nicely  they 
had  let  the  water  run  from  one  shaft  to  another  that  was 
a  little  lower.  They  were  chuckling  over  it. 

Q.  Taking  the  statements  of  the  superintendents  of  the 
Ophir  company  and  the  Q-ould  and  Curry  company,  we 
find  an  average  of  411  tons  of  water  which  they  have  to 
hoist  out,  or  pump  out,  every  24  hours.  Taking  that  as  a 
basis,  how  much  more  water  would  there  be  encountered 
on  the  whole  Comstock  lode  ? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  object  to  that,  until  the  Doctor  says 
the  statement  is  right. 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  I  don't  want  to  agree  to  an  estimate  of 
it ;  because  it  might  form  an  exceptional  case,  and  it 
wouldn't  be  fair. 

Mr.  SOTRO.  Doctor,  in  your  report  I  find  that  you  have 
averaged  the  cost  of  pumping.  You  state  here,  on  page 
8,  that  the  cost  of  pumping  for  the  year  ending  June  30, 
1871,  as  arrived  at  by  the  commissioners,  by  taking  the 
costs  as  given  by  the  miners  so  far  as  reported,  and  estimat- 
ing on  the  others,  was  $124,674. 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  We  gave  also  the  statement  of  Captain 
Day  on  the  subject,  who  estimated  it  at  $150,000.  There 
had  been  three  dry  seasons.  Those  dry  seasons  influence 
the  amount  of  water,  and  it  is  only  when  they  strike  the 
pockets  that  the  water  disturbs  them.  A  wet  season  would 
cause  a  larger  amount  of  water  to  penetrate  into  the  mines, 
and  will  give  them  disturbance  in  the  future.  I  think  the 
computation  of  the  water  was  made  by  General  Foster. 

Q.  Taking  the  quantity  of  water  at  the  end  of  these  three 
dry  seasons,  as  given  here  by  those  two  gentlemen,  and  sup- 
posing that  these  figures  are  correct — that  there  are  411  tons 
pumped  every  24  hours,  on  an  average,  between  the  Ophir 
mine  and  the  Gould  and  Curry  mine — how  much  do  you 
think  the  average  would  be  on  all  the  mines  of  the  Com- 
stock lode — say  30?  You  have  made  an  estimate  here,  aver- 


308 

aging  it,  and  it  would  be  perfectly  fair  to  arrive  at  another 
average,  by  taking  the  411  tons  as  a  basis. 

A.  I  don't  think  it  would  be  a  fair  estimate,  but  I  think 
that  the  estimate  would  be  that  perhaps  ten  out  of  the 
thirty  shafts  would  yield  an  equal  quantity  of  water  each. 

.Q.  Well,  taking  the  ten,  that  would  be  4,110  tons  for 
every  24  hours.  Now  would  you  consider  that  one-half 
that  amount  for  the  other  20  shafts  would  be  fair?  These 
figures  are  well  established.  Every  mining  engineer  knows 
how  much  a  miner's  inch  will  discharge  every  24  hours. 

A.  I  don't  think  the  other  20  mines  would  average  a 
half  or  a  quarter. 

Q.  "Well,  say  a  quarter.  That  would  give  us  6,000  tons 
of  water  per  day  to  be  pumped  out  of  the  Comstock.  That 
would  be  a  pretty  low  estimate.  Now,  suppose  these  6,000 
tons  were  let  out  through  the  tunnel,  wouldn't  it  be  an 
immense  saving  to  these  mining  companies,  Doctor  ? 

A.  It  would  save  all  the  expense  of  pumping  it. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Do  I  understand  you  to  say  that  there 
is  "rfiat  amount  of  water  pumped  out? 

Mr.  StiTROv  No;  it  is  merely  an  estimate.  It  is  an  esti- 
mate based  upon  their  own  figures  here,  furnished  by  the 
superintendents. 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  I  haven't  gone  into  the  computation. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.,  What  do  you  think  of  the  approximate 
accuracy  of  that  ? 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  It  is  very  much  larger  than  I  supposed. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  According  to  Mr.  Day's  figures,  they  had  18 
inches  of  water  in  that  mine  alone  in  June,  1870,  which 
is  equal  to  1,700  tons  for  every  24  hours.  Now,  do  you 
think  that  if  they  had  1,700  tons  in  one  single  mine,  the 
estimate  of  6,000  for  the  whole  of  the  lode  is  exaggerated? 

A.  Well,  it  would  be  more  than  was  produced  at  the 
time  we  were  there.  I  found  them  working  upon  dry 
levels  in  some  .cases,  where  they  didn't  have  their  steam- 
pumps  in  operation ;  in  others,  they  were  throwing  out 
large  bodies  of  water;  in  others,  the  drippings  required  us 


309 

to  be  sheltered  by  India-rubber  coats,  to  prevent  our  being 
deluged. 

Q.  Doctor,  you  have  been  asked  the  question  whether 
they  couldn't  use  water  power  at  Virginia  City.  Do  you 
know  how  much  water  sells  for  at  Virginia  City? 

A.  I  heard,  but  I  have  forgotten.  For  some  enormous 
sum. 

Q.  Well,  it  is  stated  at  $1,000  per  miner's  inch  per  month. 
It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the  water  company  made  divi- 
dends amounting  to  $15,000  a  month.  Do  you  think, 
Doctor,  at  the  cost  of  water  here,  it  would  be  possible  to 
employ  it  at  all  for  mining  or  concentrating  operations  of 
any  kind  ? 

A.  Well,  the  mode  of  operations  must  necessarily  be  very 
crude,  for  the  want  of  proper  water  power.  The  supply  is 
not  constant. 

Q.  You  were  asked  about  the  Lady  Bryan  mine.  Does 
that  belong  to  the  Comstock  lode  ? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  What  is  the  average  distance  of  the  mills  on  the  river, 
by  railroad,  from  the  mines  to  Virginia  City  ? 

A.  I  believe  the  most  distant  one  is  some  23  miles. 

Mr.   SUNDERLAND.  Yes,  sir ;  22  miles. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Well,  call  it  22.  How  far  would  the  mills  be 
from  the  mines  if  these  mills  were  transferred  to  the  mouth 
of  the  tunnel  ? 

Mr.  NEWCOMB.  From  4  to  6  miles ;  5 J  miles  would  be 
the  most  distant,  probably. 

Q.  Over  a  level  railroad,  almost? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  You  were  asked  whether  Empire  City  would  be 
flooded.  If  this  would  be  so,  do  you  see  any  difficulty  in 
erecting  a  levee  there  ? 

A.  I  see  no  difficulty  in  putting  up  a  levee. 

Q.  Then  it  would  not  flood  Empire  City  at  all? 

A.  Of  course  not,  if  the  levee  were  erected. 

Q.  Mr.  Sunderland  read  extensively  from  Mr.  King's 
report  last  night  in  regard  to  the  loss  of  working.  These 


310 

data  are  based  upon  the  statements  made  by  the  mill- 
owners.  Do  not  the  same  parties  that  own  the  mills  con- 
trol the  mines  ?  , 

A.  I  understood  when  I  was  there,  and  I  heard  it  from 
Mr.  Sharon  himself,  that  he  had  the  control  of  some  of  the 
mines. 

Q.  Doesn't  he  exercise  a  great  influence  over  many  of 
the  mines  ? 

A.  I  can't  say  as  to  that  absolutely.  He  told  me  that  he 
had  control  of  the  Belcher. 

Q.  I  want  to  ask  you  whether  the  tailings  from  the  ore 
are  riot  claimed  by  the  owners  of  the  mills  ? 

A.  The  mills,  I  believe,  are  entitled  to  the  tailings,  un- 
less the  mill  itself  belongs,  as  in  one  or  two  instances,  to 
the  mine. 

Q.  I  am  speaking  about  the  Union  Mill  and  Mining 
Company.  They  get  the  tailings  after  they  work  the  ore  ? 

A.  So  I  was  told  by  the  mill  operators,  the  superinten- 
dents of  the  mills. 

Q.  Well,  wouldn't  it  be  for  the  interest  of  those  mill 
companies  to  make  as  good  a  show  as  they  could  to  you? 

A.  I  suppose  so. 

Q.  Supposing,  in  reducing  the  ore,  they  should  lose  50 
instead  of  35  per  cent.,  wouldn't  the  mining  companies 
make  a  requisition  upon  them  ? 

A.  So  I  understood.  They  are  obliged  to  return  so 
much  per  cent. 

Q.  So  the  mill  company  gets  all  of  the  35  per  cent.  ? 

A.  They  do  in  the  most  of  cases.  I  know  cases  where 
returns  have  been  made  yielding  a  small  per  cent,  over  65. 

Q.  Wouldn't  these  people  be  very  apt,  under  that  sys- 
tem, to  keep  it  up,  in  order  to  get  all  these  tailings  and  ac- 
cumulate them  ?  Wouldn't  they  be  very  apt  to  try  to  con- 
tinue as  they  are  ? 

A.  Self-interest  would  actuate  them,  no  doubt,  to  retain 
the  present  posture  of  affairs. 

Q.  Supposing  the  ore  would  be  milled  and  concentrated 


311 

at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  wouldn't  it  interfere  with  their 
profits  made  out  of  these  tailings? 

A.  If  they  had  no  tailings  they  would  make  no  profits. 

Q.  Is  it  not  very  natural  in  these  people  to  oppose  the 
new  project?  Wouldn't  they  oppose  any  system  of  mining 
and  milling  that  would  give  a  large  yield  to  the  mines,  and 
by  which  they  would  be  the  losers? 

A.  It  isn't  natural  for  men  to  wish  to  change  positions 
when  they  are  making  a  good  deal  of  money  where  they 
are. 

•Q.  So  far  as  you  have  been  able  to  judge,  what  is  the 
actual  return  to  the  mines.  "What  yield  do  they  get  from 
the  mills?  i 

A.  Well,  I  should  think  from  65  to  65 J  per  cent. 

Q.  It  has  been  stated  here  in  the  report,  that  the  state- 
ments furnished  by  these  superintendents  of  the  mining 
companies  are  official.  Are  they  any  more  official  than 
any  of  the  other  statements  that  were  made? 

A.  They  are  official  with  reference  to  the  companies. 
We  made  a  series  of  questions  to  the  superintendents,  and 
we  applied  to  Mr.  Sutro  for  his  side  of  the  argument  as 
well.  We  don't  hold  ourselves  responsible  at  all  for  the 
representations  made  by  the  superintendents.  They  ex- 
pressed their  hostility  to  the  tunnel,  and  we  wished  them 
to  draw  up  as  strong  an  argument  as  they  could  make 
against  the  tunnel. 

Q.  Now,  I  want  to  ask  you,  Doctor,  whether  you  haven't 
found  a  good  many  of  the  laboring  men  over  there  in  favor 
of  the  tunnel? 

A.  I  have  conversed  with  them.  One  man  I  found  very 
strongly  in  opposition  to  it,  and  I  asked  him  his  reasons: 

"Why,"  said  he,  "I  am  a  teamster,  and  it  would  take  away  my  business." 

But  the  general  feeling  in  the  community,  as  far  as  T.  can 
judge,  outside  of  those  directly  concerned  in  the  mines, 
leaving  the  miners  out  of  the  question,  was  in  favor  of  the 
tunnel.  All  the  laboring  population  that  we ,  conversed 
with,  especially  the  miners,  favored  the  construction  of  the 
tunnel. 


312 

Q.  Have  these  laboring  men  invested  their  money  in 
this  tunnel  company? 

A.  Many  of  them  have. 

Q.  Have  you  found  many  of  these  men  who  own  stock 
in  the  tunnel  company  ? 

A.  I  found  quite  a  number.  I  didn't  make  it  a  special 
matter  of  inquiry. 

Q.  You  stated  that  they  have  been  working  in  the  mines 
of  Europe  for  hundreds  of  years,  and  have  not  yet  reached 
a  greater  depth  than  3,000  feet.  What  do  you  think  is  the 
difficulty  in  getting  down? 

A.  The  difficulty  has  been  the  water,  mainly. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  a  tunnel  in  the  Harz  mountains, 
fourteen  miles  in  length,  for  drainage  ? 

A.  I  know  there  is  one  that  is  reported  a^  having  been 
constructed  by  the  government. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  another  tunnel,  in  Freiberg,  that  is 
over  eight  miles  in  length? 

A.  It  is  so  reported. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  one  in  Hungary? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Don't  they  mine' intelligently  in  Europe? 

A.  I  suppose  they  do? 

Q.  Are  they  not  compelled  to  have  systematic  mining 
in  order  to  work  their  mines  at  all? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  that  is  well  known. 

Q.  "Well,  isn't  the  fact  that  they  have  never  got  deeper 
than  3,000  feet  evidence  of  great  obstacles  in  getting 
down? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  I  think  it  is. 

Q.  Don't  you  think  it  would  be  a  proud  thing  for  the 
United  States  to  penetrate  deeper  into  the  bowels  of  the 
earth  than  man  has  ever  done  before? 

A.  Well,  as  an  American,  I  should  certainly  feel  pride 
in  having  my  own  country  go  deeper  than  any  other. 

Q.  Would  you  not  consider  that,  if  we  should  penetrate 
into  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  and  establish  a  rational  system 
of  mining,  by  which  the  low-grade  ores  of  that  vast  region 


313 

may  be  worked,  it  would  appreciate  the  value  of  our  mine- 
ral domain  many  fold? 

A.  It  would  increase  it  to  a  very  great  extent,  I  haven't 
the  slightest  doubt;  but  no  conception  can  be  formed  as  to 
the  amount. 

Q.  Can  we  give  any  figures  to  show  what  wealth  is  con- 
tained in  that  western  region? 

A.  No;  it  is  rather  my  opinion  that,  if  we  were  to  get 
all  the  bullion  from  that  one  lode,  we  could  pay  off  our 
national  debt  in  gold  and  silver  at  once.  That  is  only  a 
matter  of  opinion,  of  course. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  That,  you  say,  is  a  matter  of  specula- 
tion? 

A.  That  is  all. 

Q.  You  don't  assert  that  you  know  it. 

A.  No,  sir. 


HEARING  WEDNESDAY,  FEBRUARY  28m 
•  Examination  of  Major  General  H.  G.  Wright. 
Mr.  SUTRO.  General  Wright,  you  were  senior  officer  or 
chairman  of  the  Sutro  Tunnel  Commission? 
General  WRIGHT.  I  was. 

Q.  On  page  13  of  your  report  you  state,  in  regard  to  the 
feasibility  of  the  tunnel  : 

"Of  the  practicability  of  the  project  there  is  no  doubt.  It  is  a  question 
of  cost  alone.  So  many  tunnels  have  been  run  in  this,  as  well  as  in  other 
countries,  through  material  much  more  difficult,  that  no  reasonable  grounds 
exist  for  questioning  the  feasibility  of  "the  one  we  are  considering.  So  far 
as  surface  indications  are  to  be  relied  upon,  the  rocks  to  be  penetrated  do  not 
differ  materially  from  those  which  are  met  with  in  the  operations  of  the  Corn- 
stock,  in  the  shafts,  drifts,  and  winzes  which  have  been  opened  in  those  mines 
in  search  for  the  precious  metals.  While  it  is  quite  impossible  to  predict  with 
any  degree  of  certainty  exactly  what  kinds  of  rock  will  be  met  with  in  the  pro- 
gress of  the  tunnel,  or  in  what  proportions,  it  is  safe  to  assume  that  nothing 
will  be  encountered  which  will  offer  any  serious  obstacle  to  the  miner.  We 
therefore  dismiss  this  portion  of  the  investigation  with  the  expression  of  the 
opinion  of  the  commission  in  favor  of  the  entire  feasibility  of  the  tunnel 
project,  so  far  as  its  construction  is  concerned." 

General,  you  have  looked  into  this  question  of  tunnel- 
ing, I  believe,  somewhat  carefully.  You  visited  the  Hoo- 
sac  tunnel  ? 

A.  I  did. 

Q.  And  witnessed  the  operations  of  the  present  appli- 
ances for  drilling  rock? 

A.  I  have. 

Q.  Do  you  think  that  the  progress  which  can  be  made 
is  much  greater  than  it  was  in  former  times,  before  im- 
proved power-drills  were  invented. 

A.  I  certainly  do. 

Q.  What  kind  of  drills  have  you  seen  in  operation  there  ? 

A.  I  have  seen  what  is  called  the  Burleigh  drill,  operated 
by  compressed  air,  and  the  diamond  drill,  which  may  be 
operated  also  by  compressed  air  or  by  steam.  The  first  of 
these  may  be  operated  by  steam.  I  would  say  steam  and 
compressed  air  for  the  first,  and  steam  or  compressed  air 
for  the  second. 

Q.  Which  do  you  think  is  preferable,  generally  ? 

314 


315 

A.  I  have  believed  that  ordinarily  the  Diamond  drill  is 
pre/erable.  It  has  not  received  that  amount  of  actual  use 
which  has  been  given  to  the  other. 

Q.  Haven't  you  found  in  your  investigations,  General, 
that  the  Diamond  drill,  when  it  was  first  used,  some  years 
ago,  was  not  applied  in  the  proper  manner ;  that  is  to  say, 
that  they  applied  a  very  strong  feed  and  a  slow  motion ; 
while  at  the  present  day  they  have  substituted  a  very  rapid 
motion,  so  as  to  make  as  much  as  a  thousand  revolutions 
per  minute,  and  a  very  slow  feed? 

A.  There  have  been  several  improvements  made  in  it, 
one  of  which  is  to  make  the  feed  automatic  and  dependent 
upon  the  pressure.  I  am  so  informed,  but  I  have  never 
seen  it  working. 

Q.  Then  they  get  a  very  rapid  motion,  and  a  great  many 
revolutions  per  minute,  with  a  very  slow  feed ;  and  at 
each  revolution  the  diamonds  take  off  an  infinitely  small 
portion  of  the  rock? 

A.  They  take  off  small  particles  of  the  rock  in  the  shape 
of  dust. 

Q,  But  with  a  thousand  revolutions  per  minute  they 
make  pretty  rapid  progress  ? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  I  have  seen  those  drills  worked  at  the  rate  of  an  inch 
per  minute.  Is  that  about  your  experience  ? 

A.  I  have  seen  them  work  in  hard  rock  not  so  fast  as 
that.  Taking  a  hard  gneiss  rock,  I  should  think  an  inch 
in  three  minutes. 

Q.  In  the  hardest  kind  of  rock  ? 

A.  That  is  a  very  hard  rock. 

Q.  With  the  application  of  diamond  drills  in  this  tun- 
nel, considering  the  kind  of  rock  we  have  to  penetrate,  do 
you  think  we  can  make  pretty  rapid  progress  ? 

A. -You  can  make  very  rapid  progress,  in  comparison 
with  what  can  be  done  by  hand  power. 

Q.  We  are  making  now  from  three  to  five  feet  per  day. 
How  much  do  you  think  that  could  be  increased  by  using 
diamond  drills? 


316 

A.  As  far  as  mere  drilling  is  concerned,  I  should  sup- 
pose you  could  make  five  or  six  times  that  progress. 

Q.  As  far  as  drilling  is  concerned  ? 

A.  There  are  other  considerations.  There  is  the  blast- 
ing, and  getting  out  of  the  material  blasted.  The  drilling 
could  be  proceeded  with  much  faster  if  you  could  get  rid 
of  the  debris. 

Q.  Under  our  present  mode  of  running  that  tunnel,  do 
you  think  that,  instead  of  from  three  to  five  feet  per  day, 
we  probably  would  make  from  12  to  15  by  the  use  of  the 
diamond  drill? 

A.  If  the  debris  could  be  cleared  out,  certainly. 

Q.  Do  you  think  it  could  be  done? 

A.  Yes ;  I  should  think  so. 

Q.  It  is  proposed — in  fact  we  are  now  sinking  four 
shafts  on  the  tunnel  line  for  the  purpose  of  getting  down 
to  the  level  of  the  tunnel.  We  have  already  erected  steam- 
engines  on  those  four  shafts,  and  we  are  now  about  to  order 
very  large  and  heavy  machinery  to  carry  down  these  shafts 
to  different  depths. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  would  rather  have  that  stated  as 
testimony. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  It  don't  appear  as  testimony — what  I  state, 
Mr.  Sunderland. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  The  newspaper  accounts  differ  as  to 
your  statement  about  your  having  put  up  that  machinery? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Well,  as  long  as  you  have  any  doubt  about 
that,  I  think  I  can  give  you  some  points  on  the  question. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  So  far  as  I  have  seen,  your  machinery 
is  on  the  way  there ;  but  the  roads  have  been  very  bad. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  will  read  a  telegram  from  the  superintend- 
ent of  the  works,  dated  Virginia  City,  February  27, 1872: 

"  To  ADOLPH  SUTRO,  Washington,  D.  C. 

"  Engines  on  shafts  number  one  and  two  running.  Number  one  very  wet. 
Working  on  number  four.  Roads  very  bad.  Number  two  one  hundred  and 
ninety  feet." 

One  shaft  (number  two)  is  already  down  190  feet.  That 
was  on  the  27th,  (yesterday,)  and  that  is  mostly  by  hand 
labor.  'Now,  I  want  to  find  a  copy  of  a  paper. 


317 

^.  SHOBER.  Is  that  material  ? 
Mr.  SUTRO.  Well,  I  might  as  well  set  this  right,  since  it 
has  "been  spoken  of.     It  will  take  but  a  moment.     Here  is 
the  Virginia  TERRITORIAL  ENTERPRISE  of  Tuesday,  Janu- 
ary 30,  1872.     It  states  : 

"  THE  SUTEO  TUNNEL  FOLKS  MEAN  BUSINESS.— There  is  great  activity  along 
the  whole  line  of  the  Sutro  tunnel.  The  company  certainly  mean  business. 
The  engines  for  each  of  the  four  shafts  are  now  on  the  ground  and  will  shortly 
be  set  up.  The  hoi?ting  gear,  and  other  machinery  for  the  several  shafts,  haa 
also  arrived  in  the  city,  but  all  has  not  yet  been  hauled  to  where  it  is  to  be 
set  up.  The  hoisting  frames  were  brought  from  San  Francisco  ready  made. 
They  are  all  of  Oregon  pine.  Breed  and  Crosby's  teams  are  now  engaged  in 
hauling  to  the  mouth  01  the  tunnel  the  machinery  of  a  first-class  machine 
shop,  which  is  soon  to  be  set  up  there.  This  shop  will  be  run  by  steam,  and 
will  contain  lathes,  iron  planers,  and  all  else  requisite.  One  of  the  lathes  alone 
weighs  over  8,000  pounds.  Once  the  hoisting  works  at  all  the  shafts,  the 
machine  shop  and  all  the  other  shops  in  full  blast,  the  country  to  the  east- 
ward of  the  city  will  present  a  lively  appearance." 

Here  is  the  Gold  Hill  EVENING  NEWS  of  January  30, 

1872.     It  states: 

"  The  preliminary  engines  and  hoisting  machinery  for  the  four  air-shafts  of 
the  Sutro  tunnel  have  arrived,  and  will  shortly  be  put  in  working  position. 
The  various  fixtures,  etc.,  for  a  first-class  machine  shop  are  being  brought  in, 
and  it  is  to  be  complete  in  every  respect,  prepared  to  do  any  and  all  work 
desired  in  that  line  by  the  Sutro  Tunnel  Company." 

In  this  connection  I  might  as  well  state,  that  the  amount 
of  money  spent  by  the  tunnel  company  during  the  month 
of  January,  over  at  the  tunnel,  independently  of  anything 
spent  at  San  Francisco,  is  $40,000.  I  was  going  to  ask 
you,  General  Wright,  whether,  with  the  use  of  the  dia- 
mond drills  in  sinking  shafts,  much  more  rapid  progress 
can  be  made  than  could  be  in  the  old  manner  of  sinking 
shafts? 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  I  have  no  doubt  it  can  be  done  much  more 
rapidly. 

Q.  A  new  system  of  sinking  shafts  has  been  spoken  of 
by  some  of  the  engineers,  I  think,  of  the  United  States 
army,  and  I  don't  know  but  it  has  been  employed  at  Hell 
Gate,  New  York,  or  some  other  place,  by  which  they  pro- 
pose to  sink  down  bore-holes  all  round  the  circumference 
of  a  shaft  to  a  depth  say  of  500  feet  at  a  time,  then  fill  up 
those  holes  with  gand  within  five  feet  of  the  surface,  load 
them  with  giant  powder,  and  discharge  all  at  once  by  a 


318 

galvanic  battery.  Have  you  heard  of  that  operation,  Gen- 
eral? 

A.  That  has  been  proposed  for  running  drifts;  that  is, 
to  bore  this  series  of  holes  to  the  greatest  depth  that  it  is 
economical  to  bore  them,  (not  to  the  greatest  depth  to 
which  we  might  possibly  bore  them.)  If  it  were  50  feet, 
it  would  be  50;  if  20,  it  would  be  20. 

Q.  "What  do  you  think  about  the  feasibility  of  that  plan, 
General? 

A.  I  don't  see  why  it  shouldn't  be  feasible.  I  have  ad- 
vised its  use  myself  in  the  works  of  Hell  Gate. 

Q.  You  advised  the  Government  to  use  it? 

A.  The  officer  in  charge  of  the  works. 

Q.  That  is  for  drifts? 

A.  For  drifts.  They  are  running  at  this  time  no  verti- 
cal shafts  at  all.  It  is  one  great  vertical  shaft,  to  a  very 
large  extent,  from  which  the  different  drifts  are  run  out 
under  the  water. 

Q.  Do  you  see  any  difficulty  in  sinking  the  shafts  in  the 
manner  I  have  described  ? 

A.  I  see  none  whatever. 

Q.  We  propose  to  try  experiments  upon  that  plan  of 
sinking.  Would  you  consider  it  judicious  to  do  so? 

A.  I  certainly  should. 

Q.  Well,  if  we  should  succeed  in  putting  our  bore-holes 
down  100  feet  at  a  time,  and  then  fill  them  up>  as  I  have 
said,  with  sand,  and  then  place  the  giant-powder  or  nitro- 
glycerine, do  you  not  think  we  could  remove  more  than  in 
any  other  manner  ? 

A.  Possibly  so;  but  I  think  the  great  advantage  would 
be  in  setting  the  boring  machine  but  once  for  a  hole  of 
great  depth;  that  is,  instead  of  boring  down  to  the  depth 
of  five  feet  and  then  removing  the  machine  until  the  ex- 
plosion takes  place,  you  bore  it  down  to  five  charges,  tea 
charges,  twenty  charges,  and  then  fill  it  up  with  sand,  and 
then  remove  your  machine,  and  you  don't  have  occasion  to 
replace  it  again  until  you  have  arrived  at  the  bottom  of  the 
hole  by  these  successive  explosions. 


819 

? 
Q.  By  putting  this  drilling  machinery,  to  start  with,  on 

the  top,  it  could  be  driven  by  a  steam-engine  on  the  surface, 
could  it  not? 

A.  Undoubtedly. 

Q.  Then,  on  reaching  down,  it  could  either  be  run  by 
compressed  air  or  by  steam  carried  down  from  the  boilers? 

A.  Undoubtedly.  Either  power  would  answer ;  the  one 
which  is  the  most  economical  being  the  best. 

Q.  We  propose  to  try  both  modes.  Which  do  you  think 
would  probably  be  the  most  advantageous  to  use — com- 
pressed air  or  steam — in  running  this  machinery  in  sinking 
the  shaft? 

A.  In  cases  where  the  power  has  to  be  carried  a  consid- 
erable distance  from  the  place  of  its  manufacture  the  com- 
pressed air  is  undoubtedly  the  best.  You  may  attain  a 
distance,  as  they  have  at  the  Hoosac  tunnel,  of  nearly  two 
miles.  It  would  be  utterly  impossible  to  work  these  ma- 
chines by  steam  generated  outside  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel, 
because,  in  carrying  it  in,  the  steam  would  condense. 

Q.  So  the  advantage  would  be  in  the  use  of  compressed 
air,  which  loses  less  of  its  force  in  being  carried  a  long  dis- 
tance ? 

A.  Very  much  less. 

Q.  How  much  did  you  find  the  loss  to  be  at  the  Hoosac 
tunnel? 

A.  They  called  it  two  pounds  in  fifty-five  or  fifty-six,  I 
think.  That  is  about  it  at  all  events.  That  is,  it  was  sent 
in  with  a  pressure  of  56  Ibs.,  and  it  was  worked  at  a  pres- 
sure of  54  two  miles  in;  but  that  I  must  say  does  not  nec- 
essarily show  the  loss.  Those  were  the  relative  pressures 
at  the  two  ends;  but  in  traversing  that  distance  there  is  a 
loss  of  heat. 

Q.  Of  heat? 

A.  The  compressing  of  air  generates  heat,  and  the  air  is 
expanded  thereby.  As  it  passes  through  this  line  of  pipe, 
to  the  point  where  it  is  applied  to  the  work,  is  gets  cooled 
down,  and  as  it  cools  down  its  tension  diminishes;  and 
therefore  the  statement  is  not  absolutely  correct  that  there 


320 

is  a  loss  of  only  two  pounds.  They  work  under  only  two 
pounds  less  pressure  than  that  under  which  they  started. 

Q.  Then,  taking  into  consideration  the  cooling  off  of  the 
air  at  that  distance,  there  really  would  be  hardly  any  actual 
loss  of  pressure  at  all?  The  pressure  is  not  lost  in  trans- 
mitting the  air  through  this  long  tuhe  or  conduit;  but  it  is 
really  lost  by  the  loss  of  its  heat? 

A.  By  the  loss  of  heat.  The  leakage  is  really  very  small, 
and  the  difference  in  pressure,  at  the  two  ends  of  this  pipe, 
which  is  nearly  two  miles  long,  is  only  about  two  pounds. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Two  pounds  in  fifty-six? 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  I  give  it  as  my  recollection — somewhere 
near  it — 55,  56,  57. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  What  percentage  ? 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  That  would  be  a  little  less  than  four  per 
cent. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  What  is  the  size  of  the  pipe? 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  I  don't  recollect.  I  believe  it  was  an 
eight-inch  pipe. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Professor  JSVwcomb  said  the  loss  was 
15  per  cent,  to  the  mile. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Fo;  I  don't  think  he  made  that  statement. 

Mr.  RICE.  He  said  15  per  cent,  for  the  whole  distance. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  think  he  must  be  mistaken. 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  You  must  be  mistaken.  I  am  not  mis- 
taken in  what  they  furnished  to  us.  ,. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Professor  Newcomb  was  examined 
about  a  good  many  things,  and  that  is  one  of  them. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Do  you  think  there  is  any  difficulty  in  trans- 
porting compressed  air  through  a  pipe  of  sufficient  size,  Bay 
at  least  eight  inches,  for  five  miles  ? 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  ISTone  whatever. 

Q.  Do  you  think  there  would  be  a  considerable  loss? 

A.  Well,  that  depends  upon  what  you  call  a  consider- 
able loss. 

Q.  Why,  an  extraordinary  loss.  Would  you  lose  20 
per  cent? 

A.  I  should  think  not;  nothing  Ijke  it. 


321 

Q.  Would  it  not  be  great  economy,  then,  to  use  water 
power  in  applying  compressed  air  to  the  working  of  the 
shafts,  of  the  tunnel,  and  also  the  mines  on  the  Comstock 
lode? 

A.  Most  undoubtedly;  it  is  the  cheapest  of  all  power. 

Q.  Well,  about  these  shafts? 

A.  If  you  could  secure  the  water  power,  of  course. 

Q.  Could  the  progress  of  these  shafts  under  this  system 
that  we  have  just  described  be  made  a  great  deal  more 
rapid  than  by  the  ordinary  way  of  working? 

A.  That  has  been  found  to' be  the  case  wherever  it  has 
been  applied,  so  far  as  I  know.  I  see  no  reason  to  doubt 
it  at  all. 

Q.  What  do  you  think  about  the  character  of  the  rocks, 
generally,  from  the  -west  wall  of  the  Comstock  lode  to  the 
mouth  of  the  tunnel  ?  Do  you  consider  them  as  a  class  of 
rocks  very  difficult  to  work? 

A.  I  do  not, 

Q.  How  would  you  consider  them,  compared,  for  in- 
stance, with  the  rocks  encountered  in  the  Hoosac  tunnel? 

A.  Oh,  they  are  very  much  easier  to  work. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  the  Mount  Cenis  tunnel, 
General?  » 

A.  Very  little. 

Q.  You  have  read  about  it? 

A.  I  have  read  about  it. 

Q.  You  have  read  about  it  very  fully,  have  you  not? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  What  do  you  think  about  the  rocks  there  7 

A.  I  have  heard  they  are  very  hard. 

Q.  Do  you  think  they  are  much  harder  than  the  rocks 
we  will  encounter  in  making  this  tunnel? 

A.  I  think  they  are. 

Q.  Would  you  not  consider  that  the  rocks  which  will  be 
encountered  in  making  this  tunnel  are  more  favorable  for 
working  than  the  rocks  encountered  in  other  great  tunnels 
which  have  been  constructed?  I  refer  now  to  the  Hoosac 
tunnel  and  the  Mount  Cenis  tunnel  especially. 
21 


322 

A.  If  you  take  the  Hoosac  tunnel  and  the  Mount  Ceu'is 
tunnel,  I  have  no  hesitation  in  answering  the  question. 
There  are  many  large  English  tunnels  that  go  mostly 
through  clay,  no  rock  at  all;.  Baron  Richtofen  - 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  There  never  has  been  a  dispute  about 
the  feasibility  of  this  tunnel,  I  suppose,  /don't  dispute  it. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  But  you  don't  object  to  having  some  addi- 
tional facts  brought  out  ? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Ko,  I  don't  object;  but  I  don't  dispute 
your  proposition  at  all. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  In  regard  to  the  rock  in  the  tunnel,  Baron 
Bichtofen  has  stated  the  following,  which  I  will  read: 

"  The  facilities  for  excavating  the  tunnel  would  depend  mainly  upon  the 


quality  of  the  rock  through  which  it  will  pass.  It  is  a  remarkably  fortunate 
incident  that  the  route  selected  by  Mr.  Sutro  not  only  gives  the  greatest 
depth,  is  the  shortest,  has  the  best  facilities  for  working  shafts,  but  promises 
also,  in  this  respect,  to  be  the  most  advantageous.  The  first  6,000  or  7,000 
feet  will  be  through  trachyte  and  trachytic  breccia,  which,  in  a  broad  semi- 
circular belt  of  prominent  hills,  swing  from  Dayton,  by  the  Sugarloaf,  to 
Washoe  valley.  Trachytic  breccia  may  easily  be  worked  by  the  pick,  yet  is 
ordinarily  solid  and  dry  enough  to  require  no  timbering.  An  idea  of  its 
excellent  qualities  for  tunneling  may  be  formed  from  the  fact  that,  in  Hun- 
gary wine-cellars  hundreds  of  feet  in  length  are  with  preference  excavated  in 
this  kind  of  rock.  The  solid  trachyte  is  an  excellent  blasting-rock.  Its 
superior  qualities  have  caused  its  general  use  in  Washoe  for  building  mate- 
rial; it  was  as  such  applied  in  the  construction  of  the  solid  masonry  of  the 
Gould/  and  Curry  mill.  With  the  use  of  the  drilling  machine  of  Mount  Cenis, 
speedy  work  will  be  made  in  this  rock.  The  next  2,500  feet  will,  to  all 
probability,  exhibit  a  great  variety  of  rock,  s$me  of  which  will  be  rather 
hard.  The  following  10,000  feet  to  the  cutting  of  the  vein  will  most  likely 
consist  of  the  same  material  as  is  traversed  by  the  numerous  tunnels  which 
lead  at  present  to  the  Comstock  vein.  This  rock  (trachytic  greenstone)  would 
offer  some  obstacles  if  it  were  in  an  undecomposed  state;  but  from  the  gen- 
eral nature  of  its  decomposition,  which  evidently  was  formed  from  below  by 
ascending  steam  and  vapors  during  a  time  of  volcanic  action,  we  believe  we 
are  justified  in  the  conclusion,  that  it  will  be  found  for  the  entire  length  of 
10,000  feet  of  the  same  rotten  nature  as  in  the  shallow  tunnels  at  present  in 
existence,  and  it  may  have  to  be  timbered  the  whole  distance." 

General,  do  you  indorse  generally  what  the  Baron  states 
here? 

A.  Scarcely. 

Q.  In  what  points  do  you  differ  with  him? 

A.  I  think  that  the  idea  expressed  by  the  commission 
will  explain  my  views  more  clearly  than  anything  else. 

Q.  Will  you  take  this  statement,  and  point  out  where 
you  don't  entirely  agree  to  it? 

A.  If  it  would  suit  as  well,  I  would  much  rather  give 


323 

my  own  statement  than  correct  his.  I  think  I  could  do  it 
much  more  satisfactorily  to  myself.  • 

Q.  Would  you  consider  the  statement,  as  given  here, 
correct,  in  regard  to  the  facility  with  which  these  rocks  are 
worked  ? 

A.  All  these  rocks  are  worked  with  great  facility,  com- 
pared with  rocks  in  this  section  of  the  country.  We  have 
no  reason-  to  think  that  any  other  rocks  will  be  found  than 
those  of  which  we  have  several  specimens;  but  in  what 
proportions  they  will  occur,  it  is  quite  impossible  to  say. 

Q.  Simple  guess-work. 

A.  That  is  simple  guess-work.  That  has  been  already 
proved  by  the  progress  of  the  tunnel.  The  surface  indica- 
tions do  not  show  the  exact  character  of  the  rock  that  will 
be  found  on  the  line  of  the  tunnel  level.  You  will  find  a 
character  of  rock  there  of  which  there  are  no  surface  indi- 
cations. No  rocks  have  been  found  so  far  which  we  had 
not  a  right  to  expect  on  the  line.  The  general  character 
of  the  rock  is  easy  of  working. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  There  are  varieties,  but  still  the  general  char- 
acteristics are  favorable  for  tunneling? 

A.  Yes,  very  favorable. 

Q.  It  is  soft  enough  to  work  with  a  pick  where  it  wants 
support,  and  where  it  requires  blasting  it  will  stand  up  of 
itself? 

A.  I  don't  think  where  it  wants  blasting  it  will  always 
stand  up  for  itself. 

Q.  Not  always;  but  it  will  in  some  instances? 

A.  Some  character  of  rock  will,  and  some  will  not. 

Q.  What  is  the  usual  mode  of  constructing  a  tunnel? 
Isn't  there  generally  a  drift  ahead  of  the  general  work? 

A.  It  is  done  in  a  variety  of  ways,  all  depending  entirely 
upon  the  judgment  of  the  controller. 

Q.'In  constructing  the  Hoosac  tunnel,  do  they  not  drive 
a  head  drift  first? 

A.  They  are  driving  their  head  drift  the  whole  width  of 
the  tunnel. 

Q.  But  not  the  whole  height? 


324 

A.  !Not  the  whole  height.  They  take  it  off  from  the  top 
afterwards.  Many  prefer  just  the  reverse  proceeding; 
others  prefer  running  in  a  drift  on  the  side. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  "Well,  the  Mount  Cenis  was  near  the 
whole  size,  was  it  not  ? 

A.  I  think  not.  It  took  them  some  time  to -finish  it  after 
they  got  through. 

Q.  Wasn't  there  a  machine  the  whole  size  of  the  tunnel  ? 

A.  No,  sir.  It  was  driven  by  independent  groups  of 
drills. 

Q.  All  fastened  in  the  face  of  a  machine?  It  was  a  full- 
sized  machine? 

A.  No.  There  were  several ;  and  it  was  the  same  in  the 
Hoosac  tunnel.  There  were  several  pipes  led  off  from  the 
main  pipe  that  brought  in  the  compressed  air  to  these  sets 
of  machines  and  drove  the  separate  ones. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  General,  I  will  exhibit  to  you  noAv  some 
drawings  of  the  Mount  Cenis  tunnel,  published  by  the  Ital- 
ian government,  the  official  report  on  the  work.  This  (in- 
dicating on  draught)  shows  the  header  of  the  work.  Here 
is  a  cross-section  showing  a  portion  of  the  tunnel.  That 
is  a  drift.  Here  it  gives  the  size  of  the  drift*  According 
to  this  they  first  made  a  small  tunnel  there? 

A.  Yes,  they  kept  it  on  a  little  ahead  of  the  other. 

Q.  Well,  isn't  that  the  usual  way  of  making  tunnels,  to 
make  a  drift  first? 

A.  It  generally  amounts  to  that,  for  they  blow  out  a  cer- 
tain part  of  it  in  order  to  relieve  the  pressure.  A  few 
holes  are  charged  first,  even  when  they  run  a  full  head. 

Mr.  SIIOBER.  The  object  of  running  a  drift  is  to  give  a 
large  working  face  after  it  is  completed? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  In  making  the  Sutro  tunnel,  General,  would 
you  consider  it  wise  or  judicious  to  stop  work  on  that  drift 
at  the  present  time,  in  order  to  widen  out  the  tunnel,  or 
would  you  not  consider  it  wiser  to  wait  till  we  make  a  con- 
nection with  the  first  shaft  and  then  widen  out  ? 


325 

A.  They  might  go  on  together.  You  make  more  rapid 
progress  simply  by  carrying  on  the  heading. 

Q.  By  getting  our  drift  in  as  rapidly  as  possible  we 
will  make  the  connection  with  the  first  shaft  much  sooner 
than  we  will  from  the  deepest  shaft;  consequently  we  will 
have  ample  time  to  widen  out  these  first  sections  while  the 
connections  from  the  deep  shafts  are  being  made.  Would 
it  not  be  economy  not  to  trouble  ourselves  now  about 
widening  out  the  tunnel,  but  to  wait  a  connection  from  the 
first  shaft,  and  then  proceed  from  the  first  shaft  onward, 
and  then  from  that  time  go  on  and  widen  out  the  first  sec- 
tion? Would  it  not  be  an  economy  of  time? 

A.  I  don't  see  that  it  would,  neces'sarily.  It  might  be. 
It  would  depend  entirely  upon  the  rapidity  with  which  you 
remove  the  remaining  portion,  and,  what  is  very  import- 
ant, get  that  vast  amount  of  debris  to  the  mouth  of  the 
tunnel.  I  shouldn't  like  to  give  an  opinion. 

Q.  Would  it  not  hamper  our  progress  by  going  on  blast- 
ing now,  without  a  connection  with  the  surface  ?  Wouldn't 
it  hamper  our  progress  by  blasting  between  the  mouth  of 
the  tunnel  and  where  the  men  are  at  work  now,  in  break- 
ing up  the  air  pipes  and  interfering  with  things  generally? 

A.  Unless  you  had  these  air-pipes  protected  it  would 
break  them. 

Q.  Would  it  be  possible  to  have  them  protected  where 
you  are  blasting  all  along  the  line  ? 

A.  I  should  think  it  would. 

Q.  Wouldn't  it  be  wiser  to  proceed  with  our  drift  and 
then  widen  out  the  .tunnel  ? 

A.  Possibly  it  might.  I  should  want  to  give  the  matter 
more  consideration  than  I  have  in  order  to  answer  the 
question. 

Q.  What  I  want  to  get  at  is,  will  we  not  complete  our 
tunnel  quicker  by  pushing  in  our  drift,  or  "header,"  as  it 
is  called,  as  fast  as  we  can ;  and,  after  we  make  a  connec- 
tion with  the  first  shaft,  when  we  are  no  longer  troubled 
to  supply  the  men  with  air,  widen  out  the  first  section,  ex- 
tending from  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  to  the  shaft? 


326 

A.  The  drift  should  be  pushed  as  rapidly  as  possible,  of 
course.  You  cannot  get  ahead  of  your  drift,  that  is  cer- 
tain. But  by  the  use  of  compressed  air  you  get  rid  of  a 
great  deal  of  that  trouble  of  want  of  ventilation.  One  ad- 
vantage of  the  use  of  compressed  air  is,  that  at  every  move- 
ment of  the  machine  a  certain  amount  of  fresh  air  is  given 
out. 

Q.  You  don't  get  at  my  question,  General.  I  will  make 
it  still  plainer.  In  sinking  the  deepest  shaft,  it  will  take 
the  longest  time  to  get  that  shaft  down  and  make  the  con. 
nections  from  the  bottom  ? 

A.  Undoubtedly. 

Q.  Now,  the  first  shaft  nearest  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel 
is  only  500  feet  deep,  while  the  deepest  shaft  is  1,500  feet. 
After  we  get  the  first  shaft  down  and  get  the  connection 
with  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  wouldn't  we  have  a  great 
deal  of  time  to  spare  between  that  time  and  the  getting 
down  of  the  deepest  shaft,  and  making  its  connection  ? 

A.  There  would  be  some  time,  undoubtedly. 

Q.  Well,  couldn't  that  time  be  employed  more  profitably 
in  widening  out  the  tunnel  than  doing  it  now,  and  ham- 
pering the  men  in  some  degree  in  their  work  in  the  drift  ? 

A.  Yes ;  to  tKe  extent  of  that  amount  of  time  that  you 
have  to  spare,  undoubtedly. 

Q.  Well,  would  you  consider  that  the  difference  in  get- 
ting down  1,500  feet  in  one  instance  and  only  500  feet  in 
the  other  would  give  sufficient  time  to  widen  out  the  first 
section  of  the  tunnel  ? 

A.  I  should  think  it  would. 

Q.  Cannot  you  employ  almost  as  many  men  as  you  please 
in  widening  out  ? 

A.  You  can  employ  just  as  many  men  as  can  work  to 
advantage. 

Q.  We'll,  you  can  employ  them  every  two  or  three  or  four 
hundred  feet.  You  can  put  in  a  gang  of  men  every  short 
distance  in  widening  out  ? 

A.  That  certainly  might  be  done. 

Q.  You  hadn't  thought  of  that? 


327 


A.  I  had  supposed  it  could  be  done  at  the  two  ends. 

Q.  It  has  been  our  original  plan  to  proceed  in  the  way  I 
have  described,  and  then  widen  out  the  tunnel  from  the 
mouth  and  from  the  bottom  of  the  first  shaft,  while  we  are 
progressing  with  our  drift  beyond. 

Mr.  SHOBER.  What  is  the  distance  from  the  mouth  of 
the  tunnel  to  the  bottom  of  the  first  shaft? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  It  is  a  mile.  In  regard  to  the  enlargement 
of  the  tunnel,  Mr.  Carlyle  states  as  follows : 

"  On  tlie  basis  that  the  shafts  could  be  sunk  at  the  rate  of  4  feet  per  day,  and 
the  preliminary  tunnels  run  at  the  rate  of  5  feet  per  day  in  each  direction, 
the  following  table  will  show  the  time  it  will  take  to  sink  the  shafts  and 
make  their  connections  with  one  another,  or  with  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  : 


7 

^  - 

>-i  ' 

01  <£  ^-'•t?  ^T 

«2 

«2  2 

«2  2 

flSfll5 

£  ^ 

c  °"S 

o  '^ 

iX)  ^'"-^        G  t< 

>"« 

£|g 

11  a 

S-o  *  to3^ 

ll 

-§3 

|ll 

•«f  1 

iisgii 

03 

^  °'  s 

*c  c  g 

-§  S-^-SoT! 

0 

6  M^3 

6     >H  — 

6  <y'S  §  P<rt 

fc 

sc 

* 

Shaft  No. 

1  

111 

351 

582 

462 

Shaft  No. 

2  

245 

448 

463 

693 

Shaft  No 

3  

359 

349 

456 

708 

Shaft  No 

4  < 

340 

475 

449 

815 

"The  last  column  will  give  the  number  of  days  during  which  the  machin- 
ery will  be  used  on  the  different  shafts  for  pumping  and  hoisting  purposes; 
and  the  last  figures  in  that  column  will  give  the  total  number  of  days  it  will 
take  to  finish  the  whole  of  the  work  up  to  the  connection  between  shaft  No. 
3  and  shaft  No.  4,  namely,  815  days.  The  balance  of  the  work  on  that  sec- 
tion will  consist  of  the  enlargement  of  that  preliminary  tunnel  from  the  con- 
nection to  the  Corastock  lode.  This  can  be  very  quickly  done,  as  a  great 
number  of  men  can  be  worked  on  the  face;  however,  the  time  that  it  will 
take  will  have  to  be  added  to  815  days,  in  order  to  get  the  whole  time  that 
it  will  take  to  put  the  tunnel  through  to  the  Comstock  lode,  full  size  and  work- 
ing order.  I  have  had  several  estimates  made  by  intelligent  miners  on  this 
portion  of  the  work,  and,  in  their  opinion,  they  think  such  simple  work  could 
be  performed  at  a  rate  of  40  feet  per  day.  This  is  an  everage,  and  not  the 
result  of  any  of  the  estimates  simply;  so  I  will  use  it  as  a  safe  estimate. 
This  distance  to  be  traversed  will  be  4,618  feet" 

He  is  now  speaking  of  the  last  section. 

"  which,  divided  by  40  feet  per  day,  is  equal  to  116  days  nearly  for  the 

whole  time;  so  that  11G,  plus  815,  is  equal  to  931  days,  which  is  the  time  it 
will  take  to  put  the  tunnel  through  to  the  Comstock  lode  in  a  complete  state." 

He  speaks  here  simply  of  hand  labor.     He  don't  bring 
machinery  into  account.    If  there  were  a  large  water  power 


328 

at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  do  you  see  any  obstacle  in  com- 
pressing air  for  the  running  of  drills  in  the  mines? 

A.  None  at  all. 

Q.  In  a  distance  of  four  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the 
tunnel  to  the  Comstock  lode,  or  say  even  six  miles,  do  you 
see  none? 

A.  None. 

Q.  And  you  would  consider  the  employment  of  diamond 
drills  in  all  these  mining  operations  as  greatly  advantage- 
ous? 

A.  I  certainly  should. 

Q.  Then,  by  using  water  power  at  the  mouth  of  the  tun- 
nel, a  great  deal  more  rapid  progress  could  be  made  in  the 
prospecting  operations  and  in  the  mining  operations  proper 
on  the  Comstock  lode? 

A.  Unquestionably.  I  advised  the  superintendents  of 
these  mines  to  examine  into  the  subject. 

Q.  Do  you  see  any  difficulty  in  carrying  in  compressed 
air  to  the  point  of  intersection  of  the  tunnel  with  the  Com- 
stock lodo,  and  using  it  there  as  a  power  to  raise  ore  and 
pump  water? 

A.  None.  I  would  remark,  although  I  do  not  know 
whether  it  is  prdper  evidence,  that  the  Government,  at* 
Rock  Island,  where  it  is  establishing  its  great  arsenal,  pro- 
poses to  use  compressed  air  entirely  as  its  power.  The  air 
is  compressed  entirely  by  water  power,  and  the  pipes  for 
this  air  are  to  be  laid  to  all  the  works  all  over  the  island. 

Q.  Don't  you  think,  General,  that  the  day  is  not  far  dis- 
tant when  the  great  water  powers  of  the  country  and  in 
the  mountains  will  be  economized,  for  the  purpose  of  com- 
pressing air  to  be  carried  into  the  cities  ? 

A.  That  thing  has  been  proposed.     I  think  it  is  possible. 

Q.  I  think  it  will  be  done.  It  is  one  of  those  problems 
which  will  be  solved. 

A.  There  is  no  impossibility  in  cdnnection  with  it. 

Q.  There  are  millions  and  millions  of  horsepower  run- 
ning to  waste.  Now,  General,  I  want  to  ask  you  a  few 
questions  about  the  quantity  of  water  in  the  Comstock 


329 

lode.  You  state  in  your  report  that  you  had  arrived  at 
the  cost  of  pumping  on  the  Comstock  by  taking  the  esti- 
mates of  superintendents  over  there  and  averaging  them. 
But,  to  be  more  accurate,  I  will  read  what  you  state  about 
it: 

"  By  reference  to  the  statements  of  the  superintendents,  appended  to  this 
report,  it  will  be  seer i  that ^the  cost  of  pumping  for  all  the  mines  did  not! 
probably,  exceed  $150,000  for  the  past  year,  and  that  in  some  of  them  there 
WaS  S?oT^J  at  u  V  ThlS  8uLm  exceed8  that  arrived  at  by  the  commission- 
viz,  $124,674-which  was  obtained  by  taking  the  costs  as  given  for  the 
mines,  so  far  as  reported,  and  estimating  for  the  others." 

You  state  here  distinctly  that  you  have  taken  the  figures 
furnished  by  the  superintendents,  and  have  based  your 
calculations  upon  them  ? 

A.  That  calculation  of  $124,000  is  based  upon  the 
information  received  from  certain  superintendents  of  what 
professes  to  be  their  actual  expenditure  for  pumping  for 
one  year.  For  the  other  mines  we  got  as  near  as  we  could 
the  relative  quantity  of  water,  and  by  giving  a  proportional 
sum  as  the  cost  for  those  mines  from  which  we  got  no  re- 
port, we  deducted  that  $124,000  as  an  approximation. 

Q.  Do  you  think,  General,  or  do  you  know,  that  there 
had  been  some  very  dry  seasons  preceding  the  summer 
you  were  over  there  ? 

A.  It  was  stated  to  us  that  there  had  been  two  or  three 
very  dry  seasons. 

Q.  Gen  eral  Day  states,  in  his  report  about  the  water  power 
in  Carson  river,  that  the  monthly  average  of  the  flow  in 
Carson  river,  with  a  rate  of  4  miles  per  hour,  was  508  ^ 
square  feet;  and  then  he  goes  on  to  state  for  the  months 
of  August,  September,  and  October: 

ic  feet,  on 


That  is  during  the  time  you  were  there  last  year— 
;  consequently  the  flow  of  water  in  the  river  Was 
one-twentieth  only  of  what  it  usually  was.  Hadn't  the  river 
gone  down  to  a  very  low  stage  when  you  were  there? 

A.  It  had. 

Q.  So  much  so  that  the  mills  had  to  stop? 
A.  In  part. 


330 

Q.  Well,  didn't  you  observe  that  the  whole  country  was 
parched,  and  even  springs  were  dried  up  which  were  re- 
ported to  have  flowed  always? 

A.  The  country  certainly  had  a  parched  appearance,  and 
I  have  no  reason  to  doubt  that  it  was  much  dryer  than  the 
average  at  that  particular  season  of  the  year.  I  couldn't 
give  a  more  definite  answer,  however. 

Q.  You  would  consider  that  there  was  a  great  deal  less 
water  at  that  time  than  there  would  be  ordinarily? 

A.  Certainly;  less  than  the  average.  It  was  stated  to 
us  by  the  superintendent  of  the  Rocky  Point  mill,  that  the 
day  we  were  there  the  water  had  reached  the  lowest  stage 
of  the- year  before,  and  that  he  didn't  anticipate  any  par- 
ticular fall  below  the  point  which  it  had  reached,  during 
the  remainder  of  the  year. 

Q.  Where  does  the  water  come  from  which  you  find  in 
going  down  into  the  earth  ? 

A.  It  comes  from  the  melting  of  the  snows. 

Q.  And  rains? 

A.  Yes,  from  what  rains  they  have,  but  mostly  from  the 
melting  of  snows. 

Q.  In  other  words,  you  find  that  the  water  which  is 
found  in  penetrating  the  crust  of  the  earth  is  derived  from 
the  surface  ? 

A.  All  comes  down  from  the  surface. 

,Q.  Is  there  any  limit  to  the  depth  that  that  water  would 
penetrate  ?  Would  it  get  any  further  than  where  it  is  con- 
verted into  steam  ? 

A.  No. 

Q.  Wouldn't  that  be  a  limit? 

A.  That  would  be  a  limit,  if  it  would  reach  that  point. 

Q.  The  water  would  penetrate  down  in  the  crust  of  the 
earth  to  a  great  depth,  and  the  point  at  which  it  would  be 
converted  into  steam  would  be  the  limit? 

A.  I  cannot  say  that  it  might  not  penetrate  as  far,  but  I 
don't  believe  it  does. 

Q.  Where  do  you  think  hot  springs  come  from?    Don't 


331 

you  think  they  come  from  that  depth  where  water  is  eon- 
verted  into  steam? 

A.  I  haven't  any  very  well-defined  opinion  on  that  sub- 
ject. 

Q.  Water  boils  at  212°? 

A.  Fahrenheit. 

Q.  In  some  places  it  boils  at  less  ? 

A.  Thrtt  depends  upon  the  pressure  of  the  atmosphere,- 
of  course.  It  will  boil  at  less  at  Virginia  City. 

Q.  But  lower  down  in  the  earth  it  will  probably  take 

A.  At  the  level  of  the  sea  it  would  be  212°  ? 

Q.  But  at  the  depth  of  three. miles  in  the  earth  it  would 
take  more  degrees  to  boil  water  than  on  the  top  of  the 
mountain  ? 

A.  I  should  question  it  very  much. 

Q.  If  you  were  to  go  down  a  mile  into  the  earth  it  would 
take  230°  or  240  degrees  to  boil  water.  If  you  go  on  the 
top  of  a  mountain  it  will  boil  at  180°.  It  depends  upon 
the  density  of  the  atmosphere. 

A.  If  the  atmosphere  continued  down  to  that  point  it 
would  undoubtedly  be  as  you  say. 

Q.  Well,  now,  the  source  of  water  being  melting  of 
snows  and  rain,  would  there  not  be  a  great  deal  less  water 
at  the  end  of  two  or  three  dry  seasons  dian  there  would  be 
after  a  wet  season  ? 

A.  I  should  certainly  suppose  so. 

Q.  How  many  deep  shafts  are  there  in  the  Comstock 
lode — very  deep  ones?  Let  me  commence  at  one  end,  the 
shafts  running  down  over  800  feet.  There's  the  Ophir? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  Next  the  Virginia  Consolidated? 

A.  That  is  down  about  500  feet.     It  is  going  down. 

Q.  Next  is  the  Gould  and  Curry  ? 

A.  Down  1,300  or  1,400  feet. 

Q.  Then  there  is  the  Savage  ? 

A.  That's  a  deep  one  also. 

Q.  The  Hale  and  Norcross? 

A.  Yes,  deep. 


332 

Q.  Then  the  Chollar  Potosi? 

A.  That  is  stopped. 

Q.  It's  down  1,200  feet? 

A.  Yes;  it's  filled  with  water. 

Q.  Then  there  comes  the  Bullion? 

A.  That's  a  deep  shaft. 

Q.  Next  is  the  Empire  and  Imperial? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Next  is  the  Yellow  Jacket? 

A.  Deep;  yes,  sir. 

Q.  Next  is  the  Grown  Point  ?  These  are  deep  shafts 
that  I  am  talking  about? 

A.  Yes,  the  Crown  Point  and  the  Kentuck. 

Q.  Next  is  the  Belcher? 

A.  There's  the  Belcher. 

Q.  And  the  Overman? 

A.  Yes,  sir.  In  the  Choller  Potosi  they  carried  down 
their  shaft  until  they  gave  up  all  idea  of  going  down  far- 
ther. They  are  working  entirely  upon  the  upper  levels. 
They  fancied  that  the  two  walls  of  the  fissure  came  together 
where  they  were.  They  don't  propose  to  go  any  farther. 

Q.  "Why  don't  they,  General? 

A.  I  was  so  informed  by  the  superintendent.  He  be- 
lieves that  the  eastern  and  western  walls  of  the  fissure  have 
come  together  at  that  {K>int,  and  he  don't  think  there  is 
any  use  of  pursuing  it  farther. 

Q.  He  did  believe  so;  but  do  you  think  he  believes  so 
now,  after  this  strike  at  the  Savage? 

A.  I  don't  know,  but  it  would  take  a  good  deal  to  move 
him. 

Q.  Don't  you  think  it  would  move  him  to  think  his 
neighbor  had  found  pretty  rich  ore  far  down  ? 

A.  He  is  a  man  that  it  would  take  a  good  deal  to  move 
in  his  opinion. 

Q.  General,  we  were  shown  some  figures  here  a  few 
evenings  ago  in  regard  to  the  quantity  of  water  in  the 
Ophir  mine.  On  page  30,  Mr.  Day  states  that  in  June, 
1870,  he  had  18  inches  of  water,  which  came  down  in  May, 


333 

1871,  to  7  inches ;  and  he  says  the  flow  of  water,  Septem- 
ber 10,  1871,  was  5  inches. 

A.  That  is  a  diminution  of  2  inches  hetween  May  and 
September  10. 

Q.  When  you  were  there,  General,  were  they  not  sink- 
ing the  Ophir  shaft  in  country  rock? 

A.  They  were. 

Q.  Outside  of  the  vein? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  In  sinking  a  shaft,  then,  and  going  in  to  the  vein  from 
a  drift,  do  they  not  cut  the  great  bodies  of  water  in  pierc- 
ing the  clay  of  the  vein. 

A.  They  sometimes  do,  and  that  is  the  source  of  their 
water. 

Q.  Well,  now,  in  the  Ophir  shaft  they  had  extended  a 
drift  at  the  700-foot  level  into  the  vein.  He  states  that  in 
his  report.  When  they  cut  that  drift  into  the  vein  and  cut 
through  the  clay,  they  tapped  an  increased  body  of  water, 
which  kept  them  pumping  for  some  time.  Would  you  con- 
sider that  5  inches  which  he  gives  here  is  a  fair  average  of 
the  water  in  that  mine  ? 

A.  I  consider  that  the  flow  of  water  on  September  10 
was  5  inches. 

Q.  But  after  they  had  been  pumping  for  a  long  time,  as 
he  states  himself,  they  had  come  down  from  18  inches  to 
7.  In  going'  down  1,300  or  1,400  feet  and  cutting  into  the 
vein  again,  wouldn't  you  consider  it  probable  that  ,they 
would  get  another  large  body  of  water  ? 

A.  I  should  consider  it  very  possible. 

Q.  Wouldn't  you  consider  it  very  probable  ? 

A.  Well,  I  don't  think  I  would  be  justified  in  saying 
that.  I  think  it  likely  enough. 

Q.  Do  you  know  how  many  gallons  5  miner's  inches  of 
water  make  ? 

A.  I  don't  know;  but  I  can  calculate  it. 

Q.  We  will  assume  that  this  rule  is  correct,  which  is  put 
down  by  the  mining  engineers,  and  taken  as  a  basis  of  their 
calculations. 


334 

A.  It  is  a  well-recognized  authority.     . 

Q.  I  will  repeat  it.  The  rule  which  is  given  is  as  follows  : 

"  A  miner's  inch  is  a  body  of  water  336  feet  long  and  one  inch  square, 
which  passes  through  an  orifice  one  inch  square,  under  a  pressure  of  six 
inches,  measured  from  the  centre,  of  the  orifice,  per  minute " 

or  145,8060  Ibs.,  or  174,054  United  States  standard  gal- 
lons, or  20,333  cubic  feet. 

A.  By  multiplying  the  cubic  feet  by  7J  you  will  get  it 
very  near. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  have  never  seen  any  miner's  meas- 
urement on  the  Comstock. 

A.  They  have  what  they  call  the  miner's  measurement. 

Q.  I  know  it;  but  I  have  never  seen  it. 

A.  All  water  is  sold  by  the  Water  company  at  that. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Mr.  Day  states  that  these  are  miner's  inches 
very  distinctly.  Isn't  this  the  rule  ?  There  are  17,40  gal- 
lons per  minute.  The  Imperial  gallon  is  stated  .in  the 
books  at  8^  Ibs.  That  5  inches  in  the  Ophir  mine  give 
87  gallons  per  minute,  or  5,220  gallons  per  hour,  or  125,280 
in  24  hours,  equal  to  944,835  Ibs.,  equal  to  472  ^  tons; 
472  tons  of  water  for  every  24  hours. 

A.  That  is  all  a  matter  of  calculation. 

Q.  Those  figures  I  submit  are  correct ;  472  tons  of  water 
in  the  Ophir  mine  two  months  after  you  were  there,  at  the 
very  end  of  these  dry  seasons. 

A.  That  is  September  10. 

Q.  Yes,  September  10.  The  average  of  his  statement 
from  June,  1870,  to  June,  1871,  gives  1,005  tons  of  water  for 
every  24  hours  in  the  year.  The  greatest  amount  of  water 
which  was  taken  out  in  June,  1870,  18  inches,  is  equal  to 
1,700  tons  a  day.  That's  the  Ophir  mine.  In  the  Gould  and 
Curry  mine  the  water  is  stated  at  3,500  gallons,  equal  to 
350  tons  per  day.  Now,  we  have  two  deep  shafts  here  that 
will  give  us  an  average,  taking  the  lowest  stage  at  the  end 
of  these  dry  seasons,  at  411  tons  for  every  24  hours.  Now, 
would  you  consider  that  every  thousand  feet  in  length  of 
the  Comstock  lode  would  give  almost  a  similar  average  of 
411  tons  ? 


335 

A.  I  should  thiuk  that  would  be  beyond  the  average. 
Some  of  the  mines  are  entirely  dry.  - 

Q.  Which  ones? 

A!  The  Bullion. 

Q.  That  is  only  one.     What  others? 

A.  The  Yellow  Jacket  has  very  little.    The  Crown  Point. 

Q.  I  beg  your  pardo'n;  doesn't  the  water  from  the  Yel- 
low Jacket  flow  into  the  Crown  Point? 

A.  One  is  doing  the  pumping  for  the  other,  and  for  the 
Keutuck  also. 

Q.  The  Crown  Point  is  doing  the  pumping.  They  had 
the  deepest  shaft  when  you  were  there  ? 

A.  Well,  perhaps  so. 

Q.  You  say  the  Crown  Point  don't  pump  a  great  deal  ? 

A.  Very  little. 

Q.  2s"ow,  allow  me  to  call  your  attention  to  a  telegram. 
You  see  the  evidences  of  the  wetseason  are  already  showing 
themselves :  in  January  we  had  a  good  deal  of  rain  out  there. 
The  superintendent  of  the  Crown  Point  telegraphed  on  the 
7th  of  January  to  the  San  Francisco  office: 

"  On  the  1,30.0  level  nothing  is  being  done,  and  nothing  will  be  done  until 
the  water  is  drained  off,  which  will  probably  take  three  weeks." 

Here  is  a  statement  made  in  the  DAILY  STOCK  REPORT  of 
February  19,  1872,  the  very  latest  paper  that  has  arrived 
here : 

'  BELCHER  MINE.— The  north  winze  is  down  25  feet  below  1,200-foot  level, 
and  they  have  struck  water,  and  been  compelled  to  suspend  working  it." 

That  is  in  the  Belcher  mine? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  When  you  were  over  there,  was  there  much  water  in 
the  Savage  mine? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  "Were  they  not  drowned  out  both  there  and  in  the 
Hale  and  Korcross? 

A.  They  were. 

Q.  Now,  taking  all  these  facts  into  consideration,  and 
arriving  at  a  fair  average  in  the  quantity  of  water,  would 


336 

you  consider  411  tons  too  high  an  estimate  for  an  ordinary 
year  for  every  thousand  feet  on  the  lode? 

A.  I  couldn't  give  an  answer  to  the  question  in  the  shape 
in  which  it  is  put  at  all,  because  I  do  not  accept  that  num- 
ber of  tons.  I  should  require  to  figure  it  in  order  to  give 
an  answer. 

Q.  General,  supposing  that  the  411  tons  are  correct — the 
average  between  the  Ophir  mine  and  the  Gould  and 
Carry — would  you  consider  that  too  high  an  estimate  as  an 
average  for  every  thousand  feet  upon  the  lode? 

.A.  As  the  mines  existed  when  we  were  there,  I  should 
consider  it  too  high  an  average. 

Q.  If  you  were  to  take  the  average  of  wet  and  dry  sea- 
sons, would  you  consider  that  too  high? 

A.  I  cannot  take  the  average  of  a  matter  with  which  I 
am  not  acquainted.  All  I  know  in  reference  to  the  mines, 
so  far  as  regards  their  wetness  or  dryness,  is  from  what  I 
saw  of  them  while  we  were  there  and  from  what  has  been 
stated  by  the  superintendents  in  their  reports. 

Q.  Then,  taking  the  time  that  you  were  over  there, 
what  would  you  consider  at  the  time  a  fair  average  for 
every  thousand  feet  oa  the  Comstock  lode,  taking  it  to  be 
correct  that  the  average  between  the  Gould  and  Curry  and 
the  Ophir  was  411  tons? 

A.  I  am  not  prepared  to  answer  the  question. 

Q.  You  can't  answer  that  question  any  more  absolutely 
than  you  did  by  taking  as  a  basis  the  statements  of  these 
superintendents  and  averaging  from  these? 

A.  I  can,  because  we  got  that  up  at  the  time. 

Q.  You  say  you  have  estimated  for  the  others? 

A.  Estimated  for  the  others  in  the  shape  of  cost. 

Q.  Now,  I  want  you  to  estimate,  as  far  as  you  can,  the 
proportion  for  every  thousand  feet  of  the  Comstock  lode, 
taking  as  a  basis  the  average  which  I  have  here  given  be- 
tween the  Ophir  mine  and  the  Gould  and  Curry  mine  of 
411  tons  a  day. 

A.  It  would  take  me  some  time  to  make  the  calculation 


337 

before  I  can  answer  the  question.  I  would  prefer  to  bring 
it  here  to-morrow,  but  I  could  do  it  this  evening. 

Q.  "Well,  make  a  fair  average. 

A.  I  shall  make  no  average  without  a  calculation. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Bring  it  in  to-morrow. 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  I  will  take  the  cost.  That  is  the  only  way 
in  which  I  can  arrive  at  it.  I  must  take  the  sum  of  the 
two  amounts  that  were  pumped  from  these  mines,  and  the 
cost  of  pumping  in  that  way. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  In  that  case  you  would  take  for  granted  as 
correct  what  these  superintendents  stated  to  you? 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  Most  undoubtedly  I  should. 

Q.  I  don't  believe  those  statements  have  been  fully  given 
to  you.  I  don't  believe  they'have  been  given  in  a  manner 
to  enable  you  to  arrive  at  a  correct  conclusion.  N"ow,  I 
want  to  get  your  general  opinion  as  to  the  quantity  of  water 
that  will  probably  be  encountered  on  the  whole  Comstock 
lode,  taking  every  thousand  feet  from  one  end  of  the  lode 
to  the  other,  and  taking  as  a  basis  the  two  mines  here.  It 
is  only  an  indefinite  opinion. 

A.  I  can  give  no  indefinite  answer.  I  have  no  opinion 
about  it  at  all. 

Q.  'Would  you  consider  it  more  likely  that  they  would 
have  more  water  at  the  Gould  and  Curry  mine  than  at  the 
Chollar  Potosi  mine  at  the  same  depth? 

A.  I  have  no  reason  to  suppose  so. 

Q.  Have  you  any  more  reason  to  suppose  that  they  would 
have  any  more  water  there  than  at  the  Crown  Point? 

A.  I  think  they  had.     That  is  the  answer  to  the  question. 

Q.  How  much  more  at  that  time  ? 

A.  The  answer  is  very  in  definite,  but  I  think  three  times 
as  much.  I  don't  attach  any  value  to  it. 

Q.  It  is  simply  a  matter  of  opinion.  We  have  the  state- 
ments of  two  of  these  mines — the  Crown  Point  and  the 
Belcher — drowned  out  by  water. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  don't  know  where  it  comes  from. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  have  just  read  a  telegram.  It  is  stated  by 
the  superintendents. 

22 


338 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  It  may  run  into  the  top  of  the  shaft. 
Mr.  SUTRO.  No,  sir.     It  says: 

"The  north  winze  is  down  25  feet  below  the  1,200-footlevel,  and  they  have 
struck  water,  and  been  compelled  to  suspend  working  it." 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  have  got  an  account  from  the  Sav- 
age, which  was  drowned  out  when  the  General  was  there, 
that  they  had  got  to  carry  water  1,400  or  1,500  feet  to 
assist  them  in  blasting. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  How  much  water  did  they  have  in  the  Sav- 
age while  you  were  there,  General  Wright?  Were  they 
drowned  out? 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  For  a  time  they  were. 

Q.  You  didn't  go  down  ? 

A.  No,  we  did  not." 

Q.  They  refused  to  let  you  go  down? 

A.  No,  not  absolutely  refused. 

Q.  But  they  threw  obstacles  in  the  way? 

A.  They  were  pumping  there  as  hard  as  they  could. 

Q.  They  didn't  want  to  show  you  the  mine  ? 

A.  I  don't  think  that  was  it.  I  had  no  reason,  at  least, 
to  think  so.  They  had  struck  one  of  these  pockets,  and 
they  were  pumping  with  all  their  power. 

Q.  Supposing  there  were.  22  deep  shafts  down  this  lode 
at  every  thousand  feet,  what  would  be  the  average? 

A.  I  haven't  the  information  which  would  enable  me  to 
answer  the  question. 

Q.  Well,  if  the  Comstock  lode  is  going  to  be  worked, 
they  will  have  to  have  a  great  number  of  shafts  down  ? 

A.  I  would  say  that  as  a  general  rule  the  water  decreased 
from  the  Ophirmine  to  the  Divide,  and  increased  from  the 
Divide  to  the  Overman.  The  mines  that  are  near  the 
Divide — the  Bullion,  for  instance — would  be  absolutely  dry. 

Q.  Well,  then,  taking  that  as  a  basis,  wouldn't  it  be 
about  a  fair  average  to  take  say  25  per  cent,  less  than  what 
is  stated? 

A.  I  couldn't  answer  that  question.  I  have  no  data  with 
reference  to  it  whatever.  I  have  nothing  on  which  to  found 
an  opinion. 


339 

Q.  That  is  very  important. 

A.  That  may  be;  but  I  cannot  answer  a  question  upon 
which  I  have  no  information,  and  it  is  too  important  a 
question  to  be  simply  guessed  at.  ^ 

Q.  Supposing  there  were  bore-holes  let  down  from  these 
shafts,  after  the  tunnel  be  finished  and  connections  made, 
would  that  water  not  run  off? 

A.  Certainly. 

Q.  Taking  472  tons  in  the  Ophir  mine  as  an  average  for 
other  mines,  would  it  not  be  an  immense  saving  to  the 
mine-owners  to  have  the  water  let  off  below  ? 

A.  It  would  be  a  saving^ 

Q.  Wouldn't  it  save  all  the  cost  of  pumping  that  water  ? 

A.  It  would  save  just  the  cost  of  pumping  the  water. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND. -Less  the  value  of  the  water  when 
•  pumped? 

A.  Yes,  less  the  value  of  the  water  when  pumped. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  "Wouldn't  it  save  a7good  deal  else  besides 
pumping,  by  avoiding  the  difficulties  of  working  in  water  ? 

A.  Something,  probably ;  but  I  saw  no  material  diffi- 
culties occasioned  by  the  water  in  the  working  of  the  mines. 
The  water  was  generally  pumped  out  with  great  ease  by 
the  machinery  they  had. 

Q.  Here  is  a  statement  by  the  present  superintendent  of 
the  Ophir  mine  at  Virginia  City.  He  gives  the  cost  of 
pumping  for  the  month  of  January,  1872,  at  $2,483  26,  and 
then  he  estimates  the  indirect  cost  of  the  raising  of  water 
for  the  month  of  January  at  $3,000. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  object  to  that  statement  being  con- 
sidered as  evidence. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Have  you  any  doubt  that  it  is  a  statement 
made  by  the  superintendent  of  the  Ophir  mine  ? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  doubt  very  much  the  correctness  of 
that  statement. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  It  isn't  a  question  of  the  correctness  of  it 
now ;  it  is  a  question  whether  it  is  a  statement  of  the  super- 
intendent of  the  Ophir  company;  and  if  it  be  so,  it  is  as 
good  as  any  statement  we  have  had  introduced  here. 


340 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Kot  at  all. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Supposing  this  statement  to  be  correct,  Gen- 
eral Wright,  that  it  costs  $3,000  per  month,  in  addition  to 
the  actual  cost  to  the  company,  in  which  is  included  all  the 
cost  of  pumping,  wouldn't  that  alter  your  figures  very 
.  considerably  ? 

Mr.  WRIGHT.' I  cannot  say  that  it  would.  The  total 
cost  for  pumping  for  twelve  months  was  nearly  $30,000, 
or  $29,307  04.  Now,  it  is  very  well  known  that  the  amount 
of  water  in  one  month  differs  from  that  in  another.  I  don't 
think  there  is  anything  there  which  would  enable  me  to 
form  any  opinion  of  the  annual  cost  of  pumping  for  the 
mine.  If  that  is  to  be  taken  as  an  average  for  each  mouth; 
if  the  cost  as  stated  there  for  pumping  for  the  month  of 
January  were  to  obtain  for  all  the  months,  it  certainly 
would  change  my  opinion. 

Q.  Wouldn't  it  change  all  these  figures  if,  besides  the 
cost  of  pumping,  we  take  the  outside  cost,  and  add  that  to 
the  cost  ? 

A.  In  answer  to  that,  I  would  say,  that  I  understand  this 
outside  cost  to  be  embraced  in  what  is  given  by  the  superin- 
tendent of  the  Ophir  company. 

Q.  Well,  I  will  read  this  whole  statement  here,  in  order 
to  get  at  my  idea.  He  states  : 

"  Cost  of  pumping  for  month  of  January,  1872: 

Pitman's  wages $170  50 

One-half  of  engineer's  wages 311  00 

One-half  of  fireman's  wages ».  124  00 

Three-quarters  of  wood-hauler's  wages 93  00 

Three-quarters  amount  of  wood  consumed 1,410  00 

One-half  of  oil  and  tallow 11  25 

Interest  on  cost  of  pumping  machinery,  $36,351,  at  one  per  cent, 

•per  month 363  51 

Total 2,483  26 

Total  cost  of  water  furnished  water  company 600  00 


Leaving  net  cost  for  January 1,883  26 

The  indirect  cost  of  raising  water  for  the  month  of  January  is  estimated 
,  $3,000." 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  What  does  the  indirect  cost  consist  of? 


341* 

Mr.  SUTR.O.  He  doesn't  state.  The  indirect  cost  he  states 
is  $3,000. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  object  to  that 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Well,  it  don't  matter  if  you  do  object.    Sup- 
posing this  to  be  correct,.  General,  would  it  not  very  mate- 
rially alter  your  figures  on  the  whole  Comstock  lode:  this 
cost  of  $1,883  26,  and  the  indirect  expenses  of  $3,000  in  ' 
addition  ? 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  In  answer  to  your  question  I  will  state, 
thai  the  details  given  there  are  essentially  the  same  as 
those  given  here.  (Appendix  to  Report.)  That  $3,000  is 
certainly  not  to  -be  added  to  the  $1,883  26. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  say  that  I  must  understand  that  that  $3,000 
is  to  be  added  to  the  statement  given  here. 

Mr.  SUXDERLAND.  You  don't  suppose  that  statement  to 
be  correct,  General  ? 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  He  has  taken  the  cost  of  three-fourths  of 
the  wages,  and  so  on  down,  the  same  items  that  are  given 
here.  He  has  deducted  from  that  the  value  of  the  water 
sold,  and  he  gets  a  certain  result,  which  we  have  here,  as 
the  net  cost  of  raising  water  for  one  year,  $20,342.  Now, 
he  puts  on  for  the  month  of  January  $3,000  more,  that 
certainly  is  not  included  in  this.  I  don't  profess  to  under- 
stand it. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  ISTobody  else. 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  But,  if  that  be  correct,  it  should  be  added 
to  the  $1,883  26,  and  it  would  certainly  influence  the  esti- 
mate of  cost  of  pumping  on  the  Comstock  lode. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Do  you  think,  General,  that  the  mines  on 
the  Comstock  lode  are  managed  entirely  in  the  interest  of 
the  stockholders  ? 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  I  have  no  certain  means  of  knowing.  That 
was  not  a  part  of  the  investigation  with  which  we  were 
charged. 

Q.  What  do  you  know,  from  common  report? 

A.  I  would  like  to  ask  the  committee  if  that  is  a  fair 
question.  I  very  much  dislike  to  answer  questions  of  that 
nature. 


Q.  It  is  probably  disagreeable  to  you  to  answer  that 
question,  but  at  the  same  time  it  is  important,  in  view  of 
this  investigation,  to  know  whether  those  mines  are  man- 
aged as  some  banking  institutions  would  be  in  the  Eastern 
States,  or  reliable  corporations,  for  the  benefit  of  the  stock- 
holders. I  want  to  understand  whether  it  is  so,  or  whether 
'  they  manage  them  for  the  benefit  of  certain  parties  who 
have  the  control.  You  can  only  speak  by  general  report, 
and  I  want  you  to  say  what  you  have  heard.  You  know 
what  everybody  there  is  talking  about. 

A.  Well,  if  that  is  a  question  that  the  committee  desire 
answered,  of  course  I  will  answer  it. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  The  committee  has  been  very  liberal  with 
both  sides,  and  allowed  about  such  questions  to  be  asked 
as  the  parties  in  controversy  have  wished. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  have  been  objecting  so  long,  that  I 
don't  propose  to  object  to  anything  hereafter. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  Both  sides  have  asked  questions  of  a  sim- 
ilar character. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  would  ask,  Mr.  Chairman,  that  General 
Wright  be  permitted  to  answer  that  question  from  his  gen- 
eral knowledge  or  common  report. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  If  he  has  heard  these  things  by  common 
report,  and  is  disposed  .to  answer,  he  can  do  so. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  am  not  afraid  of  any  inquiry  that 
can  be  instituted. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  will  read  from  the  ALTA  CALIFORNIA  of  Feb- 
ruary 15,  and  make  that  my  question. 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  I  can  answer  the  question  if  it  is  desired. 
I  simply  want  the  authority  of  the  committee.  It  is  putting 
me  in  a  false  position,  unless  I  am  required  by  the  commit* 
tee  to  answer. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  We  don't  require  it. 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  Or  if  it  is  desirable,  or  anything  else,  that 
will  take  the  responsibility  off  of  me  of  willingly  giving 
what  I  have  heard.  I  have  no  objection  to  answering  the 
question  at  all,  other  than  I  would  like  to^have  the  respon- 
sibility of  it  taken  from  my  shoulders. 


343 

Mr.  SHOBER.  I  don't  understand  that  'the  committee 
would  demand  an  answer ;  but  the  investigation  thus  far 
has  been  characterized  by  a  great  deal  of  latitude. 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  If  it  is  in  any  way  desired  by  the  commit- 
tee, I  should  answer  it  without  any  hesitation. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  should  desire  that  the  question  be  an- 
swered. Questions  have  been  'answered  like  it  a  dozen 
times  already.  . 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  They  have  always  been  propounded 
by  Mr.  Sutro. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Mr.  Sunderland  has  proposed  similar  ques- 
tions before. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Never. 

Mr.  SITTRO.  "Well,  I  would  ask,  Mr.  Chairman,  whether 
there  is  any  objection  by  the  committee? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  don't  object. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  I  don't  see  that  there  is  any  objection. 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  I  didn't  talk  with  people  enough  to  get 
the  ideas  of  the  majority. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Well,  what  is  your  opinion , of  the  opinion  of 
the  people  with  whom  you  talked  ? 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  What  would  be  regarded  as  the  public 
sentiment  there,  the  general  conviction  of  the  people? 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  I  think  the  general  opinion,  so  far  as  I  had 
occasion  to  ascertain,  is,  that  the  mines  are  not  managed 
exclusively  in  the  interests  of  the  stockholders.  I  do  not 
give  that  as  my  opinion.  I  have  no  opinion  about  it. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  But  you  heard  people  talking  about  it;  that 
is  the  general  opinion.  Now,  let  me  read  an  extract  from 
the  daily  ALTA  CALIFORNIA  (one  of  the  leading  papers  of 
the  Pacific  coast)  bf  February  15,  1872: 

"  As  matters  stand  at  present,  there  is  no  safety  whatever  for  the  stockholder. 
He  is  completely  at  the  mercy  of  his  board  of  trustees.  It  has  come  to  be 
regarded  as  a  rule,  that  he  has  no  rights  whatever  which  they  are  bound  to 
respect.  Out  of  the  multitude  of  instances  which  might  be  adduced,  for  the 
purpose  of  illustrating  this  curious  and  by  no  means  satisfactory  condition 
of  things,  we  will  bring  forward  only  one.  It  is  often  the  case  that  a  board 
of  trustees,  and  the  officers  selected"  by  them,  sell  out  every  share  of  stock 
which  they  hold,  and  enter  into  a  conspiracy  to  break  down  the  value  of  the 
property.  The  interests  of  the  stockholders  are,  therefore,  in  the  hands  of 
their  most  deadly  enemies.  They  circulate  falsehoods  as  to  the  condition  of 


344 

the  mine;  look  in  every  direction  but  the  right  one, for  developments,  and 
cover  up  whenever  a  strike  is  made.  For  the.  unfortunate  stockholder,  in 
such  case,  there  is  nothing  left  but  to  hold  on  to  his  stock  and  trust  to  the 
chapter  of  accidents  to  come  out  right.  It  has  been  suggested  that  the  best 
method  of  remedying  this  constantly  increasing  evil  would  be,  to  give  the 
stockholders  the  power,  within  certain  limits,  to  eject  an  unfaithful  board  of 
trustees,  and  substitute  at  once  one  that  would  have  their  confidence." 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  That  is  just  what  we  have  done  in  the 
State  of  Nevada.  Laws  have  been  in  force  there  for  six 
years. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Is  that  about  the  statement,  General  Wright, 
that  is  usually  made  over  there  by  the  people,  or  about  the 
general  idea  which  is  entertained  as  to  the  management  of 
the  mines? 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  I  have  heard  statements  similar.  Person- 
ally I  know  nothing  about  the  matter. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  Do  the  laws  of  your  State  give  the  stock- 
holders authority  to  call  a  meeting? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  It  is  proposed  by  a  new  law  that  one-third 
can  call  a  meeting,  and  two-thirds  can  remove  the  trustees 
any  time. 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  Any  or  All? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  It's  in  the  laws  of  Nevada.  In  Cali- 
fornia, where  the  most  of  these  companies  are  incorporated, 
there  is  a  bill  pending  which  has  passed  one  branch  of  the 
legislature  and  will  the  other,  to  accomplish  the  same  thing. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Now,  General  Wright,  I  want  to  read  from 
the  same  paper,  from  the  ALTA  CALIFORNIA,  the  financial 
and  commercial  report  of  February  15,  1872.  It  says: 

41  One  of  the  greatest  evils  in  mine  management  is  the  almost  unlimited 
power  of  the  superintendent  to  make  or  unmake  the  market  value  of  a  mine. 
This  is  so  well  understood,  that  where  there  is  a  disposition  to  work  the  mar- 
ket rather  than  the  mine,  a  collusion  between  trustees  here  and  a  superin- 
tendent on  the  spot  causes  the  profits  or  expenses  of  the  mine  to  rise  and  fall 
exactly  in  accordance  with  the  stock  account  of  the  operators.  This  is,  of 
course,  far  from  being  always  the  case,  and  a  considerable  proportion  of 
what  the  public  hears  of  'rings,'  'jobs/  'collusions,'  and  'conspiracies' 
are  the  mere  conjectures  of  badly-informed  or  spiteful  busy  bodies.  There 
are  gentlemen  who  own  and  control  companies  of  perfect  integrity  and 
superior  business  habits — men  who,  although  naturally  desirious  of  acquir- 
ing as  many  clean  dollars  as  possible,  will  reject  a  dirty  one  on  any  terms. 
They  will  not  suffer  wrong-doing  if  it  is  possible  to  prevent  it.  Neverthe- 
less, they  are  themselves  sometimes  the  dupes  of  the  designing  superinten- 
dent, who  can  make  flattering  reports,  select  ore,  make  large  returns,  suppress 
expenses,  force  up  the  price  of  the  stock,  and  swindle  alike  the  trustees  and 


345 

the  stockholders.  On  the  other  hand,  with  a  superintendent  of  strict  integ- 
rity, giving  the  exact  condition  of  the  mine  understandingly,  there  would 
be  little  room  for  fraud.  The  British  public  have  long  since  run  through 
experience  of  every  possible,  fraud,  and  have  devised  means  of  lessening 
them  to  a  certain  extent.  Among"  these  means  is  to  require  an  entirely  cor- 
rect map  of  all  the  works  in  the  mine,  shaded  so  as  to  show  where  the  ore 
exists,  where  it  has  been  taken  out,  and  where  the  mine  is  barren.  The 
superintendent  is  then  required  to  state  every  day  how  many  men  are  em- 
ployed, and  shpw  upon  the  map  where  each  gang  is  at  work — whether  opening 
out  ore  or  uselessly  employed  where  he  knows  there  is  none.  The  stockhold- 
ers can  then  see  how  their  money  is  spent.  If  they  see  the  men  employed 
getting  out  ore  with  satisfactory  results  one  day,  and  then  see  them  cease 
working  that  spot  and  employed  in  a  barren  portion  of  the  mine,  while  the 
receipts  diminish,  they  understand  the  trouble  and  apply  a  correction.  Su- 
perintendent Watt,  of  the  Eureka,  Grass  Valley,  has  taken  a  step  in  the  right 
direction  in  preparing  a  map  of  that  mine  for  inspection  of  stockholders,  but 
such  a  map  wants  to  be  accompanied  by  daily  reports,  indicating  upon  the 
map  where  on  the  3,600  feet  of  the  company's  mine  the  ore  crops  out;  where 
it  has  been  taken  out;  where  there  are  indications  of  ore  at  present,  and 
where  the  150  men  employed  in  the  mine  are  at  work;  if  they  are  following 
the  leads  of  ore;  if  every  pick  and  spade  is  directed  to  the  practical  point  of 
getting  out  ore,  or  whether  two-thirds  of  the  men  .are  working  where  there 
is  no  reasonable  chance  of  getting  ore,  to  the  neglect  of  those  portions  where 
there  is  value.  If  ore  is  got  out,  how.  many  of  the  whole  force  employed  did 
it;  how  much  was  sent  to  the  mill,  and  how  much  did  it  yield ;  and  let  these 
facts  bo  certified  to  by  foreman  and  mill-man  each,  in  his  department.  The 
Legislature  should  then  make  false  statements  and  malfeasance  on  the  part 
of  those  officers  punishable  as  felony.  There  is  no  doubt  but  that  the  most 
satisfactory  answers  could  be  given,  but  we  wish  to  point  out  what  should  be 
a  rule  in  all  mines  for  the  protection  of  stockholders.  The  corporate  mining 
"on  this  coast  involves  millions  of  dollars  qf  capital  held  by  stockholders. 
The  interest  is  daily  taking  larger  proportions,  and  it  is  high  time  that  some 
means  were  adopted  to  place  a  mining  property,  that  may  have  millions  of 
value,  above  the  caprice  of  an  irresponsible  superintendent.  The  great  value 
of  ores  in  some  of  the  mines  makes  it  necessary  that  the  men  should  be 
searched  each  time  they  come  out,  to  see  that  no  pieces  of  ore  are  concealed 
upon  their  persons;  but  a  superintendent  is  put  in  control,  with  power  to  put 
up  or  down  the  value  of  the  whole  concern  to  the  extent  of  millions,  in  order 
that  he  may  profit  by  the  stock  fluctuations  without  check.  The  trustees  who 
assume  to  manage  the  property  of  others  are  at  common  law  responsible, 
and  may  be  held  liable  for  any  misconduct  in  office;  but  they  are  themselves 
subject  to  the  irresponsible  action  of  a  superintendent.  There  are  well- 
managed  mines,  with  superintendents  of  the  highest  character,  and  in  such 
cases  the  results  are  satisfactory." 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  The  writer  of  that  didn't  get  any 
shares  when  he  wanted  them. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Well,  this  is  one  of  the  best  papers  in  Cali- 
fornia, and  I  simply  read  this  to  show  what  is  stated  at  the 
present  time  in  San  Francisco  in  regard  to  the  manage- 
ment of  these  mines.  RTow,  General  Wright,  I  want  to 
ask  you  whether  it  is  probable,  or  whether  it  is  human 
nature,  that  these  superintendents  over  there,  who  have 
immense  chances  of  making  money,  would  tell  all  the  facts 


346 

t 

that  are  favorable  to  an  enterprise  which  would,  to  some 
extent,  interfere  with  their  operations? 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  I  presume  it  is  the  duty  of  the  superin- 
tendent to  report  to  the  trustees  or  the  managers  of  the 
company. 

Q.  I  mean,  do  you  think  it  is  human  nature,  where  a 
man  who  has  got  a  chance  to  make  a  large  fortune 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  object'to  that  question.  If  Mr.  Su- 
tro  wants  to  know  anything  about  these  trustees  on  the 
Comstock,  let  him  ask  so. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  am  naming  no  one.  I  am  asking  the  gen- 
eral opinion. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Well,  we  may  understand  human  na- 
ture as  well  as  the  General.  I  object  to  the  question. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  General,  is  it  likely  that  men  who  are  placed 
in  a  position  where  they  are  making  large  fortunes  in  specu- 
lations in  stocks  and  otherwise  would  be  very  apt  to  give 
testimony  which  would  go  against  their  interests  and  intro- 
duce a  new  system  of  mining? 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  Well,  I  don't  think  men  are  generally 
very  apt  to  give  information  which  isn't  to  their  interest. 

Q.  That  is  all  about  that.  Now,  I  want  to  read  another 
extract  from  a  paper.  These  things  have  all  got  into  the 
newspapers.  They  say  that  "  when  thieves  fall  out,  the  facts 
come  out."  They  have  been  keeping  these  things  out  of 
the  papers,  but  now  they  are  getting  in. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Are  all  the  newspapers  from  the  Pa- 
cific coast  to  be  introduced  as  evidence  ?  ^ 

Mr.  SUTRO.  !N"o,  I  am  only  going  to  introduce  two  or 
three. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  Are  the  articles  very  lengthy? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  No,  sir.  I  will  read  from  the  San  Francisco 
CHRONICLE  of  February  16,  1872 : 

"  MINING  STOCKS. — How  THE  MILL  KING  GOT  CONTROL  OF  THE  MINES." 

(That's  the  Bank  of  California.) 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  object  to  that,  if  the  chairman  please. 
This  popular  clamor  that  has  been  made  here  the  last  four 


347 

• 

or  five  years  against  the  Bank  of  California,  I  think,  is  be- 
neath the  dignity  of  the  committee  to  consider.  A  great 
deal  of  capital  has  been  made  out  of  it,  I  know.  Now,  I 
don't  know  that  the  Bank  of  California  or  any  of  its  offi- 
cers ever  stole  anything,  and  I  don't  know  that  they  ever 
stole  anything  belonging  to  Mr.  Sutro.  I  think  they  are 
honorable  men  ;  and  I  think  that  this  bringing  the  Bank 
of  California,  its  agents  or  officers,  in  every  time  Mr.  Sutro 
has  a  chance,  is  an  outside  question  wholly,  and  ought  not 
to  be  permitted  at  all.  We  have  heard  it  every  time  we 
have  had  a  meeting. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  wish  to  submit,  that  it  is 
very  important  that  all  the  facts  in  connection  with  the 
opposition  of  the  Bank  of  California  to  this  work  should 
be  known.  It  is  a  notorious  fact  that  the  Bank  of  Califor- 
nia, by  its  agents  and  by  its  influence,  has  been  trying  to 
upset  a  work  which  has  been  authorized  by  act  of  Congress. 
They  come  here  to  Washington,  and  Mr.  Sunderland,  as 
their  agent,  comes  here  to  Washington,  to  oppose  any  aid 
from  the  Government  to  this  work.  The  Bank  of  Cali- 
fornia don't  want  this  work  carried  out.  They  want  to 
break  it  up  with  us,  and  get  it  for  themselves.  That's  the 
whole  secret  of  it;  and  I  think  it  is  pertinent,  or  impor- 
tant, in  this  examination  here,  which  is  not  only  for  the 
purpose  of  getting  at  the  facts  in  regard  to  the  construc- 
tion of  that  tunnel,  but  also  in  regard  to  the  working 
of  these  mines  and  the  management  of  them,  that  we 
should  arrive  at  as  correct  an  opinion  about  the  whole  sub- 
ject as  we  can  possibly ;  and  therefore  I  would  ask  that  I 
be  permitted  to  read  a  statement  here  from  a  paper.  I  am 
not  going  back  for  years,  but  I  take  a  statement  that  is  not 
two  weeks  old,  and  that  concerns  the  management  of  the 
mines  at  the  present  moment.  I  wish  to  read  that  state- 
ment, and  ask  General  Wright  whether  he  heard  any- 
thing of  that  kind  when  he  was  over  there.  It  will  only 
be  taken  for  what  it  is  worth.  It  is  not  evidence,  any  fur- 
ther than  a  newspaper  statement.  General  Wright's  an- 


348 

swer  will  also  be  simply  his  opinion  as  to  what  he  heard 
during  his  sojourn  in  Nevada.       / 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  I  don't  think  it  is  necessary,  Mr.  Sutro, 
to  spend  much  time  on  this.  If  the  Bank  of  California  is 
throwing  up  obstacles  against  this  enterprise,  it  would  be 
well  to  prove  it;  but  I  don't  see  that  it  is  proper  to  read 
the  newspapers. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  If  it  is  desirable  for  the  committee 
to  hear  anything,  I  shall  not  object.  I  withdraw  my  ob- 
jection, if  the  committee  choose  to  hear  it. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  will  simply  read  these  two  articles.  I 
will  agree  not  to  introduce  anything  else  from  the  news- 
papers. I  look  upon  it  as  important. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  I  don't  see  how  it  will  be  material,  Mr. 
Sutro. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  There  has  been  a  fight  over  this  matter 
here.  There  has  been  a  statement  put  in  here  that  the 
Bank  of  California  owns  those  mining  stocks,  and  I  mean 
to  show  that  it  don't.  They  have  been  robbing  the  public, 
and  I  want  to  show,  by  reading  these  newspapers,  that  it 
is  common  report  out  there. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Supposing  it  is  all  true,  what  has  it 
got  to  do  with  the  tunnel  ? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  It's  very  important.  Those  men  want  to 
keep  up  this  fleecing  of  the  country,  and  it* isn't  for  the 
interests  of  the  people  or  the  Government  for  this  thing 
to  go  on. 

Mr.  SHOBER.  It  may  be  well  enough  to  show,  if  it  could 
be  done,  by  competent  evidence,  that  there  is  opposition 
to  this  tunnel  from  such  a  source.  But  whether  the  read- 
ing of  extracts  of  that  character  accomplishes  the  object, 
I  doubt.  We  have  allowed  great  latitude  heretofore,  but 
if  Mr.  Sunclerland  objects,  I  should  certainly  sustain  the 
objection. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Well,  I  do  not.  I  won't  object  to 
anything  hereafter. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  If  it  is  not  very  long,  we  will  have  it 
read. 


349 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Mr.  Chairman,  you  have  allowed  very  con- 
siderable scope  on  both  sides.  Mr.  Sunderland  has  read 
from  all  kinds  of  books  and  papers,  and  I  should  think  I 
ought  to  be  allowed  to  do  the  same  thing.  I  want  to  get 
General  Wright's  opinion  in  regard  to  what  is  general  report 
out  there.  I  want  to  read  a  newspaper  article,  and  base 
some  questions  upon  it.  It  is  from  the  SAN  FRANCISCO 
CHRONICLE  of  February  16,  1872 : 

•'  MINING  STOCKS— How  THE  "  MILL  RISG"  GOT  QONTEOL  OF  THE  MINES — 
ELECTION  OF  TRUSTEES  BY  NON-OWNEES  OF  STOCK — MINES  AND  THEIR 
MISMANAGEMENT. 

"Oh,  poverty  of  earth  ! 

That  men  do  deeds  that  win  them  evil  names, 
And  shun  the  names,  but  not  the  deeds  that  win 
them." 

Mr.  SESSIONS.     Well,  that's  Shakspeare. 
Mr.  SUTRO.  Yes;  it's  a  better  thing  than  you  thought 
for. 

Mr.  SHOBER.  We  won't  object  to  Shakspeare. 
Mr.  SUTRO — 

"The  truth  and  power  of  the  sentiment  of  the  above  quotation  was  never 
more  forcibly  illustrated  than  in  thecaste  of  those  persons  who  have  succeeded 
in  acquiring  ill-gotten  wealth,  at  the  expense  of  those  whose  interests  were 
intrusted  to  their  keeping,  and  upon  whose  substance  they  grew  sleek  and 
fat.  They  were  quite  willing  to  clutch  at  that  to  which  they  had  no  right, 
either  legal  or  equitable,  but  now,  when  the  moral  responsibility  of  their  own 
deeds  is  forced  upon  them,  they  shrink  from  their  merited  castigation,  and 
ask  to  go  unwhipped  of  justice.  They  shun  the  names,  but  not  the  deeds 
that  won  them.1' 

Mr.  SHOBER.  What  ia  he  speaking  of  now  ? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  He  is  speaking  of  the  Bank  of  California. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Confine  yourself  to  facts. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  In  my  opinion  he  is  speaking  of  the  Bank 
of  California. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Well,  I  don't  believe  that  is  true. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Well,  I  will  go  on.  It  is  a  good  article.  It 
is  well  written — 

"  WHAT  is  THE  REMEDY  FOB  THE  EVIL? — A  contemporary  thinks  that  much 
of  the  evil  complained  of  in  the  management  of  the  mines  lies  at  the  door  of 
the  stockholders,  whose  carelessness,  in  not  attending  annual  elections,  'leads 
in  a  great  measure  to  the  malpractices  which  are  doing  so  much  to  destroy 
confidence  in  a  pursuit  which  lies  at  the  very  foundation,  of  our  prosperity.' 
This  is  undoubtedly  true  to  a  certain  extent,  and  has  done  its  part  in  creating 
the  evil;  but  this  carelessness  would  not  have  been  productive  of  such  disas- 


350 

trous  results  if  it  had  not  been  fostered  and  encouraged  by  those  who  sought 
to  take  advantage  of  it.  The  great  majority  of  the  purchasers  of  mining 
stock  are  those  who  buy  with  the  hope  of  a  speedy  profit,  and  in  anticipation 
of  a  rise  which  will  permit  of  their  soon  realizing.  Very  few  persons  desire 
to  have  stock  of  this  kind  stand  in  their  own  names,  because  it  frequently 
happened  th#t  long  after  they  had  sold  it,  simply  delivering  the  certificates, 
as  is  customary,  they  have  seen  their  names  advertised  for  delinquent  assess- 
ments, and  have  found  their  credit  injured  by  their  being  supposed  to  own 
stock  which  had  declined  in  value,  although,  perhaps,  the  decline  had  taken 
place  since  they  sold.  The  persons  who  desired  to  gain  the  control  and  man- 
agement of  the  mines,  without  owning  them,  wished  to  have  the  stock  stand 
in  the  names  of  such  individuals  as  they  could  direct  at  the  annual  election, 
and  very  adroit,  indeed,  were  the  means  resorted  to  to  accomplish  the  object. 
Let  us  suppose,  for  instance,  that  parties,  such  as  we  have  described,  had 
control  of  a  banking  establishment,  and  we  may  judge,  perhaps,  how  the 
trick  was.  done.  The  first  thing  such  a  bank  would  do,  would  be  to  hold  out 
inducements  to  brokers  and  persons  dealing  in  stocks  to  open  accounts  with 
them,  by  affording  facilities  for  the  deposit  of  stock,  bought  or  sold  on  time 
by  their  customers,  but  establishing  a  rule  in  the  beginning  that  all  stock  so 
deposited  must  be  transferred  to  the  name  of  one  of  their  own  attache's,  'just' 
to  save  trouble,  you  know.'  In  that  manner  many  shares  of  many  compa- 
nies would  find  their  way  into  the  name  of  some  irresponsible  person  as 
1  trustee.'  Then  occasionally  loans  would  be  made  on  stock,  which,  of  course, 
was  transferred  to  the  same '  trustee.'  Persons  buying  this  stock  afterward 
would  allow  it  to  stand  without  transfer,  knowing  that  the  'trustee'  would 
not  be  attached  for  debt,  that  being  the  only  risk  run  by  allowing  stock  to 
stand  in  the  name  of  another  person.  Another  inducement  held  out  to  allow 
the  certificates  to  remain  in  the  '  trustee's '  name  was,  that  upon  certificates 
in  that  name  the  dividends  upon  Chollar,  whose  office  was  in  this  city,  would 
be  paid  by  the  agency  of  the  bank  in  Virginia,  while  those  upon  Yellow 
Jacket,  whose  office  was  in  Gold  Hill,  could  bo  collected  here  upon  presenta- 
tion of  the  certificate,  while  the  holders  of  stock  in  less  favored  names  were 
put  to  the  expense  and  delay  of  collecting  by  express.  So  that  when  the 
day  of  the  annual  election  came  around,  the  majority  of  all  the  stock  was  fre- 
quently found  to  be  in  the  name  of  the  '  trustee,'  whose  vote  was  thus  ena- 
bled to  control  the  result;  and,  with  the  mines  thus  brought  within  their 
power,  the  ring  which  managed  them  acted  as,  has  been  heretofore  described 
in  the  CHRONICLE,  and  grew  wealthy  from  the  property  of  other  people.  It 
is  not  necessary  now  to  explain  how  the  stock  deposited,  as  we  have  describ- 
ed, was  used  to  depress  the  market,  or  how  that  upon  which  loans  were  made 
was  sometimes  sold  at  a  high  price  and  replaced  when  it  had  declined,  owing 
to  those  very  sales.  Just  so  long  as  trustees  of  mines  can  be  thus  elected, 
and  just  so  long  as,  when  elected,  they  are  practically  superior  to  all  law,  will 
mining  investments  fail  to  obtain  or  deserve  the  confidence  of  the  public.  An 
apologist  in  a  morning  paper  for  mining  mismanagement  lays  the  blame  of 
'all  the  rascality  upon  the  superintendents,  who  certainly  deserve  censure  in 
many  cases;  but  when  we  remember  that  the  trustees  possess  the  power  to 
remove  them^at  pleasure,  it  will  scarcely  be  credited  that  the  inferior  officer 
is  responsible*  for  the  entire  wrong.  Perhaps  if  stockholders  were  obliged  to 
have  stock  transferred  to  their  own  names,  and  trustees  were  made  criminally 
liable  by  statute  for  their  evil  doings,  confidence  might  be  measurably  re- 
stored." 

Now,  General  Wright,  I  have  read  this  article  in  order  to 
ask  you  whether,  while  you  were  over  there,  you  heard 
people  make  statements  of  that  kind? 


351 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  I  have  no  opinion  whatever  upon  the  sub- 
ject generally. 

Q.  You  .were  there  investigating  this  tunnel  question. 
What  did  you  hear  as  common  report  ?  Did  you  hear  about 
such  statements  as  are  given  in  this  article  ? 

A.  So  far  as  my  recollection  serves  me,  not  one  of  them. 

Q.  Not  one  of  what  ? 

A.  Not  one  of  those  statements  did  I  hear. 

Q.  Did  you  never  hear  over  there  of  parties  getting  the 
control  of  the  mines  by  loaning  money  on  stock? 

A.  I  will  say  in  answer  to.  that,  that  it  was  no  part  of 
the  investigation  with  which  we  were  charged.  As  a  rule, 
we  didn't  converse  upon  the  subject  outside  of  the  points 
laid  down. 

Q.  You  heard  that  the  mines  were  not  properly  managed 
over  there? 

A.  I  heard,  as  I  said  often,  in  general  terms,  that  they 
were  not  always  managed  in  the  interests  of  the  stock- 
holders. 

Q.  You  didn't  hear  the  details  given  here? 

A.  No, 'sir, 

Q.  Now,  I  will  read  another  little  extract,  and  then  I  will 
close  this  subject.  I  will  read  the  San  Francisco  CHRON- 
ICLE, dated  Sunday,  February  18, 1872: 

"  STOCK  SHARPS.— How  THE  MILL  RING  GOT  THE  MILLS— ASSESSMENTS  TO 
PAY  CRUSHING  BILLS— THE  ADVANTAGE  OF  BEING  ON  THE  INSIDE. 

"  '  Let  not  the  buyer  rejoice,  nor  the  seller  mourn;  for  wrath  is  upon  all 
the  multitude  thereof.' — Ezekiel,  vii.  12. 

"Many  very  excellent  persons  have  objected  to  the  publication  of  news- 
papers upon  Sunday,  but  perhaps  if  writers  for  the  press  would  make  it  a  rule 
to  prefix  their  articles  with  a  Scriptural  quotation,  as  we  have  done  in  this 
instance,  much  of  the  objection  alluded  to  would  be  avoided,  for  the  careless 
reader  would  oftentimes  have  his  thoughts  thus  directed  into  a  channel  be-' 
fitting  the  sanctity  of  the  occasion.  The  text  we  have  chosen  is  particularly 
applicable  to  those  who  deal  in  mining  stocks,  and  the  readers  of  the  CHRON- 
ICLE will  understand  us  when  we  tell  them  that  Wrath  is  upon  such  dealer? ; 
and  if  they  do  not  believe  it,  let  them  wait  a  little  while  until  the  market 
collapses,  and  they  will  acknowledge  the  correctness  of  the  proposition.  For 
when  that  time  comes,  the  buyers  at  the  prices  of  to-day  will  assuredly  not 
.  rejoice,  neither  will  the  sellers  mourn,  ana  our  text  and  our  warning  will  be 
fu'l  tilled. 

"But  we  wish  to  have  it  distinctly  understood  that,  in  warning  the  people 
against  dealing  in  mining  stocks,  we  do  not  mean  to  say  that  the  mines  are 
not  good,  nor  that  muah  profit  may  not  be  derived  from  working  them,  but 


352 

only  to  show  that,  in  the  way  they  have  heen  and  are  managed,  there  is  no 
safety  whatever  in  meddling  with  or  investing  money  in  them.  Mining  is  a 
business  in  which,  when  profitable,  the  profits  are  very  large  ;  but  in  propor- 
tion as  such  is  the  case  are  the  chances  of  loss ;  as  a  man  or  a  company  may 
spend  much  money  in  opening  a  mine  and  get  nothing,  while  his  neighbor 
may  almost  immediately  acquire  a  fortune.  When  the  Ophirwas  first  started, 
the  shaft  was  sunk  in  pay  rock,  and  there  was  no  assessment.  For  several 
years,  and  until  the  first  deposit  found  was  worked  out,  and  nothing  of  any 
consequence  had  been  discovered  since,  while  on  the  ground  immediately  ad- 
joining nothing. has  ever  been  found,  and  yet  the  adjoining  claims  at  one 
time  sold  for  as  much  as  Ophir.  What  we  want  to  make  plain  is,  that  with 
a  'square  deal'  there  is  quite  as  much  excitement  and  risk  about  mining  as 
is  necessary  to  make  it  pleasant ;  but  when  you  know  you  are  playing  against 
a  '  hogging  game,'  it  becomes  monotonous." 

Mr. ^WRIGHT.  What  sort  of  a  game  is  that  ? 
Mr.  SUTRO.  Hogging  game. 

"We  have  endeavored,  by  showing  how  badly  the  Washoe  mines  have 
been  managed,  to  convince  our  readers  that  it  is  better  to  wait  until  a  change 
can  be  effected  before  trusting  their  money  to  the  vortex.  Having  already 
explained  how  the  '  mill  ring'  managed  to  control  the  mines,  the  next  step 
in  our  history  is  to  show  how  they  got  the  mills.  Along  in  1864  the  mills 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Comstock  lode  were  owned  by  various  parties, 
some  of  whom  made  money,  but  the  most  of  them  did  not,  owing  to  the  high 
cost  of  machinery  and  supplies  and  the  extravagant  manner  in  which  busi- 
ness of  all  kinds  was  conducted.  About  this  time  the  '  ring  '  we  have  de- 
scribed had  managed,  as  has  been  related,  to  get  the  mines  under  their  con- 
trol, and  they  were  dividing  the  profits  of  crushing  the  ore  with  some  favored 
mill  men.  But  this  was  entirely  too  slow  a  process  to  meet  their  ambitious  views, 
and  so  they  set  about  organizing  title  to  the  mills  themselves.  A  mill  man, 
applying  to  the  ring  managers  of  the  mines  for  ore  to  crush,  would  be  told 
that,  as  not  much  ore  was  being  taken  out,  he  must  be  content  with  little, 
but  meanwhile  he  could  be  accommodated  with  a  loan,  should  he  require 
cash,  which  loan  could  be  easily  repaid  out  of  the  profits  of  future  crushing, 
which  he  would  be  sure  to  get,  as,  of  course,  his  creditors  would  feel  an  in- 
terest in  his  financial  welfare.  Of  course  the  bait  was  eagerly  swallowed, 
and.  the  deluded  mill  man  signed  his  own  death  warrant  with  his  first  note ; 
for  no  sooner  was  he  involved  beyond  his  means  to  pay,  when  '  the  bank 
required  the  money,'  and  he  was  forced  to  give  up  his  property  for,  in  many 
instances,  less  than  one-fifth  of  its  actual  value.  Thus,  one  by  one,  nearly  all 
the  best  mills  in  the  country  fell  into  the  hands  of  Ihe  cormorants,  who  were 
enabled  to  keep  them  running  upon  rock  taken  from  the  mines  under  their 
control,  the  object,  of  course,  being  to  keep  the  stamps  going,  regardless  of 
the  value  of  the  ore  to  be  worked,  and  so,  if  no  good  rock  was  to  be  had, 
anything  else  that  came  first  was  sent — the  mill  would  crush  waste  as  well 
as  the  richest  ore,  and  one  paid  as  much  as  the  other  to  those  who  crushed 
.it.  It  sometimes  happened,  of  course,  that  this  business  brought  the  mines 
into  debt,  and  then  the  trustees  would  levy  an  assessment  to  .pay  the 
bill.  When  good  ore  was  coming  from  the  mines,  it  would  sometimes  be 
mixed  with  waste,  so  as  to  make  three  tons  of  ore.  Suppose  a  mine  was 
yielding  rock  that  would  work  $75  per  ton — one  ton  of  it  and  two  tons  of 
waste  would  be  hauled  to  the  mill,  which  would  thus  receive  $39  (three  tons 
at  $13)  for  doing  that  which  should  have  cost  the  company  but  $6.  It  is  easy 
enough  to  see  how  the  '  mill  ring '  grew  rich  and  powerful  off  of  this  sort, 
of  thing,  and  not  at  all  difficult  to  understand  how  so  many  people  who  put 
their  money  into  mining  stocks  lost  it.  About  $7  per  ton  was  the  profit  (?) 
on  each  ton  of  ore  worked  by  the  c  ring,'  and  as  about  1,000  tons  per  day 
were  worked  for  some  five  or  six  years,  any  one  tolerably  well  up  in  arith- 


353 

metic  may  figure  np  the  profits  on  the  one  side  and  the  losses  on  the  other. 
And  there  was  another  way  in  which  they  made  much  money,  and  that  waa  in 
'  tailings,'  for  the  object  being  to  work  rapidly,  of  course  the  work  was  not 
thorough,  and  mud  that  would,  under  a  more  careful  process,  have  gone  to 
the  "stockholders  as  bullion,  remained  as  mill  perquisites  in  the  shape  of 
'  tailings,'  which  were  afterwards  worked  at  large  profits.  And,  in  course 
of  time,  the  '  mill  ring  '  grew  rich  and  powerful,  for  they  controlled  all  the 
mines  that  were  considered  worth  controlling,  owned  all  the  mills  that  were 
worth  owning,  as  well  as  all  the  courts  and  the  country  generally,  and  if  any 
man  dared  say  his  soul  was  hia  own,  he  was  forthwith  ruined  in  his  fortune 
and  run  out  of  the  country.  And  for  all  this  the  goofl,  easy  people  of  San 
Francisco  paid  their  assessments  and  lost  the  money  they  invested  in  mining 
stocks ;  and  if  they  continue  to  invest  before  some  change  in  the  mode  of  man- 
agement is  brought  about,  the  same  result  will  again  follow." 

Now,  I  want  to  ask  you,  General  Wright,  whether  yon 
heard  of  ores  mixe#  with  rock  being  sent  to  the  mill,  or  a 
very  low  grade  of  ore  that  didn't  pay  for  mining? 

A.  I  have  heard  of  good  ore  heing  mixed  with  poor  ore 
and  sent  to  the  mills. 

Q.  Ore  that  wouldn't  pay  by  itself? 

A.  Ore  that  probably  wouldn't  pay  by  itself.  That  is 
the  information  that  I  got.  But  I  know  nothing  about  it; 
I  don't  know  how  reliable  the  statements  were. 

Q.  Did  you  get  it  from  one  of  the  prominent  men  con- 
nected with  the  mines? 

A.  Not  any  managing  man,  that  I  know  of. 

Q.  Was  it  an  owner  of  the  mine? 

A.  Yes,  he  was  reputed  to  be  an  Qwner  in  a  mine. 

Q.  And  he  said  that  that  was  a  practice  ? 

A.  No;  I  won't  state  that  it  was  a  practice,  but  that  it 
had  been  done. 

Q.  That  they  mixed  in  low-grade  ores,  that  didn't  pay 
for  mining,  with  good  ore,  in  order  to  make  up  a  great 
number  of  tons? 

A.  I  understand  it  was  for  the  benefit  of  the  mills. 
They  got  so  much  a  ton  for  reducing  the  ore.  They  were 
obliged  to  return  65  per  cent,  of  the  assay  value  of  the  ore. 
If  they  could  take  a  ton  that  would  assay  $50,  and  mix  it 
with  a  ton  that  was  worth  $10,  the  sum  of  the  two  values 
was  $60,  or  $30  a  ton. 

Q.  Well,  then,  General  Wright,  if  a  man  didn't  own  the 
mine,  but  did  own  the  mill,  this  operation  would  accrue  to 
23 


354 

his  benefit,  wouldn't  it,  while  the  mine  owner  would  be 
the  loser  ? 

A.  Undoubtedly. 

Q.  And  if  they  didn't  own  the  mine,  it  would  come  out 
of  the  stockholders  in  assessments? 

A.  It  would  be  so  much  loss  to  the  mine.  In  the  case 
which  I  have  stated,  they  would  reduce  the  $50  ore  at  a 
cost  of  $12  a  ton,  returning  the  65  per  cent,  of  that  amount 
to  the  miners;  in  the  case  of  mixing,  there  would  be  a 
charge  of  $24. 

Q.  Now,  I  want  to  ask  you  one  single  question  here, 
General.  Do  not  these  mills  get  the  tailings  which  are  left 
from  working  the  ore  ?  Do  they  not  claim  the  tailings  as 
their  property  ? 

A.  My  impression  is,  that,  as  a  rule,  they  do.  I  have 
heard  of  instances,  however,  where  the  tailings  belonged  to 
the  owners  of  the  mine. 

Q.  Does  the  Union  Mill  Company  keep  the  tailings  ? 

A.  I  suppose  so. 

Q.  Don't  the  Bank  of  California  control  that  company  ? 

A.  I  don't  know. 

Q.  Who  is  at  the  head  of  it  ? 

A.  The  agent  of  the  Bank  of  California. 

Q.  "Well,  isn't  it  Very  important  .for  the  Union  Mill 
Company  to  get  all  the  ore  they  can,  whether  it  pays  or  not? 

A.  All  up  to  the  working  capacity  of  their  mills  undoubt- 
edly. 

Q.  Well,  then,  if  these  same  parties  control  the  mines, 
isn't  it  in  their  power  to  send  bed  rock  or  country  rock  to 
these  mills,  and  get  $12  a  ton  for  working  it? 

A.  It  seems  so. 

Q.  If  they  don't  work  up  to  the  standard  of  65  per  cent, 
the  mining  companies  are  to  be  the  judges,  are  they  not? 

A.  Undoubtedly. 

Q.  And  these  mining  companies  are  controlled  also,  to 
a  large  extent,  by  the  same  parties? 

A.  To  some  extent,  certainly. 


355 

Q.  Arid  what  remains  over  65  per  cent,  these  mills  get 
and  keep  ? 

A.  No,  I  don't  so  understand  it.  They  are  obliged  to 
return  all  that  they  obtain,  but  must  return  65  per  cent. 

Q.  Well,  do  they  ever  return  over  65  per  cent.  ? 

A.  They  say  they  do. 

Q.  Does  the  Union  Mill  and  Mining  Company? 

A.  That  I  cannot  answer. 

Q.  Is  it  not  natural  that  men  owning  mills  there,  and 
having  the  whole  sway  and  swing  of  things,  would  oppose 
the  construction  of  a  work  which  would  materially  and 
radically  change  the  mode  of  working  the  mines  and  the 
mills? 

A.  It  would  be  natural  that  they  should  oppose  anything 
which  they  would  think  in  opposition  to  their  own  inter- 
ests. 

Q.  And  their  interest  is  to  keep  up  the  present  system 
of  working  the  mines  and  its  mills  against  the  tunnel  ? 

A.  I  think  they  say  so,  without  exception. 

Q.  Well,  are  not  the  laboring  men  over  there  in  favor 
f  the  tunnel  ? 

A.  I  should  think,  as  a  rule,  they  are. 

Q.  Have  you  heard  a  single  laboring  man  over  there,  a 
miner,  a  working  miner,  say  anything  against  that  tunnel? 

A.  I  heard  some  of  them  say  they  felt  no  particular  in- 
terest in  it  one  way  or  another. 

Q.  Have  you  heard  of  any  one  opposing  it? 

A.  I  cannot  say  that  I  have. 

Q.  Did  Mr.  Sharon,  in  his  intercourse  with  you,  express 
any  violent  opposition  to  the  tunnel? 

A.  He  expressed  the  intention  of  opposing  it,  certainly, 
as  being  in  opposition  to  his  own  interests. 

Q.  Did  he  say  he  was  going  to  break  it  up  if  he  could? 

A.  I  don't  think  he  went  so  far  as  that.  He  said  he 
meant  to  oppose  Jit. 

Q.  Now,  General,  let  me  quote  here  from  a  speech  made 
by  General  Blair,  of  Michigan,  in  the  House  of  Represent- 
atives, in  which  he  u^es  the  following 


356 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  would  like  to  have  that  whole  speech 
taken  down. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  All  right.  "We'll  take  down  the  whole  of  it. 
I  want  to  ask  General  Wright  whether  that  agrees  with  his 
view  or  experience  over  there.  It  is  from  a  debate  in  Con- 
gress : 

"  Mr.  BLAIE.  The  tunnel  was  not  then  begun.  But  when  I  was  there  I 
heard  a  very  diligent  discussion  of  the  question.  The  gentleman  whose  name 
has  been  mentioned  in  this  discussion,  Mr.  William  Sharon,  the  agent  of  the 
Bank  of  California  at  the  Comstock  lode,  took  me  in  his  buggy  and  carried 
me  to  his  crushing  mills,  and  showed  me  the  line  of  the  new  railroad  he  waa 
building,  or  rather  had  got  the  people  to  build  for  him.  He  took  me  to  his 
mines,  to  the  very  bottom  of  them,  showed  me  all  about  them,  and  told  me 
lie  was  determined  this  Sutro  tunnel  business  should  be  stopped." 

Then,  in  closing  his  speech,  Mr.  Blair  said: 

"  Sir,  this  bank  has  waved  its  hand  over  the  Comstock  lode  and  ordered 
Sutro  away.  That  is  the  whole  of  this  transaction,  as  it  seems  to  me." 

General  Wright,  did  you,  sir,  in  your  intercourse  with 
Mr.  Sharon,  hear  any  similar  expressions  to  that? 

A.  I  heard  Mr.  Sharon  express  over  and  again  his  oppo- 
sition to  the  tunnel  project. 

Q.  Did  he  say  he  was  going  to  stop  it? 

A.  I  have  no  recollection  of  his  saying  that. 

Q.  Didn't  he  say  he  would  try  to  break  it  up;  or  didn't 
you  arrive  at  that  conclusion  from  his  statement? 

A.  I  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  he  would  do  every- 
thing in  his  power  to  prevent  the  project  being  carried  out. 

Q.  Do  you  think,  then,  he  would  try  to  set  aside  a  law 
of  Congress? 

A.  I  certainly  do;  but  how  he  was  to  proceed  about  it 
of  course  I  don't  know.  I  had  some  conversation  with 
Mr.  Sharon  upon  the  subject,  but  I  never  asked  him  a 
question  in  reference  to  his  views.  These  were  rather 
casual  expressions. 

Q.  He  didn't  consider  the  tunnel  as  to  his  interests? 

A.  He  considered  it  opposed  to  his  interests. 

Q.  And  he  was  using  every  means  to  break  it  up? 

A.  I  don't  know.   I  presume  he  would  use  every  means. 

Q.  Now,  Mr.  Sunderland,  let  me  ask  you  a  question 
right  here;  who  sent  you  here?  • 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  decline  to  answer. 


357 

Q.  Don't  the  Bank  of  California? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Don't  Mr.  Sharon  ? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Who  do  you  telegraph  to — who  do  you  write  to  from 
here — reporting  progress  ? 

A.  I  will  answer  the  question  now.  I  am  sent  here  by 
the  entire  Comstock,  as  it  existed  and  was  controlled  when 
I  went  there,  without  exception. 

Q.  Who  pays  your  expenses  ? 

A.  The  whole  Comstock. 

Q.  Who  do  you  direct  your  letters  to  from  here,  and  who 
do  you  report  to  what  you  are  doing?  Will  you  answer 
that  question  ? 

A.  No,  I  will  not. 

Q.  Who  have  you  telegraphed  to  from  Washington 
since  you  have  been  here,  and  who  do  you  write  to  and  re- 
port to  ? 

A.  I  don't  propose  to  be  catechized. 

Q.  Do  you  report  to  anybody  but  the  agent  of  the  Bank 
of  California? 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  What  transpires  between  the  attorney  and 
his  employers  is  a  privileged  question. 


HEARING  THURSDAY,  FEBRUARY  29iH. 

Mr.  SUTRO,  (continuing  examination  of  General  Wright.) 
General,  I  think  I  gave  you  some  figures  last  night  in  re- 
gard to  the  flow  of  water  by  what  is  called  the  miner's  inch. 
I  gave  you  those  figures,  and  I  asked  you  to  look  over 
them  to  see  if  you  found  them  correct.  What  result  have 
you  arrived  at? 

A.  My  figures  differ  somewhat  from  those  given  me  last 
evening. 

Q.  Will  you  be  kind  enough  to  state  what  you  arrived 
at? 

A.  In  estimating  for  the  miner's  inch,  I  took  what  I  un- 
derstood there  to  be  the  head  of  water;  that  is,  six  inches 
above  the  top  of  the  orifice.  That  makes  a  difference  of 
half  an  inch  in  the  head. 

Q.  We  have  been  in  the  habit  of  figuring  from  the  center 
of  the  orifice  six  inches? 

A.  That  is  what  I  presumed  from  the  difference  in  the 
figures. 

Q.  Well,  taking  your  figures,  what  did  you  get? 

A.  I  obtained  a  velocity  of  5/g-  feet  per  second,  or  354 
feet  per  minute  as  a  theoretical  velocity,  or  2T4^-  cubic 
feet. 

Q.  How  much  was  mine  ? 

A.  It  was  2T3^-.  This  is  a  little  larger,  or  ISJj  imperial 
gallons,  or  18 y^  standard  gallons.  I  presume  you  figured 
on  standard  gallons  instead  of  imperial.  You  put  the  wrong 
term  to  it,  and  I  imagine  it  makes  a  discrepancy  in  our 
figures. 

Q.  I  stated  imperial  gallons. 

A.  But  this  weight  was  standard  gallons,  I  presume. 

Q.  Now,  how  much  would  that  give  in  five  inches  in 
the  Ophir  mine? 

A.  I  would  wish  to  saj7  before,  that  that  is  the  theoreti- 
cal velocity.  The  actual  velocity  is  considerably  less.  It 

358 


359 

is  about  |,  and  I  would  give  the  actual  velocity  as  236  feet 
per  minute,  the  actual  discharge  as  $f£g  cubic  feet,  or 
12-^  standard  gallons.  That  is  the  actual  discharge.  The 
first  is  theoretical  only. 

Q.  That  is  put  down  in  the  rules? 

A.  It  is  put  down  in  the  rules  as  two-thirds  of  the  the- 
oretical, taking  into  consideration  the  size  of  the  orifice. 

Q.  If  I  understand  rightly,  the  orifice  of  an  inch  square 
contracts  on  the  outer  edge,  and  consequently  you  don't 
get  a  full  square  inch,  and  you  have  to  deduct  for  it? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  that  is  the  explanation. 

Q.  You  have  made  a  deduction  of  one-third  ? 

A.  One-third,  exactly. 

Q.  Then,  what  you  arrive  at  is  the  absolute  discharge? 

A.  The  absolute  discharge,  or  a  very  close  approxima- 
tion to  it. 

Q.  Now,  Mr.  Day,  in  his  statement  to  the  commission- 
ers, gives  us  the  lowest  estimate  in  the  Ophir  mine  at  5 
miner's  inches.  How  much,  under  your  rule,  as  you  have 
established  it  there,  would  that  amount  to  per  minute  and 
hour? 

A.  It  would  amount  to  SOj8^  imperial  gallons  per.  min- 
ute, 3,051  per  hour,  73,224  in  24  hours.  I  have  taken 
these  in  imperial  gallons,  because  they  were  so  given  in 
yours. 

Q.  And  at  what  weight  did  you  figure  it  at  a  gallon  ? 

A.  Ten  pounds  to  the  gallon,  which  is  the  weight. 

Q.  How  much  would  that  amount  to  in  24  hours? 

A.  The  weight  of  water  in  24  hours  would  be  336TV% 
tons,  of  2,000  pounds  each. 

Q.  That  makes  somewhat  of  a  difference  in  comparison 
with  the  figures  which  I  made. 

A.  You  would  want  to  take  one-third  off  your  figures. 

Q.  I  didn't  deduct  anything  for  loss.    I  calculated  on  a 
full  square  inch. 
^  A.  Well,  that  is  too  much. 

Q.  Mr.  Batterman,  the  superintendent  of  the  Gould  and 
Curry  mine,  gives  the  discharge  per  hour  at  3,500  gallons, 


360 

which  would  be  very  close  to  the  figures  you  arrived  at 
in  the  Ophir  mine,  taking  his  state meot  for  September, 
which  is  the  lowest. 

A.  Thirty-five  hundred  gallons  per  hour  would  be  more. 

Q.  It  would  be  a  little  more  in  the  Gould  and  Curry 
mine. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Does  he  give  it  at  3,500  gallons  per 
hour  ? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Yes,  sir.  If  you  wish,  I  will  read  the  state- 
ment again.  From  this  report,  on  page  33 : 

"The  cost  of  raising  the  water  in  this  mine  from  a  depth  of  825  feet,  and 
also  running  pump  while  sinking  to  1,300  feetstation,has  been  -$60  per  day; 
quantity  of  water  raised  about  3,500  gallons  per  hour." 

I 

Then,  according  to  this  statement  of  Mr.  Batterman's, 
there  was  somewhat  more  water  in  the  Gould  and  Curry 
mine  than  there  was  in  the  Ophir  mine  at  the  time  this 
statement  was  furnished  ? 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  At  the  time  the  statement  was  furnished, 
the  10th  of  September,  I  think. 

Q.  Did  you  calculate,  General  Wright,  how  much  the 
water  amounted  to  in  tons  in  the  Ophir  mine,  taking  the 
average  of  the  year  commencing  with  June,  1870,  and  end 
ing  the  1st  of  June,  1871? 

A.  The  average  was  lOf  inches. 

Q.  How  much  would  that  be  in  tons  for  24  hours  ? 

A.  Seven  hundred  and  eighty-one  tons  and  five  one- 
thousandths,  (781  roVo-) 

Q.  Did  you  make  any  figures  on  the  maximum  quantity, 
as  stated  by  Captain  Day,  for  that  year,  which  is  18  inches? 

A.  Eighteen  inches  gives  the  weight  for  24  hours  at 
1,318  tons. 

Q.  All  these  figures  are  somewhat  less  than  what  I  had 
given.     I  made  no  allowance  for  any  decrease  in  the  dis- 
charge.    I  took  the  theoretical  discharge  as  given  in  the  • 
rule. 

A.  You  want  to  take  two-thirds  of  that,  and  your  figures 
will  come  very  near  these. 

Q.  Now,  I  want  to  ask  you,  General  Wright,  taking  the 


361 

lowest  statement  here  by  Mr.  Day — 336  tons — and  taking 
the  highest  statement  during   that  year — 1,381   tons  for 
every  24   hours — what  would  you  consider   the  increase 
would  be  after  they  tap  the  Comstock  lode  again  ?     They 
were  then  in  the  country  rock,  and  I  believe  you  stated  it  is 
not  prob  able  that  there  is  as  much  water  in  the  country 
rock  as  there  would  be  in  tapping  the  vein.     Would  you 
think  that  the  water  in  tapping  the  vein  would  come  back 
again  to  this  higher  standard,  as  we  have  it  here  ? 
A.  That  is  utterly  impossible  to  tell. 
Q.  Wouldn't  you  think  it  (juite  likely  ? 
A.  I  should  think  certainly,  that  they  would  find  more 
water  as  they  go  into  the  vein. 

Q*  Well,  then,  from  the  statements  that  we  have  before 
us  here,  we  find  that  the  Gould  and  Curry  mine  had  the 
most  water. 

A.  It  would  seem  so,  taking  the  two  statements  of  the 
Gould  and  Curry  and  Ophir,  the  Gould  and  Curry  is 
greater. 

Q.  Now,  I  want  to  ask  you  this  question  again.  What 
would  you  consider,  according  to  your  general  opinion 
about  the  country,  a  fair  estimate,  based  upon  these  data, 
for  every  thousand  feet  on  that  lode,  provided  each  thou- 
sand feet  would  be  opened  ? 

A.  I  don't  think  I  have  Hie  data  to  form  any  estimates 
that  would  possess  the  slightest  value. 

Q.  Well,  I  will  not  press  that  matter  any  further,  be- 
cause you  have  no  data  to  gcK§n,  and  you  cannot  arrive 
at  any  result.     We  have  to  form  our  own  opinion. 
A.  "No  two  men  will  get  the  same,  probably. 
Q.  If  you  find  366  tons' of  water  for  every  24  hours 
after   three   dry   seasons,  which  is  the  very  lowest  esti- 
mate that  we  have,  we  can  arrive  at  some  general  idea 
what  it  would  be,  provided  the  whole  Comstock  lode  be 
properly  opened  by  shafts.     General,  do  you  see  any  dif- 
ficulty in  making  bore-holes,  as  they  do  in  the  Pennsyl- 
vania oil  wells,  down  to  the  tunnel? 
A.  None  whatever. 


362 

Q.  Is  it  not  a  very  simple  operation'? 

A.  Certainly,  with  proper  machinery  it  is. 

Q.  Provided  that  these  bore-holes  would  be  made  con- 
necting with  the  tunnel,  wouldn't  every  drop  of  this  water 
run  out  by  its  own  flow? 

A.  Certainly. 

Q.  In  the  case  of  the  Ophir  company  they  would  have 
saved  the  pumping  of  781  tons  of  water  for  every  24 
hours  during  the  year.  Do  you  know  that  the  Ophir 
company  has  taken  out  any  ore  from  their  mine  since 
they  commenced  work  on  this  new  shaft  ? 

A.  I  understand  not. 

Q.  Now,  under  the  contracts,  or  the  law  under  which 
these  people  owning  mines  on  the  Comstock  lode  pay  a 
royalty,  would  these  people  who  own  the  Ophir  mine 
have  had  to  pay  anything  to  the  tunnel  company  during 
that  time? 

A.  That  mine  would  not. 

Q.  Consequently  the  Ophir  mine  would  have  had  the 
full  benefit  of  the"  tunnel  for  drainage;  and,  provided  they 
would  have  connected  it  with  the  tunnel,  they  would  also 
have  had  ventilation  absolutely  for  nothing  ? 

A.  Certainly. 

Q.  In  your  investigations  on  the  Comstock  lode  have 
you  arrived  at  any  figures  which  would  give  us  an  idea 
how  many  feet  out  of  the  22,000  of  the  lode  are  actually 
productive  in  depth — that  were,  when  you  were  there,  pro- 
ductive in  depth  ? 

A.  No,  I  have  not.     It  can  easily  be  calculated. 

Q.  Now,  supposing  you  go  over  this  list.  It  don't  mat- 
ter about  a  few  feet.  We  c&n  arrive  at  a  general  idea 
about  it.  At  the  north  end  there  was  nothing  north  of 
the  Ophir  mine  that  was  productive  in  depth  ? 

A.  Nothing,  but  on  the  surface. 

Q.  Taking  the  1,000- foot  level  as  a  basis:  There  is  the 
Ophir  mine,  which  had  nothing  in  depth.  Then  there 
comes  the  Consolidated  Virginia:  had  they  anything 
there  ? 


363 

A.  Nothing. 

Q.  There  are  several  small  mines  I  leave  out. 

A.  Those  were  mere  surface  workings. 

Q.  Did  the  Gould  and  Curry  have  anything  in  depth? 

A.  Nothing. 

Q.  Did  the  Savage  have  anything  in  depth* at  that  time? 

A.  At  the  deepest  point,  they  did  not. 

Q.  Under  the  1,000-foot  level  ? 

A.  I  am  not  prepared  to  say  that. 

Q.  Did  you  hear  anything? 

A.  I  think  not  as  low  as  1,000  feet. 

Q.  Was  the  Hale  and  Norcross  below  the  thousand 
feet? 

A.  I  fancy  not. 

Q.  Well,  they  may  have  had  something  down  there, 
possibly  ? 

A.  I  think  not.  Those  are  the  two  mines  I  did  not  go 
into. 

Q.  You  at  least  tried  to  go  in? 

A.  Well,  we  would  have  gone  in,  except  they  were 
pumping. 

Q.  The  Chollar  Potosi  mine  comes  next? 

A.  Nothing  there. 

Q.  Then  there  comes  the  Bullion? 

A.  Nothing. 

Q.  Then  the  Alpha? 

A.  Nothing. 

Q.  Then  come  all  the  Gold  Hill  mines — a  dozen  of  them. 
Was  there  anything  down  there  before  you  came  to  the 
Yellow  Jacket? 

A.  Nothing. 

Q.  Then  we  have  the  Yellow  Jacket? 

A.  They  were  finding  it  low  down. 

Q.  For  how  many  feet  did  the  Yellow  Jacket  find  it  in 
length  on  the  lode? 

A.  That  I  have  forgotten. 

Q.  Then  comes  the  Kentuck.  Did  they  have  anything 
below  the  1,000-foot  level? 


364 

A.  That  I  cannot  say.     That  is  a  mine  I  didn't  go  into. 

Q.  Then  comes  the  Crown  Point? 

A.  The  Crown  Point  did. 

Q.  Then  comes  the  Belcher? 

A.  They  had  just  struck  it  when  we  were  there. 

Q.  Then  comes  the  Segregated  Belcher  and  the  Over- 
man. Did  they  have  anything? 

A.  E"o,  sir.     . 

Q.  Then  out  of  the  30  or  40  mines  there,  the  Belcher, 
the  Crown  Point,  the  Yellow  Jacket,  the  Hale  and  tor- 
eros s 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  He  says  that  handn't  anything  below 
there. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Well,  the  General  stated  that  he  hadn't  been 
down  there.  Did  they  state  to  you,  General,  there  was  noth- 
ing down  there  ? 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  I  don't  remember  that  they  did.  Their 
maps  would  have  shown  us,  which  they  furnished  us  with. 

Q.  Well,  that  is  immaterial.  The  Hale  and  JSTorcross 
probably  had  some  ore  down  there. 

A.  They  were  working  down ;  but  my  impression  is, 
not  as  low  as  the  1,000-foot  level.  But  I  am  not  certain. 

Q.  Then,  out  of  30  or  40  mining  companies,  we  have  but 
three  mines  out  of  which  we  get  ore  below  the  1,000-foot 
level  ? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Who  says  there  are  40  mining  com- 
panies ? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Well,  I  will  take  the  list  here,  and  that  will 
show  it. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  There  are  no  40  mining  companies. 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  I  can  give  you  what  companies  are  actually 
engaged  in  mining.  There  are  other  companies  in  exist- 
ence, I  believe. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  First  is  the  Utah;  one  thousand  feet.  Did 
that  have  anything,  General,  in  depth. 

A.  No  deep  mining. 

Q.  I  am  speaking  of  below  the  1,000-foot  level. 
A.  No  ore. 


365 

Q.  The  Allen.  Did  they  have  anything  ? 

A.  No. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  But  there  is  no  such  company. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Then  comes  the  Sierra  Nevada;  2,657  feet? 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  No. 

Q.  The  Union  ;  302  feet.  Did  that  have  anything, 
General  ? 

A.  Nothing. 

Q.  The  Ophir  north  ;  1,200  feet? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  If  the  chairman  please,  there  are  no 
such  companies  as  these  in  existence.  The  Sierra  Nevada 
is  the  only  one  called  that  has  any  existence.  I  object  to 
Mr.  Sutro  making  testimony  here. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Mr.  Sunderland,  will  you  deny  that  there  are 
any  such  mines  in  existence  ?  The  companies  may  not  be  in 
active  operation  now ;  they  may  have  given  up.  Do  you 
state  here  that  there  are  nq  such  mines  as  those? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  do. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Well,  we'll  take  King's  report. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Except  the  Utah,  all  those  mentioned 
there  are  considered  with  the  Sierra  Nevada.  They  are 
located  in  front  of  each  other,  along  the  supposed  line  of 
the  Corn  stock.  They  have  gone  out  of  existence,  excepting 
the  Utah,  and  there  has  been  no  working  done  for  7  or  8 
years.  They  were  abandoned  long  ago. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Why  are  they  abandoned? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Because  there  never  was  any  ore  in 
them. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Because  it  cost  too  much  to  pump  out  water 
and  mine  under  present  methods,  and  they  haven't  got  the 
money  to  do  it. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  The  Utah  is  an  imaginary  claim  up 
north  of  the  Sierra  Nevada.  It  never  had  a  pound  of  ore 
in  it  in  the  world. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  We  have  got  Mr.  King's  report  here,  which 
is  a  Government  report,  and  which  you  have  quoted  from 
quite  frequently.  We  will  take  that  as  our  basis  now.  We 
won't  look  at  any  map  at  all.  Mr.  King  states  on  page  99 : 


366 

"  MINING  CLAIMS.  —  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  mining  claims  located  on 
the  course  of  the  lode,  as  far  as  its  continuity  has  been  traced  with  any  cer- 
tainty. It  gives  the  length  of  ground  claimed  for  each  company  or  individ- 
ual owner,  beginning  at  the  north  and  proceeding  towards  the  pouth:  Utah, 
1,000  feet;  Allen,  925  feet;  Sierra  Nevada,  1,959  feet  ;  Union,  500  feet." 

General,  will  you  be  kind  enough  to  state  when  I  come 
to  a  mine  that  has  ore  below  the  1,000-foot  level? 

A.  Ore  or  working  ? 

Q.  One  which  has  been  mining  ore;  ore  found  below 
the  1,000-foot  level,  or  working  ore  at  the  time  you  were 
over  there. 

"  Union,  500  feet  ;  Ophir  north  mine,  1,200  feet  ;  Mexican,  100  feet  ;  Ophir 
south  mine,  200  feet  ;  Central,  150  feet  ;  California,  300  feet  ;  Central  No.  2, 
100  feet  ;  Kinney,  50  feet  ;  White  and  Murphy,  210  feet  ;  Sides,  500  feet." 

I  might  as  well  state  here,  that  from  the  Central  No.  2, 
to  and  including  the  Sides,  they  have  been  consolidated 
into  one  company,  now  called  the  Virginia  Consolidated. 
Next  comes  the 

"  Best  and  Belcher,  250  feet;  Gould  antf  Curry,  1,200  feet;  Savage,  771  feet; 
Hale  and  Norcross,  400  feet." 

A.  I  understand  the  Savage  has  struck  ore  since  we  came 
away,  but  when  we  were  there  it  had  not. 

Q.  We  are  speaking  about  the  time  these  reports  were 
made.  What  was  your  statement  about'  the  Hale  and 


A.  I  am  not  positively  certain  of  it.  I  didn't  visit  the 
mine. 

Q.  Well,  suppofiug  we  count  that  in  as  having  ore? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Needn't  count  it  in  unless  th®  Gene- 
ral says  so. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Well,  so  as  to  make  no  mistake  about  it,  we 
will  count  it  in.  You  are  doubtful  about  it? 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  I  am  doubtful  about  it.  It  is  my  impres- 
sion that  they  found  no  ore  below  the  1,000  feet. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Then  comes  the 

"Chollar  Potosi,  1,434  feet;  Bullion,  940  feet;  Exchequer,  400  feet;  Alpha, 
278  J  feet;  Apple  and  Bates,  31  J  feet;  Imperial  North,  118  feet;  Bacon,  45 
feet;  Empire  North,  55  feet;  Eclipse,  30  feet;  Trench,  20  feet;  Empiresouth 
mine,  20  feet  ;  Plato,  10  feet  ;  Bowers,  20  feet  ;  Pi-Ute,  20  feet  ;  Winters  and  Kiis- 
tel,  30  feet;  the  Consolidated,  21  feet;  Rice  ground,  13£  feet;  Imperial  south 
mine,  65f  feet  ;  Challenge,  50  feet  ;  Confidence,  130  feet;  Burke  and  Hamil- 
ton, 40  feet;  Yellow  Jacket,  943  feet." 


I  367 

A.  That  mine  was  working. 
Q.  That  has  ore  in  depth? 

"Kentuck,  93f  feet;  Crown  Point,  540  feet." 

A.  That  was  working  below  that  level. 

Q.  "Belcher,  940  feet;  Segregated  Belcher,  160  feet;  Overman,  1,200 feet; 
North  American,  2,000  feet;  Baltimore  American,  2,000." 

"Will  you  please  to  state  how  many  feet  there  are  in  the 
Comstock  altogether? 

A.  In  the  claims  named  there  are  21,463f  feet. 

Q.  Do  you  know  how  large  a  body  of  ore  they  were 
working  in  the  Belcher  mine  ? 

A.  I  do  not.     It  was  not  developed. 

Q.  The  claim  is  940  feet  in  length ;  but  were  they  work- 
ing for  the  whole  length,  you  think  ? 

A.  The  new  strike  had  not  been  developed  for  the  whole 
length  of  it  at  that  time. 

Q.  In  the  Crown  Point,  do  you  know  how  long  the  ore 
body  is  there  ? 

,1    A.  I  have  quite  forgotten.     I  think  it  is  stated  in  a  re- 
port, however. 

Q.  Let  us  take  the  whole  length  of  these  three  claims : 
Yellow  Jacket,  943  feet;  Crown  Point,  540;  and  the 
Belcher,  940.  How  much  do. you  make  that  altogether? 

A.  I  make  it  2,423  feet. 

Q.  Will  you  be  kind  enough  to  state,  General,  the 
proportion  that  bears  to  the  whole  length  of  the  lode,  with- 
out giving  any  decimals — to  give  an  approximate  figure  ? 

A.  It  is  a  little  over  j\. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  You  don't  mean  to  say  of  the  product- 
ive part  ? 

A.  No ;  of  all  the  mines  named. 

Q.  The  entire  length  of  the  mines  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  General,  do  you  think  that  in  the  Crown 
Point  mine,  which  is"  given  here  at  a  length  of  540  feet, 
one  half  of  it  has  the  bonanza  extending  through  it? 

A.  I  shouldn't  like  to  answer  such  a  question. 


368 

Q.  "When  you  were  in  the  mine,  did  you  notice  fhe 
length  of  the  ore  body  in  that  mine  ? 

A.  I  did  not. 

Q.  J)o  you  recollect  anything  about  the  Yellow  Jacket  ? 

A.  Nothing  about  its  length. 

Q.  There  are  943  feet  given  here  as  the  length  of  the 
mine.  Do  you  think  they  have  ore  for  one-half  that  dis- 
tance ? 

A.  No;  I  don't  think  anything  about  it. 

Q,  According  to  these  figures  here  we  have  arrived  at 
by  examining  this  official  report,  we  find  that  a  little  over 
y1^  of  the  Comstock  lode  was  ore-producing  in  depth  below 
1,000  feet? 

A.  At  the  time  the  commission  was  in  Nevada. 

Q.  That  would  give  us  then  T9^  of  the  length  of  that 
whole  lode,  or  19,040  feet  of  non-producing  vein  and  2,423 
feet  of  producing  vein  ? 

A.  Yes;  19,040|. 

Q.  Provided,  now,  that  the  tunnel  were  constructed  and 
the  lateral  drift  extended  undSr  all  these  mines,  wouldn't 
these  19,040  feet  of  the  Comstock  lode  below  the  1,000-foot 
level  derive  the  whole  benefits  of  drainage  and  ventilation 
which  the  tunnel  would  furnish  for'  nothing  while  they 
have  not  discovered  any  ore  ? 

A.  If  these  mines  were  all  connected  with  the  tunnel, 
they  would  then  be  completely  drained  of  all  water  with- 
out a  question,  and  they  would  experience  certain  advan- 
tages from  ventilation. 

Q.  Do  you  understand  that  19,040  feet  out  of  the  21,463 
would  derive  these  benefits  under  these  circumstances,  as 
you  saw  them,  for  nothing? 

A.  If  they  work  the  mines  and  connnect  them  with  the 
tunnel,  they  certainly  will. 

Q.  I  take  it  for  granted  now  that  this  tunnel  is  com- 
pleted and  the  branches  are  all  made.  These  people  could 
extend  these  bore-holes  to  it  ? 

A.  They  could. 


369 

Q.  The  connection  of  their  shafts  with  the  tunnel  would 
be  a  natural  consequence,  would  it  not? 

A.  If  they  work  the  mines  I  think  they  will  connect. 

Q.  Thon,  admitting  that  to  be  so,  would  it  not  be  correct 
that  the  19,040  feet  of  the  Comstock  lode  would,  under 
those  circumstances,  get  the  whole  benefit  of  the  drainage 
and  ventilation  for  absolutely  nothing? 

A.  That  is  certainly  according  to  the  conditions  of  the 
contract.  Any  mine  that  is  connected  with  the  tunnel 
will  be  drained  and  ventilated  for  nothing,  if  it  is  not  get- 
ting out  ore. 

Q.  In  order  to  get  at  a  direct  answer  to  my  question, 
General,  will  you  please  state  whether  all  these  mines 
along  the  lode,  connected  with  the  tunnel,  and  in  the  state 
you  found  them  in  at  the  time,  that  is  19,040  feet,  would 
not  derive  the  whole  benefit  of  the  drainage  and  ventilation 
under  the  terms  of  the  contract  for  nothing  ? 

A,  Under  the  contract,  if  connected  with  the  tunnel. 
The  way  in  which  your  question  is  put  seems  to  rather 
imply  that  in  my  opinion  all  these  mines  that  you  named 
will  be  connected  with  the  tunnel,  and  that  they  will  be 
prosecuted. 

Q.  I  will  suppose  that  case,  General  ? 

A.  Well,  if  you  suppose  that  case,  and  they  are  con- 
nected with  the  tunnel,  they  will  certainly  be  drained  with- 
out expense. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  General  Wright,  will  there  be  a  com- 
plete drainage,  provided  the  adits  were  run  along  the  vein, 
without  perpendicular  holes  being  bored? 

A.  JSTo ;  there  must  be  the  connection  between  the  mine 
and  the  tunnel. 

Q.  But  providing  the  tunnel  were  run  underneath,  at  a 
certain  level,  would  the  drainage  be  complete  without  an 
orifice  ? 

A.  Not  necessarily ;  probably  not. 

Q.  The  material  or  the  rock  would  permit  the  water  to 
percolate  down  to  the  level  of  the  tunnel  ? 

A.  It  might  or  it  might  not.  As  we  have  said  in  the 
24 


370 

report,  the  water  seems  to  be  found  in  what  they  term 
their  pockets.  It  is  in  places,  surrounded  by  an  imperme- 
able seam  of  clay.  How  far  these  pockets  will  extend 
down  nobody  can  tell.  If  they  extend  down  to  the  tunnel, 
and  were  tapped  at  the  bottom,  it  would  drain  everything. 
If  they  only  go  down  to  within  500  or  600  feet  of  the  tun- 
nel level,  then  there  would  be  no  other  way  of  draining 
off  the  water  by  the  tunnel  than  by  making  this  connec- 
tion between  the  working  mine  and  the  tunnel. 

Q.  Water  only  interferes  with  work  in  the  mines  when 
these  clay-pockets  are  tapped? 

A.  As  a  rule,  they  are  the  great  trouble. 

Q.  Then,  if  they  tapped  those  clay-pockets  and  the  water 
flowed  into  the  loose  or  permeable  rock,  would  it  escape 
downward  ? 

A.  I  think  not.  Their  experience  is  the  reverse  of  that. 
As  I  understand  it,  the  Chollar  Potosi  shaft,  which  is  down 
perhaps  600  or  700  feet  below  where  they  are  working,  is 
pretty  nearly  filled  with  water,  and  has  remained  so.  They 
have  done  no  pumping  for  a  long  time.  The  penetration 
of  water,  I  think,  down  through,  can  be  very  little. 

Q.  If  there  were  access  for  the  water  on  a  horizontal 
line  cut  from  the  bottom  of  that  tiittiel,  wouli  it  not  carry 
it  away  from  the  upper  workings? 

A.  No,  sir;  the  upper  workings  are  not  disturbed  at  all. 
In  the  Chollar  Potosi  the  shaft  is  carried  down  to  the  low- 
est depth.  They  gave  up  prospecting  there,  abandoned  that 
portion  of  it,  and  went  to  work  on  the  higher  levels ; 
nothing,  perhaps,  below  the  700-foot  level;  and  in  that  por- 
tion of  the  mine  where  they  are  now  working,  above,  we 
will  say,  the  700-foot  level,  there  is  no  occasion  for  pump- 
ing at  all. 

Q.  The  water  escapes  in  the  shaft? 

A.  There  is  no  water  there  of  any  amount. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  "Well,  was  there  water  there  at  some  time? 

A.  I  presume  there  was  originally. 

Q.  If  there  were,  wouldn't  it  naturally  drain  off  into 
the  shaft? 


371 

A.  It  drains  off  into  the  shaft,  and  the  shaft  is  .filled  np 
pretty  nearly,  as  they  told  me.  I  didn't  go  down,  because 
they  said  there  were  no  means  of  going  down.  f 

Q.  Do  you  6ee  any  difficulty  in  making  those  bore-holes? 

A.  None. 

Q.  Would  the  expense  be  anything  compared  with  the 
cost  of  mining? 

A.  Very  little.  It,  would  be  comparatively  small. 
There  would  be  no  difficulty  at  all. 

Q.  We  have  here  2,423  feet  of  productive  mine,  and 
19,040  of  unproductive  below  the  1,000  foot  level ;  conse- 
quently the  work  going  on  in  the  19,040  is  simply  for. pros- 
pecting; that  is,  to  discover  ore  ?, 

A.  It  is  to  discover  ore,  undoubtedly. 

Q.  Now,  General,  can  you  s^  any  hardship  in  a  small 
portion  of  the  lode  paying  a  royalty,  when  T^-  of  it  gets  the 
benefit  of  the  tunnel  for  nothing? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  That  is  to  say 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Will  you  please  let  the  General  answer  my 
question  ? 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  Would  it  be  an  answer  to  tbe  question 
for  me  to  say  I  sbould  suppose  that  that  ^  would  object 
most  strenuously  to  paying  for  any  benefits  to  .the  other 

9  ? 

10  • 

Q.  Would  it  not  be  a  benefit  to  the  general  interests  of 
mining,  taking  a  rational  view  of  it,  by  putting  a  premium 
on  explorations  in  barren  mines,  and  making  the  produc- 
tive mines  contribute  something  towards  that?  That  is 
the  principle  involved. 

A.  Well,  that  seems  to  me  to  be  a  question  which  I 
could  not  well  be  called  on  to  answer.  I  should  very  much 
prefer  replying  to  it  in  a  different  shape  from  that. 

Q.  Well,  I  will  put  my  question  in  a  little  different  shape  : 
Don't  you  consider  it  is  putting  a  premium  on  explora- 
tions under  such  an  arrangement?  Is  it  not  a  sort  of  equali- 
zation of  expenditures  in  the  mines? 

A.  Why,  it  certainly  is  that. 

Q.  Will  you  permit  me  to  redd  from  a  speech  made  in 


372 

the  House  of  Representatives  by  the  Hon.  M.  C.  Kerr,'  of 
Indiana,  covering  that  very  point,  and  give  us  your  opin- 
ion upon  the  correctness  of  that  statement  made  by  Mr. 
Kerr.  He  says : 

"  I  think  that  in  the  original  proposition  there  was  nothing  wrong,  noth- 
ing unjust,  nothing  oppressive,  nothing  that  in  any  of  its  characters 
and  incidents  is  extraordinary,  as  is  intimated  by  the  honorable  gentlemen 
on  the  other  side.  It  is  said  that  the  old  law  organized  a  monopoly  in  Ne- 
vada. I  do  not  understand  that  it  does  any  such  thing,  or  brings  about  any 
such  result.  This  tunnel  idea  stands  upon  a  very  common  one  in  .applica- 
tion to  various  other  subjects  throughout  the  country,  audit,  is  only  by  the  name 
that  is  given  to  it  in  Nevada  that  the  people  are  misled,  And  do  not  understand 
just  what  it  means.  The  country  is  everywhere  familiar  with  various  sys- 
tems of  ordinary  sewerage  and  drainage  in  cities,  towns,  and  the  country. 
The  obvious  principles  of  law,  of  just  and  fair  contributions  for  common  ad- 
vantages and  benefits,  on  which  they  are  maintained,  are  well  understood. 
There  is  no  character  of  monopoly  or  uncommon  hardship  about  them'. 

"Now,  Mr.  Speaker,  the  whole  of  this  law  consists  in  this  simple  proposi- 
tion :  that  here  is  to  be  constructed  a  sewer,  if  you  please,  a  drain,  that  will 
inevitably  benefit  every  owner  whose  property  is  in  any  way  reached  and 
drained  and  ventilated  by  it.  In  this  city  of  Washington,  and  in  all  the 
cities  of  this  country,  it  is  a  common  practice  to  require  the  persons  who  de- 
rive advantage  from  the  construction  of  such  works  to  contribute  to  their  con- 
struction originally,  and  to  their  maintenance  thereafter." 

In  another  place,  in  the  same  speech,  he  says: 

"This  tunnel  company  was  organized  at  the  request  of  these  miners,  at  the 
request  of  the  Senators  and  Representatives  from  the  State  of  Nevada,  at 
the  request  of  the  Legislature  of  Nevada,  at  the  request  of  the  Governor  of 
Nevada,  and  of  all  the  people  of  Nevada,  in  all  the  forms  in  which  they 
could  make  their  wishes  known  to  Congress." 

Further  on  he  says : 

"But  it  is  very  clear,  Mr.  Speaker,  that  while  gentlemen  say  here  that 
these  people  had  a  possessory  right  in  this  soil  before  this  last  law  was  passed, 
they  utterly  destroy  the  value  that  is  in  that  position  when  they  also^  say 
that  the  mines  involved  in  .this  legislation  have  very  great  value,  and  that, 
out  of  the  mines,  these  same  miners  have  already  extracted  $100,000,000  iu 
precious  metals.  Now,  if  that  be  so,  it  seems  to  me  that  for  that  shadowy, 
that  unreal,  that  executory — it  is  not  that  much  in  law — that  mere  posses- 
sory claim  of  right,  they  have  been  most  munificently  paid,  and  ought  not  to 
come  back  here  and  ask  for  more.  But  a  further  answer  to  their  position  is 
found  in  the  fact  that,  when  the  original  application  to  Congress  was  made, 
these  miners  themselves  went  to  work  and  executed  these  voluntary  individ- 
ual contracts  with  this  tunnel  company,  by  which  they  agreed,  whenever 
the  tunnel  was  constructed,  to  contribute  these  several  sums  to  aid  its  con- 
struction and  maintenance." 

Again  lie  says: 

"In  addition  to  what  I  have  said,  I  desire  to  call  attention  to  a  further  fact, 
that  under  the  law,  which  it  is  now  desired  to  repeal, and  under  the  contract 
which  that  law  adopts,  not  one  of  these  mining  companies  or  individual  mi- 
ners is  required  to  pay  one  farthing  to  the  tunnel  company  in  the  way  of 
royalty  of  anything  else  until  the  tunnel  shall  have  been  constructed,  and 
they  shall  have  begun  to  derive  advantage  from  it.  In  other  words,  the 


373 

entire  obligation  is  strictly  reciprocal ;  its  burdens  and  its  benefits  go  to- 
gether; they  run  constantly  and  perpetually  in  parallel  lines.  And  the 
whole  assumption,  therefore,  that  there  is  oppression  or  injustice  or  monopoly 
in  this  matter,  strikes  me  as  being  very  far-fetched  and  purely  unfounded." 

A.  Do  you  wish  me  to  say  whether  my  opinion  corres- 
ponds with  that? 

Q.  Yes,  sir. 

A.  Strike  out  that  last  part  of  it,  and  I  agree  with  it 
generally.  I  would  prefer  rather  to  give  my  views  in  my 
own  language. 

Q.  Will  you  please  state  whether  that  agrees  with  your 
views,  General? 

A.  With  the  exception  of  the  last  part  of  it.  I  wouldn't 
like  to  give  my  opinion  about  that,  because  I  don't  know 
anything  about  it. 

Q.  But  you  consider  the  general  principle,  as  laid  down, 
entirely  correct  then,  according  to  this  statesment? 

A.  I  consider  that  the  Government  had  a  perfect  right 
to  grant  to  the  Sutro  Tunnel  Company  all  the  franchises 
they  could  give  them,  as  the  Government  was  the  owner  of 
the  mines.  The  present  possessors  of  the  mine*,  or  the 
original  possessors,  those  who  first  obtained  the  claims,  did 
so  ^without  the  paying  of  a  dollar  to  the  Government. 
When  they  were  given  their  fee  in  the  land;  it  was  given 
to  them  for  a  nominal  sum,  and  subject  to  the  condition  of 
this  royalty;  they  could  buy  it  or  not,  as  they  pleased. 

Q.  Yes,  sir;  but  what  I  want  to  arrive  at  is,  whether, 
under  this  system  of  mining  of  ores,  we  are  not  relieving  to 
a  very  large  extent  the  burdens  of  exploration  below  the 
1,000-foot  level  of  19,040  feet,  while  but  2,423  feet  have 
paying  rock  ? 

A.  You  are  relieving  the  unproductive  companies  wholly 
and  entirely. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  From  what?     I  don't  understand  you. 

A.  From  certain  of  the  costs  of  operating  their  mines. 

Q.  His  question  was,  whether  you  were  relieving  the 
companies  having  unproductive  mines  from  expensive  ex- 
ploring. 

A.  From  certain  of  the  expenses  of  exploring. 


374 

Mr.  SUTRO.  You  will,  after  I  get  through,  have  a  chance, 
Mr.  Sunderland,  to  ask  the  General  any  questions  you 
desire. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  merely  wished  to  have  the  General 
understand  the  question. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  We  have,  according  to  your  figures  here, 
an  average  in  the  Ophir  mine  of  781  tons  of  water  for 
every  24  hours. 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  Average  for  one  year. 

Q. '  The  average  per  day. 

A.  Per  clay  for  one  year. 

Q.  Taking  that  as  a  basis,  General,  we  find  on  the  table 
here  that  the  Ophir  mine  has  1,400  feet  in  length,  and 
the  explorations  made  in  that  mine  extend  through  but  a 
small  portion  of  that  company's  ground.  Would  you  con- 
sider that  that  company,  if  it  had  saved  the  pumping  or 
hoisting  of  780  tons  of  water  every  24  hours,  would  not 
have  saved  the  bulk  of  the  expense  which  it  was  under? 

A.  I  suppose  they  would  have  saved  In  that  year,  as 
stated  by  the  superintendent  in  his  report,  §20,342  04/ 

Q.  Taking  it  for.  granted  that  that  is  correct 

A.  I  have  to  take  that  for  granted.  I  have  no  reason 
to  doubt  it. 

Q.  Well,  do  you  believe,  then,  General,  that  they  could 
hoist  out  365  times  781  tons  of  water  for  the  sum  stated 
there? 

A.  It  seems  they  did. 

Q.  Provided  their  statement  is  correct? 

A.  I  assume  that  it  is. 

Q.  What  reasons  have  you  for  supposing  that  that  state- 
ment is  correct? 

A.  I  have  this  reason,  that  from  my  intercourse  with 
the  superintendent  of  that  mirte,  (and  I  will  say  the  same 
for  all,)  I  believe  them  to  be  intelligent  men,  and  to  have 
given  what  they  believed  to  be  an  honest  statement. 

Q.  Did  they  give  you  any  indirect  cost? 

A.  They  gave  us  just  what  is  there,  and  nothing  further, 
that  I  remember.  There  was  a  great  deal  of  conversation. 


375 

upon  the  subject,  but  I  recollect  nothing  to  put  in  evidence, 
except  what  is  stated  in  the  paper. 

Q.  Geueral,  the  present  superintendent  of  the  Ophir 
mine  (Mr.  Day  is  no  longer  there)  gives  the  cost  of  pump- 
ing for  January  §2,483  26;  that  is  this  last  month.  He 
states : 

"  The  indirect  cost  of  raising  the  water  for  the  month  of  January  is  esti- 
mated at  about  $3,000." 

Consequently  he  gives  the  indirect  cost  at  $3,000,  while 
the  absolute  cost,  besides  the  indirect  cost,  is  only  given 
at  §2,483  26.  ISTow,  there  are* expenses  connected  with 
that  that  are  not  given. 

A.  I  know  nothing  of  that  statement  at  all.  I  cannot 
see  what  expenses  co'uld  be  incurred  in  the  pumping  other 
than  those  given  in  this  statement  of  the  superintendent  of 
the  Ophir  Mining  Company. 

Q.  Will  you  permit  me  to  ask  you  whether  there  is  any 
difference  in  hoisting  a  given  quantity  of  water  and  a  given 
quantity  of  ore,  supposing  the  former  were  hoisted? 

A.  There  would  be  a  great  deal  of  difference. 

Q.  How  much  do  you  think  that  difference  would  be? 

A.  I  couldn't  answer.  It  depends  upon  the  way  in  which 
the  ore  is  raised. 

Q.  Well,  supposing  they  take  their  water  out  with  a 
large  water  tank.  This  tank  is  lowered  down  into  the 
sump,  a  valve  opens  in  the  bottom,  and  it  fills  up,  and  it  is 
hoisted  to  the  surface.  It  is  an  instantaneous  operation, 
the  filling  up.  You  have  a  single  tank,  and  the  only  addi- 
tional weight  you  hoist  is  the  weight  of  the  tank  besides 
the  water.  ISTow,  how  would  that  compare  with  pumping 
the  water  ? 

A.  It  would  probably  cost  considerable  more. 

Q.  How  much  do  }7ou  think,  allowing  for  the  friction  in 
the  pipes  used  in  pumping? 

A.  That  would  be  quite  impossible  to  tell.  There  is  no 
way  that  you  can  raise  any  less  weight,  or  raise  it  perhaps 
any  more  favorably,  than  by  this  tank,  so  far  as  the  mere 
hoisting  is  concerned ;  but  there  is  a  certain  time  when 


376 

there  is  an  absolute  waste  of  power  in  the  use  of  that  mode. 
For  instance,  all  the  time  the  tank  is  going  down  there  has 
to  be  a  certain  power  exerted  to  retard  its  progress,  and- 
there  is  an  expenditure  which  they  do  not  get  in  the  other 
cases.  Moreover,  the  absolute  power  required  to  be  used 
at  any  one  moment  is  less  with  a  pump,  in  the  way  in  which 
they  have  them  arranged,  than  it  is  in  bringing  up  this  sup- 
ply of  water.  By  means  of  a  counter-weight,  they  apply 
something  like  one-half  the  power  at  the  given  moment; 
the  expenditure  is  very  much  the  same  in  the  two  cases, 
that  is,  you  have  got  to'bring  this  counter-weight  back 
again,  and  that  is  attended  also  by  an  expenditure  of  power. 
The  application  is  more  favorable  by  a  pump,  arranged  as 
they  have  it  there,  than  it  is  by  a  hoisting  tank;  but  what 
the  difference  is  depends  entirely  upon  the  character  of  the 
machine. 

Q.  General,  let  me  ask  you  another  question  in  regard 
to  that.  Don't  you  require  a  horse-power  for  every  33,000 
pounds  of  water  that  you  lift,  one  foot  high  in  one  minute? 

A.  That  is  what  is  called  a  horse-power.  That's  the  con- 
ventional value  of  a  horse-power,  raising  33,000  pounds 
one  foot  high  in  one  minute. 

Q.  Can  you  get  over  the  fact  that  you  have  to  have  a 
horse-power,  no  matter  what  the  mode,  or  how  you  man- 
age it,  to  raise  every  33,000  pounds  of  water  or  anything 
else  one  foot  high  in  one  minute — whether  you  pump  it  or 
hoist  it? 

A.  You  certainly  have  got  to  expand  that  power  unques- 
tionably. 

Q.  Then  the  mechanical  question  is  this:  How  would 
the  friction  in  the  pipe 

A.  Which  is  considerable. 

compare  with  the  additional  weight  of  this  tank 

which  you  have  to  hoist  every  time?  Do  you  consider  that 
there  is  a  material  difference  ? 

A.  I  should  think  the  friction  in  the  pipes  would  be 
more  than  the  weight  of  the  tank,  that  is,  the  power  re- 


377 

quired  to  overcome  that  friction  would  be  greater  than  that 
to  raise  the  weight  of  the  tank. 

Q.  Well,  do  you  think  there  is  25  per  cent,  difference, 
at  a  rough  estimate,  without  going  into  any  detailed  fig- 
ures ? 

A.  Well,  this  is  a  thing  that  is  susceptible  of  a  good  deal 
of  accuracy.  Machinery  does  not  make  power.  You  have 
get  to  overcome  the  weight  of  the  water  you  raise,  no  mat- 
ter what  devices  of  machinery  you  may  apply.  One  ma- 
chine makes  the  application  of  power  much  more  econom- 
ical than  another,  and  that  is  all.  The  force  necessary  to 
raise  this  water  to  the  surface  must  be  applied,  whatever 
machinery  you  use.  No  machinery  can  allow  you  the  ap- 
plication of  less  power.  In  one  case  you  apply  it  all  the 
time  in  one  direction;  in  the  other  case,  you  apply  it  in 
two  directions;  and  by  the  time  the  water  is  at  the  sur- 
face, supposing  all  other  things  are  equal,  as  regards  weight 
and  as  regards  friction,  (we'll  take  those  out  for  the  pur- 
pose of  illustration  :)  by  the  time  that  water  is  at  the  sur- 
face, you  must  have  expended  all  the  necessary  power  for 
raising  that  water  to  the  surface. 

Q.  But  supposing  you  make  a  liberal  allowance.  You 
say  it  costs  double  in  a  tank  what  it  costs  in  a  pump. 

A.  I  don't  think  it  would  cost  double,  and  if  you  had 
two  tanks,  one  running  against  the  other,  I  shouldn't  sup- 
pose there  would  be  10  per  cent,  difference ;  I  should  think 
it  would  be  more  a  matter  of  convenience  than  of  cost. 

Q.  Supposing  we  take  two-thirds  or  three-quarters  of 
the  cost  to  arrive  at  some  figures,  say  allowing  25  per 
cent,  more  on  one  side  than  on  the  other? 

A.  Well,  you  can  allow  it. 

Q.  To  arrive  at  some  positive  figures.  You  have  given 
the  cost  of  hoisting  ore  at  51  cents  per  ton  ? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  Now,  let  us  deduct  25  per  cent,  which  would  give  us 
cents  per  ton  for  hoisting  water. 

A.  But  you  mustn't  understand  that  that  is  any  compari- 


378 

son.  The  cost  of  raising  a  ton  of  ore  is  a  great  deal  mope 
than  the  cost  of  raising  a  ton  of  water. 

Q.  £Tow,  take  780  tons  of  water  every  24  hours  in  the 
Ophir  mine;  that  gives  us  §300  a  day? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Or  $9,000  a  month,  or  $108,000  a  year  for  pumping, 
even  allowing  25  per  cent.;  $108,000  a  year  for  pumping, 
taking  the  estimate  which  these  people  furnish  for  hoist- 
ing, and  that  is  very  low.  I  contend  that  they  have  not 
given  the  right  figures  on  that.  It  would  cost  $108,000  per 
annum.  Mr.  Day  gives  the  cost  of  pumping  at  $29.317  04. 
In  your  judgment,  could  there  possibly  be  that  much  dif- 
ference between  the  two  ? 

A.  Oh,  I  don't  think  that  there  is  that  difference.  I 
think,  as  I  said  before,  that  he  has  stated  these  sums  as  a 
very  close  approximation.  Their  books  are  very  well  kept, 
and  they'can  get 'at  a  very  close  figure  as  to  the  cost  of  any 
part  of  their  operations,  and  unless  Mr.  Day  has  willfully 
falsified  his  report,  the  statement  is  correct.  I  would  say 
that  there  is  a  great  difference  in  cost  between  the  hoisting 
of  ore  and  the  pumping  of  water.  One  is  a  continuous  op- 
eration ;  the  other  is  intermittent.  As  I  gathered  from  the 
mines,  the  best  of  them  can  hoist  only  about  250  tons  of 
ore  a  day,  while  we  show  here  from  their  own  accounts 
that  they  pumped  700  or  800  tons  of  water  daily. 

Q.  Did  you  see  the  books  of  the  Ophir  company,  and 
examine  them,  to  find  out  whether  these  figures  are  cor- 
rect? 

A.  I  only  looked  at  their  books  generally. 

Q.  Did  you  go  into  the  figures  and  figure  it  ? 

A.  I  didn't  go  into  the  figures  with  any  method. 

Q.  Then  you  based  your  estimates  simply  upon  the 
statements  furnished  by  these  men? 

A.  That  is  all  we  profess. 

Q.  Now,  supposing  we  take  this  estimate,  here  of  $108,-. 
000  a  year  for  that  one  mine,  and  give  that  for  a  thousand 
feet  in  length  on  the  lode  as  the  cost  of  pumping,  then  in, 


379 

22,000  feet  we  get  a  cost  of  $2,376,000  per  annum  for 
pumping? 

A.  Very  likely. 

Q.  Provided  all  the  mines  were  opened  up  and  worked 
to  that  depth.  You  see  that  makes  a  very  large  difference 
between  the  statement  which  you  arrived  at  by  taking  the 
figures  of  these  superintendents,  making  it  §124,000. 

A.  Certainly.  Your  statement  is  entirely  different,  and 
I  can  make  one  very  different  from  that,  if  I  make  certain 
assumptions.  I  can  only  give  you  evidence  as  it  was  pre- 
sented to  me.  I  have  no  further  evidence  to  offer  in  any 
way. 

Q.  The  fact  that  I  want  to  arrive  at  here  is  simply  this : 
You  have  taken  the  statements  of  these  superintendents, 
supposing  them  to-be  correct? 

A.  Believing  them  to  be  correct. 

Q.  You  hod  no  other  way  of  getting  at  them  at  all  ? 

A.  ~No,  sir. 

Q.  You  were  there  visiting  these  mines,  and  you  went 
to  those  gentlemen  and  asked  them  what  it  costs  to  prnnp. 
You  have  taken  that  as  your  basis,  and  you  have  given 
your  figures  in  accordance  with  the  statement  those  peo- 
ple furnished? 

A.  Undoubtedly. 

Q.  Now,  General,  while  we  are  on  figures — I  see  you 
are  pretty  good  on  figures — I  want  to  ask  you  about  this 
water  power  on  the  Carson  river,  and  you  must  pardon 
me  if  I  ask  you  a  good  many  questions  about  it.  These 
are  very  important  matters. 

A?  I  will  answer  any  question  that  T  can  answer,  but  I 
mny  as  well  say  it  now,  that  I  shall  object  hereafter  to  sup- 
posititious questions  being  forced  upon  me — questions  which 
it  seems  to  me  tend  to  convey  a  judgment  entirely  differ- 
ent from  the  one  that  I  possess.  I  shall  have  to  do  that  in 
justice  to  myself.  I  think  that  some  of  these  questions  are 
calculated,  if  answered,  to  indicate  a  judgment  different 
from  the  one  that  I  have  expressed  in  the  report,  and  a 
different  one  from  what  I  hold.  - 


380 

Q.  I  might  as  well  state  to  you,  General,  here,  that  I 
question  the  correctness  of  these  statements  furnished  by 
these  superintendents.  You  have  not  heard  the  pre- 
vious testimony  furnished  by  the  other  commissioners,  in 
which  we  have  shown  the  incorrectness  of  these  reports  to 
you.  It  would  be  quite  impossible  for  me  to  go  over  the 
same  ground  again  with  you,  but  if  you  read  the  whole 
testimony  afterwards,  you  can  form  your  own  conclusion 
whether  these  superintendents  have  stated  the  whole  truth 
or  not.  You  can -arrive  at  that  conclusion,  and  you  will 
then  perceive  that  my  questions  to  you  may  be  suppositi- 
tious questions,  but,  at  the  same  time,  they  have  a  very 
strong  bearing  upon  the  general  facts  contained  in  the 
report.  Now,  General,  I  want  to  ask  you  a  few  questions 
in  regard  to  this  water  power  which  may  be  created  at  the 
mouth  of  the  tunnel.  Surveyor  General  Day,  on  page  45, 
gives  the  average  section  of  flow  of  Carson  river,  at  the 
rate  of  four  miles  per  hour,  at  508  $fc  square  feet.  Taking 
that  as  the  basis  of  our  calculation,  with  a  fall  of  255  feet, 
we  get,  at  a  flow  of  four  miles  per  hour,  21,120  feet  of  flow 
per  hour.  Dividing  that  by  60,  we  get  352  feet  per  minute. 
Now,  if  we  multiply  the  section  of  508  ^o  feet  by  352  feet, 
we  get  the  cubic  feet  which  flow  through  the  river  per 
minute,  which  is  178, 932  J-fo  cubic  feet. 

A.  That  is  correct.     I  have  no  fraction. 

Q.  Now,  a  cubic  foot  of  water  weighs  62T37  pounds? 

A.  I  calculated  it  at  62  J  pounds. 

Q.  How  many  pounds  do  you  get  per  minute  at  your 
figures  ?  We'll  take  your  figures  now. 

A.  I  get  11,183,250. 

Q.  Per  minute? 

A.  Per  minute. 

Q.  Dividing  that  by  33,000,  we  get  the  horse-power  for 
every  foot  of  fall.  How  much  do  you  make  that? 

A.  I  make  it '339. 

Q.  If  you  multiply  that  by  255  feet  of  fall,  we  get  a  total 
of  horse-power,  according  to  your  calculations,  of  how 
much? 


381 

A.  Of  86,445. 

Q.  I  figured  it  at  86,139;  but  you  take  a  different  weight 
per  cubic  foot  of  water. 

A.  It  makes  a  slight  difference. 

Q.  General,  a  power  of  86,445  horses  is  a  power  that 
would  work  a  good  deal  of  ore,  will  it  not? 

A.  Certainly. 

Q.  Do  you  think  that  it  is  power  enough  to  reduce  all 
the  ore  produced  in  the  State  of  Nevada  and  every  other 
territory  that  is  producing  ore,  provided  it  could  all  be 
economized? 

A.  It  will  furnish  all  the  water-power  that  will  be  needed 
in  that  section,  if  that  is  sufficient.  It  would  be  abundance 
of  water  power  for  the  work  of  all  the  mills  on  the  Con\- 
stock. 

Q.  How  much  power  is  required  to  reduce  a  ton  of  ore? 

A.  I  do  not  know. 

Q.  Mr.  King  has  fortunately  given  us  some  information 
on  that  subject.  He  states,  on  page  231  of  his  report: 

"  The  power  required  for  each  stamp  of  ordinary  or  average  weight,  with 
the  allowance  for  friction,  is  about  1?  horse-power  per  stamp.  The  power 
demanded  by  the  pans  is  from  three  to  six  horse-power,  according  to  their 
size  and  capacity.  The  expenditure  of  power  per  ton  of  ore  crushed,  ground, 
and  amalgamated,  judging  by  the  relation  existing  between  the  power  of  the 
engines  provided  and  the  work  performed  by  the  mills,  is  between  H  and  3 
horse-power,  averaging  probably  about  2,  but  varying  according  to  the 
capacity  of  the  milk  and  the  economy  with  which  the  power  is  applied." 

He  gives  us  two  horse-power  required  to  reduce  one  ton 
of  ore.  "We  have  here  86,445  nominal  horse-power. 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  Now,  we  will  have  to  deduct  a  certain  amount  for 
friction  and  loss  in  power,  in  order  to  arrive  at  the  actual 
horse-power.  This  is  the  theoretical  horse-power? 

A.  No,  I  think  not,  in  the  way  he  puts  it  there.  I  sup- 
pose he  includes  the  friction  and  everything.  If  two-horse 
power  be  a  fair  average,  as  he  has.  it  there,  he  includes 
everything  in  the  reduction  of  the  ore. 

Q.  Then,  according  to  that  statement  of  Mr.  King's, 
which  is  derived'  from  a  general  examination  of  all  the 
mills,  (he  spent  six  or  eight  months  there;  may-be  a  year, 


382 

for  all  I  know ;  and  they  had  him  examine  these  things  in 
detail;  they  had  a  whole  corps  of  engineers  with  them,) 
we  have  actual  power  to  reduce  43, 220 }  tons  of  ore  a  day. 
We  find  it  stated  in  your  report  that  the  average  yield  is 
1,000  tons  per  day;  and  at  that  rate  there  would  be  power 
enough  left  to  reduce  42,000  tons  per  day,  besides  what  ip 
taken  out  of  the  Comstock  lode  now? 

A.  Yes,  a  little  over  42,000  tons. 

Q.  .Well,  wouldn't  you  consider  that  that  surplus  power 
would  be  sufficient  for  the  purpose  of  condensing  air  and 
running  all  the  engines  that  would  be  required  to  go  down 
below  the  tunnel  level  ? 

A.  Well,  I  should  think  it  might,  certainly. 

Q.  Don't  you  think,  in  addition  to  all  that,  tha*t  there  will 
be  enough  left  to  drive  all  the  concentrating  machinery? 

A.  Certainly. 

Q.  And  any  other  kind  of  machinery  that  might  be  re- 
quired ? 

A.  Certainly. 

Q.  Wouldn't  there  be  a  surplus  of  power  then? 

A.  I  should  think  you  would  have  an  abundance  "of 
power. 

Q.  !N"ow,  General,  in  taking  the  whole  of  this  water 
power,  by  having  it  dammed  up  as  is  proposed,  and  col- 
lecting the  surplus  in  a  targe  reservoir,  instead1'^  having 
little  dams  that  only  economize  a  portion  of  the  river,  and 
sometimes  in  the  year  have  no  water  at  all,  wouldn't  it  be 
immensely  more  beneficial? 

A.  We  have  given  that  as  the  opinion  of  the  commis-' 
sion  in  the  report. 

Q.  Wouldn't  that  in  fact  6e  the  maximum  of  utility 
with  which  that  water  could  be  applied  in  that  river. 

A.  I  certainly  think  so.  I  see  no  other  way  in  which 
it  can  be  applied  with  anything  like  the  economy,  <">r 
value,  or  extent. 

Q.  I  am  now  brought  to  the  question  of  erecting  mills 
and  concentrating  works  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel.  Do 
you  think,  in  the  first  place,  that  the  formation  of 


383 

the  country,  from  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  down  to  the 
river,  is  of  such  a  character  as  to  give  great  advantages  in 
erecting  self-acting  or  other  automatic  concentrating  works, 
whore  one  discharges  itself  into  the  other,  simply  by  the 
flow  of  water,  without  handling  or  the  labor. of  men? 

A.  I  think  the  ground  in  front  of  the  tunnel,  between  it 
and  the  river,  is  adrni rally  fitted  for  the  application  of  this 
water  power,  and  any  purposes  to  which  it  is  desirable  to 
apply  it. 

Q.  Could  we  improve  anything  in  its  nature,  so  far  as 
that  site  is  concerned — a  natural  slope  from  the  mouth  of 
the  tunnel  a  mile  or  a  mile  and  a  half  down  to  the  river? 

A.  I  think  that  art  will  have  to  be  brought  to  the  assist- 
ance of -nature  but  to  a  very  small  degree. 

Q.  But  as  far  as  the  grade  is  concerned,  isn't  it  fitted  by 
nature  for  that  very  work  ? 

A.  Well,  it  is  well  fitted.  I  don't  think  you  could  de- 
sire a  better  situation  for  mills  and  reduction  works  than 
is  afforded  by  the  ground  between  the  tunnel  and  the  river. 

Q.  So  far  as  the  space  is  concerned  which  we  have  there, 
could  there  be  anything  more  desirable  than  that? 

A.  There  is  an  abundance  of  space. 

Q.  There  are  hundreds  of  acres,  or  even  thousands,  are 
there  not,  that  might  be  employed,  if  necessary? 

A.  It  is  practically  unlimited. 

Q.  Yvrher  j  those  mills  are  now  situated  in  the  canons 

Mr.  SUNDEI&AND.  Which  mills  do  you  speak  of? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  will  name  the  mills  in  Gk>ld  canon  or  Six 
Mile  canon.  Is  there  any  space  there  to  erect  concentrat- 
ing works  and  reduction  works  on  a  large  scale  to  advan- 
tage ? 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  Kot  to  equal  advantage  certainly  ;  but  the 
objection  to  erecting  reduction  works  in  these  canons  is 
the  want  of  water.  That  in  itself  is  a  nearly  insuperable 
objection  to  their  being  put  there. 

Q.  It  would  make  it  practically  impossible  to  have  re- 
duction works  there  ? 

A.  On  a  very  large  scale,  certainly ;  I  think  it  would. 


•    384 

Q.  The  first  requirement^  I  infer  from  your  statement, 
is  an  abundance  of  water  ? 

A.  An  abundance  of  water. 

Q.  In  fact  the  water  takes  the  place  of  the  labor  of  men 
*by  its  own  flow? 

A.  Water  is  necessary  in  these  works,  absolutely  neces- 
sary for  the  purposes  of  concentration  and  reduction.  The 
power  applied  maybe  steam  power  instead  of  water  power, 
but  water  is  still  absolutely  necessary  to  the  reduction  of 
the  ores  of  the  Cornstock. 

Q.  In  coming  back  now  to  these  small  mills,  erected  on 
the  banks  of  the  river,  have  they  any  opportunity  there  to 
erect  concentrating  works,  and  is  there  fall  enough  to 
make  self-acting  or  automatic  works  possible,  such  as  you 
would  get  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel? 

A.  The  answer  to  that  question  seems  to  me  to  be  that 
they  have  not  power  enough  even  to  run  their  stamps  at 
certain  seasons.  At  the  time  we  were  there,  a  great  many 
stamps  were  hung  up  in  all  of  the  mills  along  the  Carson 
river. 

Q.  Then,  independently  of  that,  is  there  space  enough 
and  fall  enough  to  erect  concentrating  works  upon  an  in- 
telligent basis  on  any  scale  that  would  be  profitable? 

A.  That  I  cannot  answer  very  positively;  but  I  should 
think,  in  reference  to  some  of  them,  that  it  was  possible ; 
with  others  not. 

Q.  Would  it  not  be  very  limited,  with  a  fall  say  of  from 
12  to  20  feet,  as  it  has  been  stated  here  ? 

A.  I  don't  see  why  they  should  attempt  to  put  fur- 
ther works  there,  when  they  have  not  power  enough  for 
the  works  they  have  at  present.  That  seems  to  be  meet- 
ing the  point,  if  I  understand  the  object  of  the  question. 
About  the  Mexican  mill  there  is  a  good  deal  of  space  for 
concentrating  works,  but  they  want  all  their  power  for 
their  present  works,  and  more  power  at  certain  seasons  of 
the  year  than  they  can  obtain  there. 

Q.  As  far  as  you  could  learn,  are  these  small  dams  all 


385 

along  the  river  and  their  works  subject  to  being  flooded 
and  carried  off'  by  freshets? 

A.  Not  to  my  knowledge. 

Q.  I  find  an  account  here  of  the  Mexican  dam  being 
carried  away  a  little  while  ago. 

A.  That  may  be  so. 

Q.  You  were  there  only  in  the  dry  season? 

A.  That  was  all.  There  is  no  difficulty  about  putting 
up  dams  there  that  will  stand  any  pressure  that  can  be 
brought  to  bear.  Whether  they  have  been  so  constructed 
I  cannot  say. 

Q.  In  regard  to  the  land  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  I 
want  to  ask  you  whether  you  do  not  consider  it  a  more 
desirable  locality  for  the  residence  of  people  than  Virginia 
City? 

A.  I  certainly  do. 

Q.  Is  there  not  an  abundant  space  there  for  the  laboring 
men,  where  they  could  own  their  own  cottage  and  have  a 
little  plat  of  ground  to  cultivate,  and  keep  a  cow,  and  get 
some  of  the  comforts  of  life,  which  they  cannot  get  at 
Virginia  City  ? 

A.  It  is  certainly  a  good  position  for  a  mining  or  mill* 
ing  town? 

Q.  Would  it  not  improve  the  condition  of  these  miners, 
who  work  only  8  hours  and  have  16  hours  of  leisure,  if  they 
were  so  located  that  they  might  employ  themselves  in  use- 
ful work  about  home? 

A.  I  cannot  answer  that  question. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  want  to  make  one 
objection.  I  don't  like  to  make  objections,  because  I  leave 
them  to  the  committee,  generally.  I  scarcely  think  it  is 
within  the  province  of  Congress  to  determine  upon  the 
desirability  of  location  for  miners  or  anybody  else  to  live? 
and  by  congressional  legislation  to  compel  a  man  to  reside 
either  in  one  place  or  in  another.  Now,  if  a  man  wants  to 
live  at  Virginia  City,  it  seems  to  me  he  ought  to  be  allowed 
to  live  there,  and  that  Congress  should  not  appropriate 
public  moneys  out  of  the  Treasury  to  compel  them  to  go 
25 


386 

down  to  the  mouth  of  this  tunnel.     I  don't  see  how  that 
has  any  bearing  upon  this  question. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  don't  see  that  it  is  an  objec- 
tionable question  to  ask.  Here  is  a  question  of  making  a 
great  improvement  in  the  operation  of  mining.  "We  find 
here  that  there  are  some  3,000  or  5,000  ihen  employed  in 
the  mines  and  in  connection  with  the  mills — probably 
10,000,  take  them  all  together,  the  wood-haulers  and 
every  one  else — and  I  believe  it  is  a  proper  thing  for  Con* 
gress  to  find  out,  in  connection  with  this  question  of  min- 
ing, whether  the  comforts  of  these  masses  of  people  would 
he  improved  in  comparison  with  the  interests  of  the  own- 
ers of  a  mine,  which  you  can  count  as  a  few  dozen.  The 
interests  of  a  few  proprietors  might  be  one  thing,  and  the 
interests  of  the  laboring  classes  might  be  another.  These 
men  have  certain  rights;  and,  if  I  understand  aright,  Con- 
gress represents  the  whole  people  of  the  United  States :  it 
don't  represent  the  few  men  who  are  owning  mines,  and 
probably  not  working  them  legitimately,  but  for  stock- 
jobbing purposes.  I  believe  these  laboring  men  have  some 
rights,  and  I  don't  see  what  objection  there  can  be  in  an- 
swering such  questions.  This  is  a  general  investigation 
in  regard  to  improving  the  working  of  those  nlines,  and 
consequently  the  condition  of  the  men. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  don't  see  that  a  great  many  of  the 
questions  that  are  asked  have  any  bearing  whatever  upon 
the  facts,  or  upon  the  report  under  consideration  by  the 
committee;  but  if  it  is  the  pleasure  of  the  committee  to 
permit  irrelevant  questions,  why  of  course  I  am  willing. 
If  the  gentleman  who  put  the  questions  will  state  the  object 
he  had  in  them  I  think  it  would  lessen  the  volume  of  the 
testimony. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Mr.  Chairman,  the  object  in  asking  this 
question  is  this :  In  some  previous-  testimony  which  was 
taken  it  was  stated  here  that  great  hardships  would  accrue 
to  some  of  the  people  of  Virginia  City  if  the  town  were 
removed  to  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel ;  and  I  put  this  ques- 
tion in  regard  to  the  advantages  at  the  mouth  of  the  tun* 


387 

nel.  I  want  to  bring  out  these  facts  in  comparison  with 
the  difficulties  which  exist  at  Virginia  City.  Our  investi- 
gation has  taken  a  very  wide  scope.  There  is  no  doubt 
about  it.  But  there  has  been  a  controversy  over  this  mat- 
ter, Mr.  Chairman,  for  years.  Simple  facts,  patent  to  the 
mind  of  any  one,  have  been  disputed ;  and  they  have  not 
only  been  disputed,  but  they  have  been  disputed  a  thou- 
sand times  after  they  have  been  established  as  correct. 
This  is  an  investigation  by  Congress  upon  this  subject,  and 
it  is  very  desirable  that  these  facts  should  be  established 
and  put  upon  the  record.  Congress  appointed  a  commis- 
sion, at  least  the  President  appointed  commissioners  under 
an  act  of  Congress,  to  go  out  there,  and  they  did  so.  They 
followed  out  the  instructions  of  Congress  and  the  law ;  but 
while  they  were  there  their  investigation  took  a  larger 
scope,  of  course.  They  saw  a  great  many  things  and  knew 
a  great  many  facts  which  I  desire  to  establish  here,  and 
which  have  been  disputed.  I  consider  it  as  very  desirable 
to  arrive  at  the  truth  in  regard  to  these  statements,  and  I 
should  very  much  like  to  have  the  General  answer  the 
question. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  It  is  ver}'  evident  that  the  latitude  given 
for  examination  of  a  witness  in  one  case  invokes  it  in  an- 
other. The  question  is  whether  your  line  of  interrogatories 
is  confined  to  the  subject-matter  of  the  investigation.  As 
far  as  I  can  interpret  it,  I  think  not  fully.  If  this  informa- 
tion is  desired  to  meet  certain  objections  made,  whether  in 
the  line  of  testimony  or  otherwise,  I  shall  not  object  to  it. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  have  no  objection,  Mr.  Chairman, 
to  any  question  in  the  world.  I  have  made  several  objec- 
tions, bat  I  find  they  haven't  had  the  desired  effect.  I  am 
willing  to  do  anything  that  the  committee  desire.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  everybody  that  lives  out  there  knows  that 
the  Carson  river  and  the  Carson  valley  are  the  most  sickly 
part  of  that  State,  and  the  most  undesirable  for  a  residence 
or  location. 

Mr.  SUTRO,  (repeating  the  question.)  Would  it  not  im- 
prove the  condition  of  these  miners,  who  work  only  8  hours 


388 

a  day  and  have  16  hours  of  leisure,  if  they  were  so  located 
that  they  might  employ  themselves  in  useful  work  about 
home? 
-  Mr.  WRIGHT.  I  don't  know. 

Q.  Why,  do  you  think  it  wouldn't  be  useful  ? 

A.  I  don't  say  that  I  don't  think  it  will  be  useful.  I  sim- 
ply say  I  don't  know. 

Q.  What  opportunity  have  men  running  about  Virginia 
City  to  occupy  themselves? 

A.  Much  the  same  that  they  have  in  other  towns. 

Q.  Do  not  many  of  those  miners  have  families,  General  ? 

A.  I  so  understand  it. 

Q.  Well,  if  they  had.  an  opportunity  of  building  up  a 
little  home  down  there,  do  you  not  think  that  a  great  many 
of  those  men  would- improve  it  ? 

A.  That  I  cannot  say.  I  suppose  they  have  opportuni- 
ties for  building  up  homes  in  Virginia  City. 

Q.  Well,  is  there  a  possibility  of  their  having  a  garden, 
or  water  to  irrigate  a  garden  ? 

A.  No,  they  can  have  no  garden  at  Virginia  City. 

Q. « Won't  they  be  compelled  to  live  on  the  side  of  a 
hill  ? 

A.  Certainly. 

Q.  Kind  of  a  roost  upon  a  rock  ? 

A.  Well,  some  of  them  are  very  comfortable. 

Q.  General,  I  wish  to  ask  you  one  more  question  in  re- 
gard to  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  and  that  is,  whether  you 
believe  that  it  is  suitable  for  gardening — whether  the  land 
there  is  fit  for  agricultural  purposes  ? 

A.  So  far  as  I  passed  over  it,  it  certainly  is,  .with  a  sup- 
ply of  water  for  irrigation. 

Q.  Have  you  seen  any  gardens  at  the  mouth  of  the 
tunnel? 

A.  I  have.  There  was  a  very  fine  garden  near  the  mouth 
of  the  tunnel. 

Q.  Did  they  raise  any  good  vegetables  there  ? 

A.  They  certainly  did.  They  were  as  good  as  they  have 
in  Virginia  City — better. 


389 

Q.  Kow,  General,  my  questions  run  rather  from  one 
point  to  another,  but  I  cannot  help  that.  I  have  gone  over 
many  points  that  I  didn't  wish  to'recur  to;  but  there  are 
others  that  I  do.  I  want  to  ask  you  whether  the  water  in 
the  mines  could  not  be  carried  down  in  pipes  to  the  tun- 
nel level,  and  be  economized  for  the  purpose  of  driving 
hydraulic  machinery  at  the  point  of  connection? 

A.  It  certainly  could  be  done;  but  whether  it  could  be 
done  economically  or  not  is  more  than  I  can  say.  It  de- 
pends upon  the  quantity  of  water  and  the  constancy  of  the 
flow. 

Q.  I  want  to  ask  you,  General,  whether  you  know  any- 
thing about  Professor  Weissbach? 

A.  I  have  heard  his  name. 

Q.  Isn't  his  name  familiar  to  every  engineer,  as  you  may 
say,  in  the  world? 

A.  I  don't  know.     I  cannot  say  as  to  that. 

Q.  Isn't  he  looked  upon  as  the  great  authority? 

A.  He  is  considered  as  authority  upon  many  matters. 

Q.  Well,  Professor  WVissbach,  in  a  letter  addressed  to 
me  in  October,  1867,  states: 

"  A  tunnel  which,  with  a  length  of  about  one  German  mile,  opens  up  rich 
ore  a  depth  of  2.000  feet,  secures  to  the  professional  mining  engineer  the 
most  welcome  and  surest  means  of  profitable  operations,  particularly  in  a 
country  where  no  cheap  fuel  exists  for  the  purpose  of  generating  steam 
power.  Such  a  tunnel  removes,  firstly,  the  necessity  of  using  pumping-en- 
gines  for  many  years  to  come.  It  facilitates  and  cheapens,  secondly,  the  ex- 
traction of  ore  and  waste  rock  in  an  extraordinary  manner. 

"  It   gives,  furthermore,  thirdly,   many  opportunities   for   additional  ex- 
ploration of  the  country,  and  discovery  of  new  bodies  of  ore.     The  tunnel" 
also .  fourthly ,  makas  it  possible  to  derive  a  profit  from  the  great  masses  of 
poor  ores. 

"  The  connecting  and  air  shafts  of  the  tunnel  will,  fifthly,  secure  to  the 
mines  perfect  ventilation.  Finally  there  will  be  created,  sixthly,  a  motive 
power  by  saving  the  water  on  the  surface,  and  conducting  it  by  hydraulic 
machines,  for  instance  turbines,  water  pressure,  engines,  &c.,  placed  in  tho 
mines,  which  let  the  water  flow  off  on  the  tunnel  level,  after  having  done  its 
duty,  and  which  not  only  will  entirely  remove  the  necessity  of  stearn-en- 
gines,  but  also  promises  the  greatest  profit,  particularly  if  the  supply  of 
water  can  be  made  to  last  the  year  round. 

"  With  a  fall  of  2,000  feet,  the  working  power  created  by  one  gallon  alone, 
:=  £  cubic  foot=10  pounds  water  per  second,  is  equal  to  20,000  pounds  for 
every  foot,  that  is  =  -^?-§p-  =  36  horse-power.  A  quantity  of  wat.er  of  50 
gallons  introduced  per  second  would  therefore  create  a  working  capacity  of 
1,800  horse-power.' 

Now,  I  want  to  ask  you,  General,  do  you  not  consider 


390 

the  power  which  may  be  created  on  the  Comstock  lode  as 
very  large  to  propel  the  pumps  that  are  going  down  below 
the  tunnel  level,  taking  our  figures  here  of  730  tons  a  day 
in  the  Ophir  mine,  &c.,  supposing  that  water  were  to  be  col- 
lected, say  800  feet  down,  and  carried  down  in  pipes  to  the 
tunnel  level? 

A.  That  number  of  tons,  with  a.  fall  of  1,000  feet  and  a 
constant  flow,  would  create  an  enormous  power. 

Q.  Yes,  sir.  These  gentlemen  have  stated  that  the 
largest  quantity  of  water  in  these  mines  is  in  the  first  800 
feet;  consequently  you  would  get  an  immense  power  from 
this  water,  if  it  be  collected  1,000  feet  above  the  tunnel 
level? 

A.  Yes;  but  that  water  has  been  pumped  out  to  a  large 
extent, 

Q.  But  we  have  the  statement  here  that  they  have  been 
pumping  in  the  Ophir  mine,  even  last  year,  781  tons  every 
24  hours.  Then  we  have  the  amount  of  the  Gould  and 
Curry  mine,  which  has  a  larger  quantity  of  water. 

A.  In  general  terms,  the  power  would  be  equal  to  the 
power  of  raising  it  that  distance. 

Q.  It  would  be  about  the  same. 

A.  Something  like  it. 

Q.  Now,  wouldn't  that  give  you  a  power  to  go  below 
that  tunnel,  without  any  steam  machinery,  to  a  large  extent? 

A.  It  would  to  a  certain  portion,  undoubtedly,  and  a 
Considerable  amount  of  power. 

Q.  Is  it  possible  to  create  any  such  power  without  a 
tunnel  ? 

A.  If  you  mean  by  the  question,  whether  it  is  possible 
to  utilize  this  water  in  the  same  way  without  the  tunnel,  I 
would  say  no.  I  see  no  way. 

Q.  It  would  be  quite  impossible,  without  an  outlet  to 
discharge  the  water  ? 

A.  I  should  say  so,  decidedly. 

Q.  Then  the  water  coming  from  above  would  create  this 
power,  and  it  would  pump  the  water  below  the  tunnel  level 


391 

up  to  the  tunnel  level,  and  discharge  it  from  the  mouth  of 
the  tunnel? 

A.  From  a  certain  distance  below,  it  would. 

Q.  Well,  with  this  water  power,  and  the  condensing  of 
air  tit  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  hy  the  Carson  river,  to  be 
carried  in  in  pipes,  would  we  not,  in  your  opinion,  have 
sufficient  power  to  carry  on  operations  at  least  2.000  feet 
below  the  tunnel  level  ? 

A.  If  they  can  obtain  86,000  horse-power  at  the  mouth 
of  the  tunnel,  I  think  it  will  furnish  all  the  power  in  itself 
that  is  necessary  for  going  down  an  additional  1,000  feet. 

Q.  Now,  in  condensing  air,  and  discharging  that  air  say 
at  any  point  in  the  mine  where  great  heat  exists,  would  it 
not  tend  to  cool  off  the  atmosphere? 

A.  Certainly. 

Q.  Do  you  know  any  rule  about  the  heat  which  is  lost 
in  allowing  this  air  to  expand  again  ? 

A.  Heat  that  is  absorbed — made  latent  ? 

Q.   Yes. 

A.  I  forget  the  law.     It  is  a  well-established  law. 

Q.  Cannot  the  air  be  condensed  to  such  a  point,  that 
when  it  is  allowed  to  expand  it  would  even  congeal  water  ? 
Has  it  not  been  used,  in  fact,  for  the  manufacture  of  ice, 
or  could  it  not  be  so  used? 

A.  I  see  no  reason  why  it  could  not  be  used  ;  and  it  was 
used,  I  think,  in  France,  for  that  purpose.  It  isn't  the 
device  used  in  this  country.  We  have  another,  which  is 
considered  superior. 

Q.  There  are  probably  superior  methods;  but  my  ques- 
tion is,  whether  it  will  be  possible  to  do  it  ? 

A.  I  see  no  impossibility. 

Q.  Don't  you  look  upon  this  as  solving  the  problem  of 
working  those  mines,  with  th'e  immense  heat  that  is  sup- 
posed to  exist  below  the  tunnel  level  V 

A.  This  same  thing  can  be  done,  of  course,  from  the 
surface,  but  at  greater  cost. 

Q.  Wouldn't  Hie  cost  be  prohibitory  ?  Would  it  be  pos- 
sible, with  the  enormous  cost  of  wood  near  the  surface,  to 


392 

carry  out  ftiat  project — to  condense  air  on  a  large  scale — in 
order  to  cool  off  those  mines  below  ? 

A.  That  would  depend  entirely  upon  the  value  of  the 
mine  and  the  necessity  of  doing  it. 

Q.  Supposing  that  tunnel  to  be  finished,  the  Jateral  drifts 
finished,  and  a  great  number  of  shafts,  say  25  sliafts,  con- 
nected with  the  tunnel  along  the  route,  which  could  be 
constructed  very  easily,  as  we  have  shown ;  by  putting  down 
bore-holes  first,  would  you  not  consider  that,  by  connecting 
all  these  shafts  by  drifts,  these  would  in  the  course  of  time 
(say  two  or  three  years)  reduce  the  temperature  to  a  very 
large  extent? 

A.  Yes,  I  think  any  constant  ventilation  tends  to  the 
reduction  of  temperature  in  the  mine. 

Q.  Well,  what  do  you  think  would  be  the  capacity  of 
the  men  to  do  work  with  the  thermometer  say  at  105°,  as 
compared  with  a  temperature  of  80°? 

A.  I  have  no  means  of  making  a  comparison  at  all.  I 
only  know  that  men  were  working  there  and  apparently 
doing  good  work,  in  a  temperature  that  I  could  with  diffi- 
culty stand.  And  these  very  men  assured  me  that  they 
preferred  working  there  to  working  upon  the  surface.  I 
didn't  understand  it  myself. 

Q.  Do  you  believe  that  a  man  can  do  as  much  work  with 
*the  thermometer  at  110°  degrees  as-  he  can  with  it  at  80°? 

A.  I  have  no  idea  that  he  can. 

Q.  Do  you  think  he  can  do  half  as  much  ? 

A.  What  the  proportion  is  is  more  than  I  can  say.  I 
should  like  to  answer  the  question,  but  I  have  no  means  of 
judging.  They  were  doing  work  there  that  it  seemed  im- 
possible for  men  to  do. 

Q.  Don't  you  think  they  injured  their  health? 

A.  They  said,  as  a  rule,  not. 

Q.  Do  you  think  they  were  long  enough  there  to  find 
out — these  men  that  you  spoke  of? 

A.  I  suppose  so;  they  were  miners  by  profession. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  the  health  of  those 
miners  ? 


398 

A.  Only  what  they  said  themselves  :  that  they  enjoyed 
good  health  usually.  One  of  the  men,  quite  an  intelligent 
one,  said  that  in  most  of  the  mines  the  men  work  through 
their  eight  hours  without  intermission ;  hut  at  some  points 
they  are  relieved  every  15  or  20  minutes,  and  that  3  men 
are  required  at  one  pick,  on  account  of  the  heat  and  bad 
ventilation.  The  ventilation,  however,  is  much  improved 
of  late  by  means  of  pipes,  through  which  the  air  is  forced 
into  and  through  the  mines.  He  said,  the  general  impres- 
sion among  miners  mis,  that  the  bad  air,  heat,  &c.,  were 
injurious,  but  that  he  had  never  suffered  in  health,  and 
was  not  prepared  to  say  that  working  in  the  mines  caused 
disease  or  shortened  life.  He  did  think,  however,  that 
with  better  ventilation  and  less  li^at  more  work  would  be 
done. 

Q.  There  are  on  the  Comstock  lode  3,000  miners.  They 
get  on  an  average  $4  a  day ;  that  would  make  $12,000  a 
day.  With  an  improved  method  of  ventilation,  if  even  25 
per  cent,  in  labor  would  be  saved,  it  would  amount  to 
$3,000  a  day  ? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  The  General  has  not  stated  that  any 
per  cent,  would  be  saved  yet. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  It  is  my  question  that  I  am  putting. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  You  are  taking  a  basis  that  we  have 
not  assented  to.  , 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  I  couldn't  give  the  increase  of  the  amount 
of  labor  with  the  reduction  of  the  temperature. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  want  to  know  whether  you  consider  it  a 
conclusive  statement  that,  provided  there  is  a  thorough 
ventilation  brought  about  in  those  mines,  the  gain  would 
be  25  per  cent.? 

A.  I  don't  know.  I  have  no  means  of  forming  an  opin- 
ion. I  should  be  glad  to  answer  the  question,  but  I  can- 
not. In  reference  to  the  Yellow  Jacket,  the  men  who  were 
questioned  did  not  seem  to  think  their  work  worse  than  on 
the  surface,  in  the  sun,  or  more  detrimental  to  health.  All 
of  them  looked  strong  and  hardy.  The  copious  perspira- 
tion does  not  seem  to  reduce  the  miners  in  flesh.  I  talked 


394 

with  a  good  many  .miners  in  that  mine,  and  went  about  in 
the  mines,  and  that  was  the  general  character  of  their  tes- 
timony. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  That  was  the  hottest  mine  there  that 
you  were  in? 

A.  It  was  the  hottest  mine  there  by  all  comparison. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  My  question  is,  whether  the  capacity  of 
these  men  at  the  lower  temperature  would  not  be  consider- 
ably increased? 

A;  I  should  think  it  would  be  fhcreased.  I  don't  see 
how  it  could  be  otherwise.  Still  I  am  bound  to  say,  in 
continuation  of  my  answer,  that  the  men  seemed  to  be  do- 
ing good  work  whenever  we  were  present — as  much  as,  it 
seemed  to  me,  could  be  reasonably  expected  of  men.  I 
was  surprised  at  it. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  General,  what  is  the  increase  of  tem- 
perature— the  ratio  of  increase — as  you  descend  ? 

A.  I  believe  they  calculate  it  as  somewhere  near  1°  in 
every  50  or  60  feet.  It  varies  in  different  mines.  I  don't 
remember  what  it  was  in  this  mine.  I  don't  remember 
what  it  was  at  the  surface.  I  went  down,  and  I  got  into  a 
temperature  there  of  104°. 

Q.  At  what  depth? 

A.  This  was  at  the  1,100-foot  level.  But  I  should  re- 
mark, that  there  were  no  miners  at  work  in  that  tempera- 
ture.' This  was  in  a  drift  that  run  out.  It  was  a  cut  de  sac, 
and  the  heat  was  in  this.  At  the  end  there  was  one  of 
these  air-pipes,  in  which  air  was  forced  from  the  surface, 
and  there  the  heat  was  91°,  with  a  very  different  atmos- 
phere from  what  you  found  perhaps  100  or  200  feet  short 
of  it.  It  didn't  seem  to  be  so  much  the  heat  as  the  char- 
acter of  the  atmosphere,  which  was  oppressive.  Before 
reaching  the  heading  or  by  the  time  I  arrived  there,  I  was 
exceedingly  doubtful  whether  I  should  be  able  to  get 
out;  but  I  remained  there  and  talked  with  a  workman  for 
perhaps  15  minutes  without  inconvenience.  Before  start- 
ing out,  however,  I  put  my  face  up  to  the  end  of  the  air- 
pipe  and  inflated  my  lungs,  and  I  got  out  very  well,  but 


395 

•  ( 

without  that  I  thiiik  it  would  have  been  impossible  for  me 
to  have  done  it. 

Q.  Is  that  increased  heat  from  the  earth's  temperature 
or  the  confinement? 

A.  The  heat  is  undoubtedly  occasioned  by  the  earth's 
temperature.  The  sides,  top,  and  bottom  of  the  drift  radi- 
ated the  heat. 

Q.  In  your  opinion  w.oulcf  the  ratio  of  that  increase 
reach  such  a  point  in  going  down  that,  at  a  given  depth, 
it  would  be  impossible  to  work  these  mines  ? 

A.  At  some  certain  depth  a  heat  will  be  attained  in 
which  it  will  be  impossible  to  work.  In  the  English  mines 
they  appear  to  have  arrived  at  the  limit — which  is  there 
about  3,000  feet — in  the  coal  mines.  Those  same  figures 
might  not  obtain  at  the  Comstock.  It  might  be  greater 
or  less. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  General,  will  you  allow  me  to  read  from  an 
English  work  on  mining,  which  gives  some  very  intelli- 
gent views  upon  ventilation,  and  I  want  to  ask  you  in  re- 
gard to  the  correctness  of  them: 

"  Hitherto,  few  systematic  attempts  have  been  made  to  supply  the  mine 
with  the  requisite  quantity  of  atmospheric  air,  and  the  consequences  are 
seen  in  the  large  proportion  of  fixed  air  in  moiety  of  the  workings.  This 
inattention  to  a  matter  of  such  vital  importance  to  the  health  of  the  miner 
is  inexcusable  in  every  respect.  A  current  of  atmospheric  air  is  conducted 
through  narrow  torturous  passages,  of  several  miles  in  extent,  with  such' 
facility  and  at  such  trifling  expense,  that  no  reason  can  be  adduced  why  one- 
half  of  the  miners  in  Cornwall  and  Devon  should  be  working  in  a  highly 
poisonous  atmosphere."  (Page  94,>  Scoffran  on  the  Useful  Metals.) 

Then  he  goes  on  to  say,  on  page  111 : 

"It  is  unnecessary  to  enter  at  length  into  the  effect  of  the  variety  of 
exhalations  and  miasmata  proceeding  from  the  putrid  fermentations  of 
animal  and  vegetable  matters  underground,  as  they  are  well  known  even 
upon  the  surface.  In  these  confined  channels,  where  the  accumulations 
exist  at  every  step,  the  warm,  moist  atmosphere  gives  them  every  facility  to 
produce  their  direst  effects.  When  it  is  considered,  however,  that  each 
workman  produces  46  pounds  of  excrement  per  month,  and  that  this,  neglect- 
ing all  sanitary  laws,  is  allowed  to  remain  in  and  about  the  working  places, 
and  in  the  dead  ends,  where  the  air  current  does  not  enter,  it  is  evident  that 
a  fertile  source  ^>f  miasmata  exists,  whatever  care  may  be  used  in  covering 
the  deposit. 

"The  miner  has  good  grounds  therefore  for  demanding  a  high  rate  of 
wages,  and  he  is  especially  in  need  of  the  assistance  of  benefit  societies  in  his 
period  of  trial.'' 

On  another  page: 


396 

"In  pits,  with  a  rapid  circulation,  men  respire  more  freely;  the  roadways 
are  kept  dry  and  repaired  at  less  expense;  and  the  timber  lasts  longer  by 
years,  and  therefore  it  is  a  matter  of  strict  economy  to  secure  a  good  ventila- 
tion. There  are  few  mining  engineers  who  will  not  subscribe  to  the  justness 
of  the  report  of  1842:  'That  a  mine,  when  properly  ventilated  and  drained, 
and  when  both  the  main  and  side  passages  are  of  tolerable  height,  is  not 
only  not  unhealthy,  but,  the  temperature  being  moderate  and  very  uniform, 
it  is  considered  as  a  place  of  work  more  salubrious,  and  even  agreeable,  than 
those  in  which  many  kinds  of  labor  are  carried  on  above  ground.' " 

I  want  to  ask  you  whether  the  opinions  expressed  by 
the  writer  here  meet  with  your  views  ? 

A.  Generally,  I  should  say  yes. 

Q.  It  has  been  mentioned  here  that  timbers  last  longer 
by  years  ? 

A.  Undoubtedly  they  last  longer  in  a  well-ventilated 
mine  than  where  the  air  is  close  and  stagnant.  That  is 
undoubted. 

Q.  It  has  been  stated,  in  some  of  these  reports,  that 
16,000,000  feet  of  lumber  or  timber  are  consumed  in  these 
mines  of  the  Comstock  lode  per  annum.  That  in  ten 
years  would  be  160,000,000  feet.  Supposing  that  timber 
could  be  made  to  last  three  or  four  years  longer  than  it 
does,  would  that  not  be  a  great  economy  to  those  mines? 

A.  Undoubtedly  it  would  be  an  economy.  Every  timber 
that  is  replaced  is  a  source  of  expenditure. 

Q.  You  have  visited  the  workings  of  the  Crown  Point 
•and  the  Yellow  Jacket  ? 

A    Yes. 

Q.  They  were  connected  by  drifts  ? 

A.  Yes. 
.    Q.  You  found  good  ventilation  there  ? 

A.  I  found  a  pretty  good  ventilation. 

Q.  How  far  apart  were  those  two  shafts  about? 

A.  I  should  think  600  feet  would  be  about  the  distance. 

Q.  How  would  you  connect  the  Imperial  and  the  Hale 
and  E"orcross  shafts,  a  distance  of  some  three  or  four  thou- 
sand feet  ?  Would  you  think  it  feasible  to  make  a  connec- 
tion at  every  hundred  feet  descent  without  sinking  addi- 
tional shafts  between  ? 

A.  I  don't  think  it  has  ever  been  proposed. 


397 

Q.  Well,  how  would  you  ventilate  the  space  between 
the  Hale  and  ^Torcross  and  the  Imperial  ? 

A.  There  is  no  necessity  at  the  present  time. 

Q.  Supposing  they  wanted  to  explore  it? 

A.  Then  they  must  explore  it  by  means  of  a  connection 
between  the  two,  or  by  additional  shafts,  or  by  means  of 
air  forced  down  from  the  surface. 

Q.  Would  it  not  be  the  greatest  economy  to  sink  down 
a  deep  shaft  at  least  every  1,000  feet? 

A.  That  depends  entirely  upon  the  object  they  have  in 
view — what  they  are  to  find. 

Q.  I  mean  in  order  to  explore  the  whole  Comstock  lode 
the  most  thoroughly  ? 

A.  Well,  that  is  a  question  of  economy  of  working  which 
I  could  not  answer. 

Q.  Would  the  working  of  the  mines  not  be  very  much 
facilitated  if  there  were  a  great  number  of  shafts  down  and 
connected  with  the  tunnel? 

A.  Unquestionably. 

Q.  Supposing  there  be  a  shaft  down  every  1,000  feet, 
connected  with  the  tunnel,  would  it  not  facilitate  ventila- 
tion ? 

A.  It  would  all  help. 

Q.  I  want  to  ask  here,  General,  whether,  from  your  in- 
vestigations, you  have  become  satisfied  that  there  are  im- 
mense bodies  of  low-grade  ores  in  those  mines? 

A.  The  testimony  obtained  by  the  commission  is  in  favor 
of  the  existence  of  a  very  large  amount  of  low-grade  ores 
in  the  mines,  that  either  have  not  been  mined,  or  have  been 
thrown  aside  as  useless,  or  used  in  fillings. 

Q.  If  large  reduction  and  concentration  works  were  es- 
tablished at  the  mouth  of  th*e  tunnel,  would  it  be  possible 
to  work  these  ores  to  advantage  ? 

A.  That  was  a  question  upon  which  the  commission  was 
in  doubt,  as  to  the  possibility  of  improving  this  matter  of 
concentration  to  any  degree.  It  had  been  represented  that 
very  great  improvements  might  be  made,  in  which  a  very 
large  part  of  the  precious  metals,  which  are  now  lost,  could 


398 

be  saved ;  that  this  work  could  be  done  automatically,  and 
at  a  comparatively  slight  expense. 

Q.  "Would  not  the  actual  cost  of  reduction,  as  it  is  prac- 
ticed now,  be  a  good  deal  less  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel 
by  the  employment  of  large  water  power  and  the  establish- 
ment of  works  on  a  large  scale  ? 

A.  That  would  of  course  depend  entirely  upon  the  orig- 
inal outlay  for  this  water  power.  The  power  costs  nothing 
after  the  first  outlay. 

Q.  Could  the  power  be  furnished  to  reduce  ores  at  a  less 
cost,  where  you  do  it  on  a  large  scale,  than  in  these  iso- 
lated little  mills? 

A.  I  should  think  so.  If  this  were  an  original  proposi- 
tion, I  should  say  certainly. 


HEARING  FRIDAY,  MARCH  IST. 
Cross-examination  of  General  Wright. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  General,  I  think  the  other  evening 
you  named  the  dimensions  of  this  tunnel,  did  you  not? 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  I  think  I  did.  It  is  given  in  the  report, 
however. 

Q.  Yea,  you  give  it  at  12  feet  in  height.    (Page  5.) 

A.  Twelve  feet:  width  of  bottom,  14  feet;  top,  13  feet. 

Q.  "Where  did  you  get  that  from  ? 

A.  We  got  it  from  a  drawing  that  was  remitted  to  ns 
by  Mr.  Sutro,  or  by  the  superintendent,  I  forget  which. 

Q.  You  didn't  get  it  from  the  act  of  Congress,  or  the 
contract  between  Sutro  and  the  mining  companies? 

A.  I  did  not. 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  these  contracts  were  for  ? 

A.  I  do  not. 

Q.  I  will  read  you  from  page  176,  article  6,  in  the  con- 
tract : 

"  The  dimension  of  said  tunnel  8hall  be  not  less  than  seven  feet  in  height, 
in  the  clear,  and  eight  feet  in  the  clear  in  width." 

Would  that  size  of  tunnel  have  sufficient  space  for  the 
management  of  this  ore  and  the  transportation  of  ore  and 
debris? 

A.  Seven  feet  in  height  and  eight  in  width  ? 

Q.  Yes,  sir. 

A.  I  should  think  not.  I  don't  think  the  present  size  of 
the  tunnel  any  too  large — the  tunnel  as  now  proposed. 

Q.  Do  you  know  when  the  shafts  upon  that  tunnel  were 
commenced  on  the  line  of  the  tunnel? 

A.  I  do  not.  They  had  not  been  commenced  when  the 
commission  left  Nevada. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  can  answer  that  question,  Mr.  Sunderland. 
They  were  commencing  on  the  27th  of  December  last. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Have  you  any  practical  experience  in 
mining  or  milling,  General? 


400 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  I  have  not. 

Q.  Do  you  expect,  page  6,  you  enumerated  the  advant- 
ages of  the  tunnel,  as  claimed  by  Mr.  Sutro;  first,  in  the 
improved  ventilation  of  the  mines  ? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  Now,  to  what  extent  would  the  ventilation  be  im- 
proved by  the  tunnel  ? 

A.  It  would  be  improved  to  exactly  the  extent  to  which 
the  column  of  air  moving  in  the  tunnel  and  passing  up 
through  the  various  shafts  would  benefit  it.  It  is  an  ex- 
tent which  cannot  be  expressed  in  figures  definitely  in  any 
way  that  I  can  think  of. 
*  Q.  It's  guess-work,  is  it  not,  to  a  great  extent  ? 

A.  I  don't  think  that  the  exact  number  of  cubic  feet  of 
air  fhat  would  pass  up  the  mines  in  a  given  time  can  be 
determined  until  the  tunnel  is  in  working  order. 

Q.  I  don't  mean  to  say,  General,  that  I  dispute  the  propo- 
sition that  the  ventilation  would  be  improved,  because  it 
will  be  improved  by  every  opening  that  you  make  to  the 
mines  from  the  surface;  but  the  degree,  or  the  percentage 
of  the  improvement,  if  you  have  arrived  at  any  conclusion, 
is  what  I  want  to  get  at. 

A.  I  don't  think  that  that  can  be  foretold.  It  would  de- 
pend upon  the  rapidity  with  which  this  current  passed 
through  the1  tunnel ;  and  that  cannot  possibly  be  determ- 
ined beforehand. 

Q.  From  your  knowledge  or  information,  derived  while 
you  were  out  there,  did  you  arrive  ait  a  conclusion  as  to 
whether  the  mines  were  better  ventilated  now  than  they 
had  been  some  years  ago? 

A.  We  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  the  ventilation 
had  been  materially  improved,  as  is  stated  in  the  report. 

Q.  Is  it  possible,  General,  to  ventilate  new  exploring 
drifts  in  the  mines  from  the  tunnel,  unless  you  use  other 
means  aside  from  the  air  coming  into  the  tunnel — artificial 
means  for  directing  the  air? 

A.  It  is  quite  impossible,  so  far  as  I  know  or  can  imagine. 


401  . 

Q.  You  were  more  than  once  in  drifts  between  the  Yel- 
low Jacket  and  the  Crown  Point,  I  suppose? 

A.  Twice. 

Q.  What  is  the  movement  of  the  air  there? 

A.  There  is  quite  a  strong  current,  so  much  so,  that  they 
had  doors  which  they  could  close  at  will  in  that  drift,  to 
cut  off  the  air. 

Q.  If  there  were  no  doors  in  that  drift,  would  it  be  pos- 
sible to  carry  a  lighted  candle  there? 

A.  I  should  think  not. 

Q.  Did  you  have  any  difficulty  in  carrying  a  candle 
through  the  door  when  it  was  open  ? 

A.  I  don't  remember,  but  I  know  of  many  cases  in 
which  I  had  considerable  difficulty  in  carrying  a  candle, 
and  I  was  not  able  to  keep  it  lighted,  except  by  carrying 
it  in  the  way  I  was  told  it  could  be  best  carried. 

Q.  ISTow,  what  is  the  length  of  the  Comstock,  as  you 
understand  it?  I  believe  you  give  it  at  about  22,000  feet? 

A.  About  22,000  is  claimed  for  it,  and  I  thiqk  about 
12,000  of  it  is  worked.  That  is  my  recollection. 

Q.  Will  the  amount  of  air  that  could  go  through  that 
tunnel  be  sufficient  to  ventilate  the  whole  of  the  mine  if  it 
were  open  ? 

A.  That  alone? 

Q.  Yes. 

A.  I  should  think  not. 

Q.  With  the  heat  and  the  mode  of  mining  there  now, 
how  much  of  a  mine  is  left  open  at  any  one  time,  so  as  to 
make  it  necessary  to  ventilate  it?  In  other  words,  when 
the  first  floor  is  worked  out  on  any  level  and  timbered,  are 
the  spaces  between  the  timbers  or  timbering  left  open  or 
filled  up? 

A.  They  are  generally  closed — filled  in. 

Q.  Ain't  that  absolutely  necessary  to  prevent  the  caving 
or  crushing  in  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  the  object  is  to  prevent  caving. 

Q.  Ain't  it  necessary? 

A.  I  should  suppose  it  was. 
26 


402 

Q.  What  is  the  largest  width  of  ore,  or  a  space  worked 
out  of  ore,  that  you  saw  there? 

A.  Well,  I  didn't  measure  it. 

Q.  I  believe  you  stated  in  your  report,  or  else  some  of 
the  witnesses  have,  that  they  worked  80  feet  in  the  Crown 
Point? 

A.  I  think  it  is  stated  in  the  report.  I  don't  think  there 
was  any  width  of  80  feet  open,  according  to  my  recollec- 
tion. I  should  say  not. 

Q.  CalPit  60  feet. 

A.  It  must  have  been  something  less  than  that. 

Q.  Do  you  think  it  would  be  safe  in  mining  out  60  feet 
to  allow  the  timbers  to  stand  without  filling  in  the  space 
between  the  timbers? 

A.  Not  for  any  length  of  time. 

Q.  It  has  been  claimed  here  that,  with  proper  ventila- 
tion, the  timbers  in  a  mine  would  last  very  much  longer. 
When  these  spaces  are  filled  up,  which  you  say  is  neces- 
sary audc  prudent,  can  there  be  any  ventilation,  so  as  to 
preserve  the  timbers? 

A.  Not  those  timbers;  I  don't  think  it  would  affect 
those  materially. 

Q.  Either  little  or  more  fresh  air  would  not  affect  them  ? 

A.  I  don't  think  it  would  produce  any  particular  effect. 

Q..  Well,  now,  taking  the  working  maps  that  are  in  this 
atlas,  is  it  either  possible  or  desirable  to  have  these  all  ven- 
tilated from  the  tunnel  level  to  the  surface  ? 

A.  It  isn't  necessary  to  ventilate  all  that  is  represented 
there  at  one  time  at  all. 

Q.  After  the  level  has  been  worked  out? 

A.  There  is  no  necessity  for  further  ventilation,  simply 
because  they  don't  use  it.  They  fill  it  up  in  order  to  give 
a  permanent  support.  It  is  somewhat  equivalent  to  re- 
placing what  they  have  taken  out. 

Q.  Then  it  is  almost  an  abandoment  of  each  level  as  it 
is  worked  out  ? 

A.  It  is  an  abandonment,  as  I  understand  it. 

Q.  Don't  you  think  that  with  increased  power  and  larger- 


403 

sized  blowers  than  are  now  employed  there,  the  mines,  to 
the  depth  of  the  tunnel  level,  can  be  sufficiently  ventilated 
to  make  the  working  of  men  in  the  mines  economical  ? 

A.  I  have  no  doubt,  if  it  is  done  regardless  of  expense, 
ventilation  can  be  made  as  perfect  as  can  be  desired. 

Q.  How  much  more  would  be  the  expense  than  at 
present  ? 

A.  That  I  cannot  say.  I  should  think  it  would  not  be 
very  much  greater.  The  superintendents  of  the  mines  say  it 
costs  scarcely  more  to  ventilate  one  level  than  another  by 
means  of  the  blower,  so  that,  in  ventilating  the  same  space, 
according  to  their  statements,  the  cost  would  be  about  the 
same  for  each  the  1,000-foot  and  the  2,000-foot  level. 

Q.  You  spoke  of  the  degree  of  heat  last  night  that  you 
found  there,  particularly  in  the  Yellow  Jacket — 104°  I 
think  you  said  ? 

A.  That  was  the  highest  that  we  found  anywhere. 

Q.  That  was  in  an  abandoned  cross-cut  ? 

A.  No,  sir;  it  was  in  a  drift  on  which  they  were  then 
working — not  at  the  head  or  breast  where  the  miners  were 
at  work,  but  in  that  part  which  had  to  be  traversed,  in 
order  to  reach  the  point  where  they  were  working. 

Q.  I  was  mistaken  about  the  point  where  you  found 
that  degree  of  heat.  You  spoke  of  having  gone  into  a 
cross-cut  at  right  angles  with  the  drift,  where  the  air  was 
oppressive,  did  you  not? 

A.  No,  sir.  9 

Q.  Where  the  men  were  at  work  the  thermometer  was 
about  91°  or  92°,  you  say? 

A.  It  was  over  90°,  I  think.     It  was  91°. 

Q.  What  month  in  the  year  where  you  there? 

A.  We  visited  that  particular  mine  on  the  17th  of  July, 
1871. 

Q.  That  was  supposed  to  be  about  the  hottest  season, 
was  it  not? 

A.  I  should  suppose  it  would  have  been. 

Q.  Now,  as  this   air  is  taken  down  from  the   surface, 


404 

would  it  be  very  much  warmer  at  that  season  than  in  the 
winter,  when  the  air  on  the  surface  is  cold? 

A,  I  don't  think  the  air  at  that  particular  point  would 
change  in  temperature  during  the  year.  It  might  a  degree 
or  two. 

Q.  Suppose  the  cold  air  is  taken  from  the  surface  down 
through  that  pipe? 

A.  The  air  was  very  stagnant,  and  it  remained  so  for  a 
long  time.  There  was  no  current,  and  the  heat  which  was 
shown  by  the  air  was  no  doubt  communicated  to  it  by  the 
heat  of  the  earth  from  the  sides,  top,  and  bottom  of  the 
drift. 

Q.  Was  not  the  air  warm  at  the  mouth  of  the  pipe, 
where  you  inhaled  it? 

A.  I  didn't  try  the  temperature  at  that  point,  but  it 
seemed  to  me  to  be  cold. 

Q.  Cool  compared  to  that  which  surrounded  it? 

A.  Yes.  Of  course  I  could  only  judge  by  comparison, 
but  it  seemed  to  be  cool. 

Q.  Was  there  any  inconvenience,  so  far  as  you  could 
see,  in  working,  from  the  height  of  the  thermometer  at 
that  point  where  this  fresh  air  was  coming  in? 

A.  There  didn't  seem  to  be,  so  far  as  the  men  were  con- 
cerned. 

Q.  Did  they,  or  did  they  not,  complain  of  the  heat? 

A.  They  did  not. 

Q.  I  believe  you  said  they  told  you  they  preferred  work- 
ing there  to  working  on  the  surface  ? 

A.  It  was  not  these  particular  men,  but  it  was  in  another 
portion  which  seemed  to  me  to  be  nearly  as  hot,  although 
I  did  not  take  the  temperature  at  this  second  point. 

Q.  Of  what  advantage  for  ventilation  can  the  tunnel  be 
below  the  tunnel  level  ? 

A.  I  don't  see  that  it  could  be  of  much  on  the  natural 
ventilation. 

Q.  It  ain't  likely  that  the  air,  if  the  air  should  come  in 
from  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  would  descend  into  the 
workings  below  the  tunnel  level  ? 


405 

A.  Not  if  it  were  allowed  to  go  to  the  surface ;  I  should 
think  not. 

Q.  Now,  of  what  advantage  to  the  Sierra  Nevada  can  the 
tunnel  be  in  the  way  of  ventilation? 

A.  It  could  be  so  arranged,  if  desired,  as  to  carry  all 
the  ventilation  of  the  tunnel  to  any  one  mine. 

Q.  Isn't  the  Sierra  Nevada  working?  I  am  talking 
now  about  the  Sierra  Nevada. 

A.  In  its  present  condition? 

Q.  Yes,  sir. 

A.  Then  I  might  change  my  answer. 

Q.  And  as  low  down  as  they  found  any  ore? 

A.  I  didn't  go  into  the  Sierra  Nevada  at  all,  inasmuch 
as  they  were  working  near  the  surface,  as  represented. 
How  far  it  had  gone  down  I  do  not  remember. 

Q.  They  are  working  there  through  a  short  tunnel,  are 
they  not? 

A.  I  think  they  are. 

Q.  Running  the  ore  out  above  the  top  of  the  mill? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Ain't  that  likely  to  give  them  all  the  ventilation  they 
want  ? 

A.  It  is  all  the  ventilation  they  need  at  that  level,  or 
above.  If  they  go  lower  they  would  have. to  establish  other 
means  of  ventilation. 

Q.  The  report  of  Mr.  King,  though,  is  to  the  effect  that 
they  have  not  found  anything  below  to  pay  for  working  ? 

A.  That  I  don't  know  anything  about. 

Q.  You  didn't  go  into  the  mine  at  all  ? 

A.  Didn't  go  in  at  all. 

Q.  You  went  into  the  Chollar  mine  ? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  More  than  once  ? 

A.  Only  pnce. 

Q.  Do  you  know  how  deep  they  are  working  there  ?  I 
have  lost  my  last  report,  or  I  would  show  it  to  you.  I 
had  it  here,  but  it  is^gone. 


406 

A.  I  have  it  down;  none  were  more  than  200  feet  below 
the  surface  at  the  time  we  were  there. 

Q.  How  is  that  mine  ventilated  at  present? 

A.  I  believe  by  blowers,  but  I  am  not  certain. 

Q.  Ain't  there  a  tunnel  running  in  there,  through  which 
part  of  the  ore  is  taken  right  out  without  going  up  the 
shaft  at  all? 

A.  There  is. 

Q.  Ain't  there  a  great  deal  of  the  ore  taken  almost  from 
the  surface,  or  very  near  the  surface? 

A.  I  so  understand  it. 

Q.  You  went  into  the  Gould  and  Curry? 

A.  I  did. 

Q.  On  page  8  of  the  last  report  the  superintendent  says, 
that 

"During  the  year  two  compartments  of  the  shaft  have  been  sunk  294  feet, 
making  the  entire  depth  1,485  feet,  or  measuring  from  station  A,  at  croppings, 
1,685  feet." 

That  is  nearly  300  feet  in  the  year.  Suppose  the  shaft 
to  be  sunk  at  that  rate,  how  long  will  it  take  to  attain  to 
the  depth  of  the  tunnel  level? 

A.  Less  than  one  year. 

Q.  Do  you  know  how  deep  the  Savage  is  ? 

A.  I  do  not  remember  how  deep  it  is. 

Q.  I  had  a  paper  here  the  other  evening  stating  that  they 
had  50  feet  to  go  to  get  down  to  the  1,500-foot  level.  It  is 
a  description  of  the  mine  and  the  present  workings,  given 
by  a  reporter  of  the  TERRITORIAL  ENTERPRISE.  Do  you 
know  how  far  below  station  A  the  top  of  the  Savage  mine 
is? 

A.  I  remember  none  of  those  numbers  at  all. 

Q.  Here  are  the  figures. 

A.  Down  213  feet. 

Q.  But  you  have  to  go  very  far  then,  to  be  at  the  tunnel 
level? 

A.  It  would  be  1,700  feet  and  something. 

Q.  About  1,900  feet  is  the  tunnel  level,  you  state  in  your 
report? 


407 

A.  It  is  1,900  and  something. 

Q.  No,  it  is  a  fraction  under.     It  is  only  a  foot  or  two. 

A.  Well,  then,  less  than  1,700  feet,  or  about  1,700  feet. 

Q.  I  believe  the  question  is,  how  far  will  the  shaft  have 
to  go  still,  in  order  to  reach  the  tunnel  level? 

A.  That  depends  upon  its  present  depth. 

Q.  That  is  1,450  feet. 

A.  If  we  assume  it  is  now  down  1,450  feet. 

Q.  The  exact  depth  of  the  tunnel  level  is  1,898  J  feet. 

A.  It  would  be  237  feet. 

Q.  Do  you  know  how  deep  the  Crown  Point  is  ? 

A.  According  to  my  recollection,  it  was  1,300  odd  feet 
when  we  were  there. 

Q.  In  this  connection  I  will  just  get  you  to  look  there, 
General,  and  see  how  much  that  is  below,  and  see  how 
much  further  that  has  to  go,  in  order  to  attain  to  the  tun- 
nel level  ? 

A.  That  would  make  it  117  feet. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  would  agree  here,  Mr.  Sunderland,  that 
we  will  admit  that  some  of  these  shafts  will  reach  down 
to  the  tunnel  level.  It's  no  use  to  go  into  all  these  figures. 
We'll  admit  that.  You  went  all  over  this  once  with  Dr. 
Newcomb. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  wanted  to  lay  the  foundation  for  a 
question  as  to  whether  it  is  probable,  in  your  opinion,  that 
these  main  shafts  on  the  Comstoek  will  be  at  or  below  the 
tunnel  level  before  the  tunnel  can  reach  the  vein  ? 

A.  Those  in  which  they  are  now  working  generally  will. 
The  Ophir,  at  their  rate  of  progress,  will  not.  The  Gould 
and  Curry  and  the  Crown  Point,  at  their  present  rate  of 
progress,  will  be  at  the  tunnel  level  before  the  tunnel 
reaches  it  probably. 

Q.  The  Gould  and  Carry,  the  Savage,  the  Hale  and 
ITorcross,  the  Belcher,  the  Yellow  Jacket,  the  Imperial 

A.  I  don't  know  about  the  Imperial.  They  had  stop- 
ped work  on  the  Imperial  when  we  were  there. 

Q.  That  is  really  deeper  than  any  of  them  from  the  top 
of  the  shrift. 


408 

A.  I  don't  think  it  is  quite  as  deep  as  the  other,  and 
they  had  suspended  work  when  we  were  there. 

Mr.  KENDALL.  Will  the  construction  of  the  tunnel  make 
the  work  of  mining  at  depth  easier,  more  profitable,  than 
it  would  be  without  the  tunnel? 

A.  "We  made  our  calculations  about  the  depth  of  the 
tunnel  and  stopped  there,  and  to  that  point,  under  certain 
conditions,  we  thought  that  it  was  more  profitable  to  work 
from  the  surface;  that  is,  unless  reduction  works  were, 
established  at  its  mouth  and  worked  by  water  power.  As 
to  getting  to  a  very  much  greater  depth,  I  could  not  posi- 
tively state,  but  my  opinion  would  be  in  favor  of  the  econ- 
omy of  working  by  the  tunnel  after  you  get  2,500  feet,  say 
from  the  surface,  from  the  initial  point. 

Q.  That  is  500  feet  below  the  tunnel  level? 

A.  About  500 ;  perhaps  less. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  understand  you  to  say  in  your  report, 
and  you  have  intimated  the  same  here,  that  the  value  of 
the  tunnel  depends  upon  the  practicability  of  getting  a 
sufficient  water  power  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  to  reduce 
all  the  ore  from  the  Comstock,  and  then  to  introduce  ma- 
chinery for  concentrating  the  ore,  so  as  to  work  it  more 
cheaply.  Suppose  there  should  be  a  failure  in  ore  in  either, 
will  the  tunnel  be  then  of  any  special  value  to  the  Com- 
stock? 

A.  The  commission  have  stated  in  their  report  that,  in 
case  both  tfoese  should  not  be  secured,  our  opinion  would 
be  in  faver  of  continuing  the  work  after  the  present  mode. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  this  machinery  for  con- 
centrating gold  and  silver  ores? 

A.  I  do  not  personally.    ' 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  it  would  cost  to  work  ores  by 
that  mode? 

A.  I  have  no  idea  further  than  was  explained  in  the  re- 
port and  statements  from  different  individuals,  and  from 
articles  in  certain  papers,  mining  and  other  journals. 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  goes  to  make  up  the  cost  of  re- 
duction of  ores  now  on  the  Comstock? 


409 

A.  ^Not  entirely.,    There  is  the  cost  of  milling. 

Q.  I  am  jtalking  now  about  the  cost  of  milling — the  re- 
duction of  the  ores  after  they  are  delivered  at  the  mill. 

A.  First,  there  is  the  crushing,  then  the  stamping  and 
the  use  of  the  quicksilver ;  the  quicksilver  is  used,  and  a 
part  of  it  is  lost. 

Q.  Do  you  know  about  what  the  loss  of  quicksilver  is 
per  ton  ? 

A.  I  have  it  somewhere  in  my  notes. 

Q.  It  is  about  1J  pounds  on  the  average,  is  it  not;  per- 
haps a  little  less  ? 

A.  I  think  it  is  a  little  less,  but  I  don't  carry  these  things 
in  my  mind. 

Q.  It  depends  upon  the  grade  of  the  ores,  very  much. 
Poor  grade  ones  don't  cost  so  much. 

A.  I  have  down  for  the  Occidental  mill  the  loss  of  the 
quicksilver  about  1 J  pounds  per  ton  of  ore. 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  quicksilver  is  worth  ? 

A.  It  is  stated  at  about  80  cents  per  pound. 

Q.  That  would  be  at  a  loss  of  $1  20  per  ton. 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  labor  is  in  the  mills? 

A.  I  am  not  positive,  but  I  think  about  $3  50  a  day,  a 
little  less  than  in  the  mines.  However,  these  are  all  details 
that  I  did  not  look  into.  It  was  not  considered  as  a  part 
of  our  investigation  in  any  way.  Questions  were  asked 
more  for  general  information  than  anything  else. 

Q.  Mr.  King  gives  the  average  at  $4  50.  That  takes  in 
the  superintendents,  engineers,  and  all. 

A.  I  don't  know  what  the  average  would  be  at  all. 

Q.  The  amalgamator  and  the  skilled  labor 

A.  I  couldn't  tell  you  what  the  average  would  be. 

Q.  Are  not  all-1  the  materials  used " in  and  about  a  mill 
much  higher  there  than  they  would  be  on  this  coast  or  in 
Germany  ? 

A.  Undoubtedly. 

Q.  The  machinery  of  every  kind? 


410 

A.  Undoubtedly.  Cost  of  transportation  and  every- 
thing. 

Q.  Do  you  know  that  portion  of  a  mill  that  wears  out 
most  rapidly  and  has  to  be  replaced  ? 

A.  I  do'not. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  the  wearing  out  of 
shoes  and  dies  of  the  stamps? 

A.  I  should  think  they  would  be  the  parts  that  would 
wear  out  oftenest. 

Q.  Do  you  know  how  often  they  have  to  be  replaced? 

A.  I  do  not. 

Q.  Do  you  know  the  cost  per  pound  of  shoes  and  dies  ? 

A.  I  haven't  the  slightest  idea. 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  it  is  practicable  to  obtain  the 
water  power  in  the  Carson  river,  so  as  to  divert  it  and  take 
it  to  the  rnouth  of  the  tunnel? 

A.  I  can  only  state  exactly  what  is  given  by  the  com- 
mission in  its  report.  I  can  read  that  if  you  desire. 

Q.  Well,  I  expect  the  members  of  the  committee  have 
read  that.  I  don't  know  that  it  is  worth  while  to  repeat 
it.  Do  you  know  whether  or  not  all  the  water  power  in  the 
Carson  river,  from  the  first  fall  in  the  valley  to  the  last  fall 
at  Dayton,  is  not  now  private  property  ? 

A.  I  so  understand  it. 

Q.  That  property  is  owned  generally,  is  it  not,  by  par- 
ties interested  in  the  Comstock? 

A.  A  part  of  it  certainly  is.  The  Crown  Point  owns 
two  mills  tbere,  I  think. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  any  mills  on  the  Carson  river  any- 
where that  are  not  owned  by  parties  who  are  largely  inter- 
ested in  the  Comstock  and  who  oppose  the  Sutro  tunnel? 

A.  Some  of  these  mills  are  owned  by  what  is  termed 
the  Union  Mill  and  Mining  Company.  What  parties  con- 
stitute the  Union  Mining  Company  I  do  not  know.  I  know 
one  of  the  individuals,  and  only  one,  and  I  suppose  that  he 
is  largely  interested  (he  is  reported  to  be)  in  the  mines 
themselves. 

Q.  Do  you  think  it  probable  that  the  owners  of  these 


411 

water-rights  upon  the  Carson  river  would  surrender  them, 
in  order  to  take  the  water  out  and  lead  it  to  the  mouth  of 
the  tunnel? 

A.  If  it  paid  sufficiently  for  it,  I  think  they  would.     . 

Q.  Did  you  make  any  estimate  of  the  value  of  the  water- 
rights  and  the  mill  property  upon  the  Carson  river? 

A.  I  don't  know  that  I  could  call  it  an  estimate.  We 
obtained  it  from  Mr.  Sharon,  who  was  represented  to  us  as 
having  more  to  do  with  the  Union  Mill  and  Mining  Com- 
pany than  any  other  individual.  ^  He  was  the  president  of 
the  company,  I  believe. 

Q.  He  isn't  an  officer  in  the  company  at  all,  but  still 
he  has  more  to  say  about  it  than  anybody  else. 

A.  I  supposed  from  what  he  said  that  he  was  president; 
but  I  don't  know.  We  obtained  from  him  his  valuation 
of  the  mills.  I  didn't  consider  it  of  much  importance,  but 
we  took  it  down. 

Q.  Did  you  visit  the  Eureka  mill,  in  process  of  construc- 
tion, while  you  were  there? 

A.  It  had  not  been  commenced  when  we  left.  They 
were  proposing  to  build  it,  unless  I  have  confounded  the 
name. 

Q.  Do  you  remember  the  Santiago  mill? 

A.  I  do. 

Q.  It  was  the  first  mill  below  that.  There  were  two 
mills  on  the  same  mill  site.  I  suppose  they  had  com- 
menced work  when  you  were  there.  Indeed,  I  am  quite 
positive  of  it. 

A.  The  mills,  as  we  had  them,  down,  as  obtained  by  the 
commission,  were,  first,  the  Mexican,  owned  by  Jones  and 
Hayward;  second,  the  Carson,  just  west  of  Carson,  near 
the  wood-flume  belonging  to  the  Union  Mill  and  Mining 
Company ;  the  Yellow  Jacket,  below  the  Mexican,  Jones 
and  Hayward;  the  Brunswick,  below  the  Mexican,  also 
Jones  and  Hayward ;  the  Merrimack,  belo\v  the  Bruns- 
wick— the  owners  not  given ;  the  Eureka,  about  ten  miles 
from  Virginia  City,  owned  by  the  Union  Mill  Company; 
the  Vivian,  below  the  Merrimack,  owned  by  Sharon  and 


412 

A.  E.  Head ;'  the  Santiago,  ten  miles  from  Virginia,  by  the 
Union  Mill  and  Mining  Company ;  the  San  Francisco — we 
have  no  items  in  connection^  with  that. 

•  Q.  "Well,  that  is  abandoned.     It's  where  this  new  mill  is 
being  built. 

A.  There's  the  Franklin,  leased  by  Louis  Janin;  the 
Ophir,  west  of  Birdsall's — no  owner's  name  given ;  Bird- 
sail's,  which  is  a  tailings  mill,  west  of  Dayton ;  Gammons,  in 
Dayton,  and  the  Rocky  Point  mill,  one  mile  from  Dayton, 
belong  to  the  Union  Mil.1  and  Mining  Company,  leased  to 
the  Crown  Point  Mining  Company.  .  * 

Q.  Would  not  the  construction  of  the  proposed  dam 
destroy  all  this  mill  property  on  the  Carson? 

A.  All,  probably,  down  to  the  Franklin  mill ;  the  most 
of  the  mills  it  would. 

Q.  If  you  take  all  the  water  power  of  the  Carson  river, 
of  what  value  would  any  mill  be  .below  where  the  water  is 
brpught  back  again  ? 

A-  Nothing,  except  that  they  might  retain  their  right  to 
draw  the  water  from  the. reservoir. 

Q.  I  understand  your  proposition  is  to  take  all  the  water 
out  of  the  Carson  river  and  take  it  to  the  mouth  of  the 
tunnel  ? 

A.  Lead  it  to  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  or  as  much  of  it 
as  is  necessary. 

Q.  That  is  below  all  other  mills,  is  it  not? 

A.  No. 

Q.  What  mill  is  below  ? 

A.  The  proposition  was  to  put  the  dam  somewhere  near 
the  Franklin,  or  above. 

Q.  But  you  take  all  the  water  out  of  the  Carson  river, 
don't  you  ? 

A.  Undoubtedly. 

Q.  Now  you  take  it  to  a  point  below  th^e  Rocky  Point 
mill,  which  is  the  lowest  mill  on  the  river,  and  that  is  above 
the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  ? 

A,  Undoubtedly. 

Q.  Now,  I  ask  you  of  what  value  could  that  mill  prop- 


413 

erty  be  anywhere  on  the  Carson  river,  if  you  take  all  the 
water  out  of  the  Carson  river  ? 

A.  The  water  could  be  taken  from  this  race  for  those 
mills,  undoubtedly.  The  water  will  be  carried  about  three 
miles,  and  they  could  draw  oft*  any  portion  of  the  supply 
that  they  would  be  permitted  to  do. 

Q.  Then  of  what  benefit  would  the  tunnel  be  to  those 
mills,  if  they  are  to  be  run  as  they  are  now  ? 

A.  I  don't  think  it  would  be  any. 

Q.  Of  what  benefit  would  the  tunnel  be  to  the  Comstock, 
if  all  the  mills  on  the  river  are  to  be  run  as  they  are  now, 
or  by  taking  water  from  this  race  that  you  speak  of? 

A.  None,  except  that  these  mills  would  be  a  substitute 
for  mills  of  the  same  capacity  at  the  mouth  of  the1  tunnel. 
However,  the  idea  would  of  course  be  to  obtain  all  these 
rights. 

Q.  I  understand  your  proposition  to  be,  to  reduce  all  the 
ore  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel? 

A.  That  is  our  proposition. 

Q.  Well,  that  would  destroy  all  the  mill  property  on  ther 
Carson  river,  would  it  not? 

A.  Yes,  this  dam  would  destroy  all  the  mills  now 
above  it. 

Q.  Would  it  destroy  the  Mexican  mill  ? 

A.  I  think  it  would.  It  would  have  no  fall :  that  would 
depend,  of  course,, on  how  high  they  dam  up  the  water. 

Q.  Well,  commencing  at  that  Mexican  mill,  what  amount 
of  ground  is  there  attached  to  it  for  the  purpose  of  saving 
tailings  and  slime? 

A.  As  I  recollect  it,  there  is  a  considerable  amount  of 
ground  about  it. 

Q.  Several  hundred  acres,  ain't  there? 

A.  I  should  think  so. 

Q.  Is  there  any  practical  obstacle  in  the  way  of  attaching 
to  that  mill  machinery  for  concentrating  and  working  the 
ore  at  the  mill,  instead  of  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel? 

A.  None  whatever,  excepting  the  want  of  water. 


414 

Q.  Would  there  be  any  more  water  at  the  mouth  of  the 
tunnel  than  there  is  at  the  Mexican  mill  ? 

A.  Undoubtedly. 

Q.  How  so  ? 

A.  Because  a  considerable  of  the  surplus  that  now  passes 
over  the  Mexican  dam  at  high  stages  of  the  stream  would 
be  retained,  and  held  and  used  according  to  the  necessities 
of  the  mills.  At  the  time  we  were  there,  a  portion  of  the 
Mexican  mill  was  hung  up  for  want  of  power. 

Q.  Yes,  sir;  the  greater  portion. 

A.  At  other  seasons  of  the  year  there  is  a  very  large 
surplus  of  water.  The  object  of  the  reservoir  spoken  of 
is  to  store  up  this  surplus  of  the.  wet  season  for  use  in  the 
dry. 

Q.  When  you  were  there,  did  you  hear  anything  about 
a  project  of  constructing  dams  to  form  reservoirs  in  the 
mountains  in  a  number  of  places  on  the  head-waters  of 
the  Carson,  for  preserving  the  water  there  until  the  dry 
season  came  on  ? 
'  A.  I  did  not. 

Q.  What  do  you  think  of  the  feasibility  of  that? 

A.  I  never  examined  the  country,  and  therefore  I  couldn't 
give  any  answer  which  would  have  any  value  whatever.  If 
the  valleys  lend  themselves  favorably,  of  course  it  could  be 
done. 

Q.  Wouldn't  it  be  more  favorable  to  preserve  the  water 
in  reservoirs  on  the  mountains  than  in  the  valley,  suppos- 
ing the  formation  of  the  ground  to  be  such  that  you  can 
make  reservoirs  there  ? 

A.  That  is  a  question  that  it  is  impossible  to  answer 
without  an  examination  of  the  grounds.  It  certainly  is 
possible. 

Q.  Wouldn't  it  be  much  colder  up  there  ? 

A.  I  have  no  doubt  it  would  be  colder. 

Q.  What  is  the  great  cause  of  evaporation  in  the  Carson 
valley  ? 

A.  It  is  the  dryness  of  the  atmosphere. 

Q.  The  heat  of  the  sun  is  very  great  there,  isn't  it? 


415 

A.  Undoubtedly ;  but  it  is  more  than  tbat.  According 
to  my  view,  all  the  water  of  the  Carson  is  absorbed  by 
evaporation  finally;  that  which  runs  down  the  stream  and 
forms  the  lake — the  river  of  the  Carson;  it  becomes  dry, 
or  nearly  so,  in  the  dry  season. 

Q.  And  it  is  evaporation  ? 

A.  I  think  it  is  entirely  evaporation. 

Q.  Wouldn't  there  be  very  great  evaporation  in  this 
large  reservoir  that  you  propose  to  form  with  this  high 
dam  ? 

A.  There  undoubtedly  would  be,  but  not  as  much 

Q.  Have  you  made  any  estimate,  General,  as  to  the 
amount  of  water  that  would  be  required  at  the  mouth  of 
the  tunnel  to  reduce  all  this  ore — these  concentrators  and 
this  other  machinery  necessary  to  reduce  ore  in  that  way — 
and  compared  it  with  the  amount  of  water  retained  in  that 
reservoir,  and  do  you  know  how  long  it  would  last? 

A.  2To,  I  haven't,  for  I  have  no  means  of  knowing  how 
large  that  reservoir  would  be,  excepting  the  report  made  by 
the  Surveyor  General  of  Nevada,  which  I  should  judge, 
from  my  own  observations,  was  very  far  below  the  fact. 

Q.  Well,  either  from  that  report,  or  from  your  own  ob- 
servations there,  how  long  do  you  think  the  quantity  of 
water  it  is  possible  to  collect  in  that  reservoir  would  last, 
consuming  what  would  be  necessary  to  reduce  all  the  ore 
of  the  Comstock  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  ? 

A.  I  think  it  would  last  through  the  whole  season. 

Q.  If  the  reservoir,  then,  would  contain  sufncient  water 
to  run  the  mills  necessary  for  the  reduction  of  the  ores  on 
the  Comstock,  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  couldn't  the 
same  amount  of  water  be  retained  in  the  mountains  at  the* 
headwaters  by  the  construction  of  a  number  of  dams 
there  ? 

A.  It  is,  undoubtedly,  possible. 

Q.  Is  it  not  cheaper  to  retain  the  same  amount  of  water 
there,  if  the  ground  is  farmable,  for  the  construction  of 
these  dams,  than  to  build  one  immense  dam  ? 

A.  That  is  a  question  which  it  is  impossible  to  answer 


416 

positively.  Where  the  commission  supposed  this  dam 
would  be  was  a  narrow  gorge,  where  the  darn  would  have 
an  inconsiderable  length. 

Q.  I  don't  know  whether  I  am  sufficiently  acquainted 
with  dams  to  know  whether  you  were  up  or  down  the 
river,  or  across  the  river. 

A.  Across  the  river. 

Q.  What  length  would  that  have? 

A.  It  is  stated  by  the  Surveyor  General,  that  at  the  point 
which  he  selected  and  nfeasured,  the  length  at  the  top  was 
837  feet. 

Q.  And  155  feet  in  height? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Is  that  from  the  bed  of  the  stream  ? 

A.  That  is  from  the  bed  of  the  stream. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  the  bed  of  the  stream — 
wLut  it  :c  composed  of — at  that  point  ? 

A.  I  do  not,  at  that  point. 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  it  is  rock  or  quicksand  ? 

A.  The  bed  along  that  portion  of  the  stream  is  generally 
rocky,  and  I  presume  that  rock  would  be  found  immedi- 
ately below  the  surface. 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  has  been  formed  in  the  bed  of 
other  streams  where  dams  have  been  constructed  ? 

A.  I  do  not. 

Q.  Were  they  reconstructing  the  Brunswick  dam  while 
you  were  there? 

A.  I  saw  nothing  of  the  kind  passing  up  and  down  the 
river. 

Q.  To  construct  that  dam  155  feet  high  from  the  bed  of 
the  river,  and  going  as  deep  as  it  may  be  to  get  to  the  bed- 
rock, as  we  call  it,  what  depth  of  foundation  would  it  be 
necessary  to  have  ? 

A.  That  would  be  a  matter  of  calculation.  I  never  have 
made  it. 

Q.  What  pitch  do  you  give  to  a  clam  of  that  height? 

A.  That  is  a  good  deal  a  matter  of  choice.  I  wouid  make 
the  slope  towards  the  water  a  gentle  one. 


417 

Q.  Say  45°? 

A.  Probably  so.  I  don't  know  whether  it  is  worth  while 
to  go  into  the  fall  explanation  of  the  thing.  You  <;an  give 
it,  of  course,  any  shape  you  please,  and  the  different  dimen- 
sions will  vary  as  compared  with  each  other.  If  you  give 
it  a  less  base,  we  must  make  it  thicker  at  the  top,  and  its 
particular  outline — cross-section — will  depend  entirely  upon 
the  question  of  economy. 

Q.  Of  what  material  is  it  proposed  to  build  that  dam? 

A.  Generally  of  rock,  I  think,  obtained  from  the  hills 
immediately  on  either  side. 

Q.  So  the  proposition  is  to  build  it  of  mason  work? 

A.  Not  of  masonry,  but  of  rock,  and  to  put  a  facing  on 
the  interior,  which  shall  be  water-tight  or  measureably  so. 

Q.  How  do  you  make  a  facing  that  will  be  water-tight, 
if  yon  don't  lay  mason  work? 

A.  We  can  lay  a  thin  skin  of  any  masonry,  or  it  will  be 
possible,  in  that  part  of  the  country,  to  build  it  of  timber. 
It  is  fresh  water,  not  subject  to  attack  from  worms,  and  as 
the  facing  would  be  always  covered  with  water,  it  would  last 
an  indefinite  period. 

Q.  What  is  the  formation  on  either  side  of  the  river 
there? 

A.  It  is  generally  volcanic  rock,  of  a  character  similar, 
in  general  terms,  to  that  found  on  the  line  of  the  tunnel. 

Q.  Have  you.  examined  the  estimate  made  by  General 
Day,  or  made  any  of  your  own,  as  to  the  cost  of  that  dam  ? 

A.  I  have  not  examined  the  estimate  of  General  Day  at 
all.  We  made  an  estimate  before  the  report  of  G-eneral 
Day  was  received,  in  which  we  assumed  a  certain  width 
across,  which  was  considerably  greater  than  is  given  in  his 
report  What  the  cost  was  I  do  not  remember,  but  my 
impression  is  somewhere  about  $400,000.  But  the  dam 
had  considerably  greater  length. 

Q.  What  is  his  estimate? 

A.  His  estimate  is  $200,000. 

Mr.  SHOBBR.  General,  how  far  above  the  mouth  of  the 
tunnel  is  it  proposed  to  construct  this  dam  ? 
27 


,    418 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  About  five  miles  or  so,  I  think. 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  About  5  J  in  its  windings.  I  should  think 
the  Franklin  mill  is  somewhere  in  the  neighborhood  of  it. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  The  windings  give  it  5J  miles.  Would  you 
consider  the  figures  given  by  Captain  Day  for  his  length 
of  the  dam  too  low? 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  That  I  could  not  tell  without  figuring  it. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  He  states  it  at  $200,000,  I  think. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  What  do  you  think  of  his  estimate  of 
the  cost  of  building  a  race  or  flume  or  canal? 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  His  estimate  is  $50,000  per  mile.  It  de- 
pends upon  the  ground  entirely.  The  larger  part  of  it 
could  be  built  for  very  much  less  than  that  sum. 

Q.  Is  the  nature  of  the  ground  such  there  that  you  could 
make  a  canal  at  all? 

A.  I  think  so.  In  a  large  part  of  it  you  certainly  can 
very  readily,  as  readily  as  they  build  the  present  flumes  to 
their  mills.  It  only  requires  a  wide,  deeper  cross-section, 
that  is  all.  It  would  be  like  their  ordinary  mill  flumes 
enlarged  in  width  and  depth. 

Q.  Well,  the  flume  is  understood  to  be  constructed  of 
timbers  and  planks? 

A.  We  used  the  term  in  its  general  sense  of  a  leader  of 
water  from  a  stream  or  a  dam  to  a  mill. 

Q.  Whether  it  would  be  practicable  to  build  any  conduit 
for  this  water  in  the  earth  without  planking;  that  is  what 
I  want  to  get  at. 

A.  An  open  canal  certainly  can  be  made  there.  It 
would  have  to  be  carried  across  either  by  an  embankment 
over  any  ravines,  or  in  a  timber  flume,  as  is  practised  there 
now  for  the  single  mills. 

Q.  Then  I  understand  you  to  say  that  the  success  of  this 
tunnel,  as  a  practical  benefit  to  the  Comstock,  depends  upon 
your  getting  this  water,  and  then  concentrating  ores  at  the 
mouth  of  the  cunnel,  so  as  to  reduce  the  expense? 

A.  You  have  got  to  do  both  of  those  things.  That  was 
our  conclusion. 


419 

Q.  Would  the  tunnel  practically  be  a  failure,  then,  so  far 
as  the  Comstock  is  concerned,  without  getting  both  ? 

A.  As  a  measure  of  economy,  it  would,  until  a  certain 
depth  is  attained. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  would  like  to  ask  a  ques- 
tion right  here,  if  Mr.  Sunderland  has  no  objection.  • 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  have  none. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  General  Wright,  I  would  ask  you  whether 
your  figures  upon  the  comparative  cost  of  working  as  they 
do  at  present,  and  by  means  of  the  tunnel,  is  not  furnished 
upon  the  estimates  of  the  superintendents  of  the  Comstock 
lode? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Supposing  these  figures  are  altogether  incorrect, 
would  that  not  alter  your  calcultions  in  regard  to  it? 

A.  Unquestionably.  They  are  based  entirely  upon  the 
correctness  of  the  figures  as  given  in  our  report. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  With  the  same  amount  of  water,  or 
the  same  amount  of  power  in  the  Carson  river,  could  not 
the  ores  be  reduced  at  the  mills  where  they  are  now  built^ 
adding  to  them  the  machinery  for  concentration,  as  cheaply 
as  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  ? 

A.  Before  answering  that  question,  I  would  like  to  know 
what  is  meant  by  the  same  amount  of  power  ? 

Q.  The  same  amount  of  power  that  you  propose  to  get 
at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel. 

A.  I  should  think  that  the  cost  of  concentration  and  re- 
duction would  not  differ  materially  if  they  could  command 
the  same  amount  of  power,  but  that  would  involve  the 
transportation  of  the  ore  to  these  mills. 

Q.  I  am  talking  now  about  the  reduction  of  the  ore  after 
delivered  at  the  mills. 

A.  Very  well.     That  is  the  answer  to  the  question. 

Q.  Now  you  have  mentioned  the  cost;  do  you  know 
the  charges  for  the  transportation  of  the  ore  through  the 
tunnel  ? 

A.  The  tunnel  company  are  authorized  to  charge  25 
cents  per  ton  of  ore. 


420 

Q.  What,  for  waste  rock  or  debris  ? 

A.  The  same. 

Q.  What  proportion  of  debris  is  there  to  the  ore  taken 
out  of  the  Corastock? 

A.  That  we  stated  could  not  be  stated  with  any  degree 
of  certainty.- 

Q.  There  is  a  very  large  amount,  is  there  not? 

A.   Yes;  there  is  a  large  amount. 

Q.  Probably  equal  to  the  ore  sent  to  the  mills? 

A.  One  of  the  superintendents,  in  his  report,  has  stated 
that  it  equals  or  exceeds,  but  the'exact  proportion  I  could 
not  give. 

Q.  Then  the  transporting  of  ore  or  debris  through  the 
tunnel  would  be  about  $2  50  a  ton  on  the  ore  ? 

A.  The  cost  of  transportation  we  have  taken  at  $1  25; 
but  if  you  have  as  much  debris,  it  would  be  $1  25  more; 
and,  if  that  is  all  charged  to  the  ore,  that  would  be  $2  50, 
of  course. 

Q.  Now,  do  you  know  what  the  average  of  cost  of  trans- 
portation is  from  the  Comstock  to  the  mills? 

A.  After  it  is  raised  to  the  surface,  I  understand,  by  the 
railroad  it  is  $2  a  ton;  to  some  of  the  nearer  mills  it  is  less. 
It  is  given  to  us,  I  think,  at  from  75  cents  to  $2,  but  to  the 
mills  on  the  Carson  I  understand  it  is  $2  per  ton. 

Q.  About  the  economy  of  reduction  of  ores  by  water 
power  and  machinery  for  concentration,  do  you  know  what 
it  can  be  reduced  for  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel? 
;    A.  I  do  not. 

Q.  You  don't  know? 

A.  No. 

Q.  You  don't  know  what  it  costs  the  mills  now  on  the 
Carson  river  to  reduce  ore,  do  you  ? 

A.  I  don't  think  anybody  but  the  mill-owners  know 
what  it  costs  .them  and  what  their  profits  are.  They  pay 
the  $2  a  ton  for  transportation.  They  get  $12  for  milling, 
I  believe,  as  a  rule,  of  which  $2  goes  for  the  transporta- 
tion of  the  ore  from  the  dumps  after  it  has  been  raised  to 


421 

the  surface.  For  milling  they  get  $10.  What  their  profits 
are  I  do  not  know. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  would  like  to  know  whether  this  is  to  he 
a  cross-examination,  or  whether  there  is  new  suhject-matter 
to  he  brought  in  by  Mr.  Sunderland.  If  that  is  the  case  I 
shall  insist  upon  a  re- cross-examination. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  Mr.  Sunderland  can  pursue  his  own  course, 
but  if  he  introduces  new  matter,  you  of  course  can  be  per- 
mitted to  cross-examine  in  reference  to  it. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  It  is  simply  a  question  of  whether  Mr. 
Sutro  has  all  the  rights  and  I  have  none.  You  have  stated, 
General,  in  your  report,  that  the  mills  charge  $12  for  trans- 
portation and  reduction? 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  The  mills  on  the  Carson  do. 

Q.  Do  your  know  whether  that  is  the  rule  with  all  the 
mills? 

A.  It  is  stated  in  the  reports  of  superintendents  that  other 
prices  are  paid  in  certain  cases. 

Q.  Above  or  below  that  ? 

A.  None  above,  so  far  as  I  know. 

Q.  Did  you  or  not  learn,  while  you  were  there,  that  ore 
had  been  reduced  at  an  expense  of  $8  to  $9  a  ton  to  the 
mine?  Did  you  hear  anything  about  it? 

A.  You  are  asking  me  questions  of  things  which  I  really 
don't  know  anything  about.  The  superintendent  of  the 
Savage  mine  states  in  his  report; 

"  The  cost  of  milling  ore  has  been,  for  the  last  year,  $9  95  per  ton,  aver- 
age. This  includes  transportation,  which  goats  from  75  cents  to  $3  per  ton, 
according  to  the  distance." 

The  Hale  and  RTorcross  superintendent  reports  that 

"  This  company  has  paid  from  $9  to  $12  for  milling  its  ore.  The  mills 
pay  their  own  transportation,  which  is  from  65  cents  to  $1  10  per  ton." 

The  Chollar  Potosi,  I  think,  paid  $12  all  the  way  through. 
The  superintendent  of  the  Imperial  and  Empire  mines  re- 
ports that  the  milling  was  done  at  the  company  mill,  at  a 
cost  of  $7  90,  including  hauling,  which  is  45  cents  per  ton. 

Q.  Now,  General,  in  forming  an -estinlate  of  the  economy 
and  advisability  of  reducing  ores  at  the  mouth  of  the  tun- 


422 

-3T 

nel,  would  it  have  been  very  important  to  ascertain  what 
it  now  costs  to  reduce  ore  on  the  Carson  river  ? 

A.  I  have  no  doubt  it  would,  if  it  were  possible  to  do  so. 

Q.  Wouldn't  it  have  been  very  easy  to  ascertain  what  it 
did  cost? 

A.  I  think  not. 

Q.  Did  you  ask  for  any  information  of  anybody  there 
about  the  cost  of  milling  or  mining  that  you  did  not  get  ? 

A.  I  cannot  say  that  we  did. 

Q.  You  didn't  ask  any  mill-owner  what  it  cost  him  to 
reduce  ore  on  the  Carson  river,  did  you  ? 

A.  I  did  not. 

Q.  Do  you  think  that  the  charge  made  by  the  mill- 
owners  to  the  mining  company  is  a  fair  basis  for  the  ex- 
pense of  reducing  the  ores,  and  therefore  to  inake  a  com- 
parison between  the  present  cost  of  milling  and  what  the 
cost  would  be  if  the  ores  were  reduced  at  the  mouth  of  the 
tunnel? 

A.  Our  comparison  was  not  made  on  any  such  basis. 
It  was  made  upon  the  basis  of  cheaper  milling  and  con- 
centrating where  a  sufficiency  of  power  could  be  com- 
manded at  all  times.  This  was  made,  of  course,  in  con- 
nection with  the  other  advantages  or  disadvantages  of  the 
use  of  the  tunnel,  as  compared  with  the  present  mode  of 
mining. 

Q.  Then,  as  I  understand  you,  the  great  advantage,  so 
far  as  the  removing  of  the  mills  is  concerned  to  the  mouth 
of  the  tunnel,  is  in  the  saving  and  economizing  of  the  water 
in  an  immense  reservoir,  and  retaining  it  there  until  the 
dry  season  comes  off'? 

A.  It  is  that  in  part,  and  it  is  in  part  in  having  your 
mills  at  the  point  at  which  the  ore  is  delivered  at  the  sur- 
face. 

Q.  But  if  the  transportation  of  the  ore  through  the  tun- 
nel costs  the  sum  that  you  have  mentioned,  is  it  any  cheaper 
to  go  through  the  tunnel  than  it  is  to  transport  it  on  the 
railroad. 

A.  Well,  I  cannot  answer  it  any  better  than  to  give  the 


423 

figures  in  the  report.  They  state  the  matured  views  of 
the  commission,  and,  I  helieve,  each  member  of  the  com- 
mission, after  undergoing  patient  investigation,  and  after 
all  these  points  were  familiar  to  all  of  us. 

Q.  If  you  add  to  the  expense  of  the  transportation  of 
the  ore  through  the  tunnel  that  of  transportation  of  debris 
and  timber,  lumber  and  miners,  would  it  be  any  economy 
to  work  through  the  tunnel,  rather  than  to  pay  the  trans- 
portation on  the  ore  to  the  Carson  river  and  the  mills 
where  they  now  exist  ? 

A.  I  cannot  answer  that  any  better  than  it  is  answered 
in  the  report.  There  are  certain  matters  of  expense,  as, 
for  instance,  that  of  debris,  which  it  is  impossible  to  sub- 
mit to  positive  calculation.  As  we  have  stated  in  our  re- 
port, the  amount  of  debris  varies  in  the  different  mines, 
and  in  the  same  mines  under  different  circumstances. 
"When  miners  are  working  on  a  bonanza  the  amount  of  deb- 
ris is  inconsiderable ;  where  they  are  prospecting  it  is  all 
debris,  and  it  would  be  very  easy  to  say  that  the  amount 
of  debris  in  all  the  mines  is  equal  to  that  of  all  the  ore 
taken  out  in  a  year,  or  that  it  is  twice  as  much,  or  three 
times  as  much,  or  a  quarter  as  much;  and  I  .am  no  more 
willing  to  give  one  of  those  numbers  than  another. 

Q.  Now,  General,  I  believe  we  have  talked  about  venti- 
lation as  much  as  I  want  to.  I  will  ask  you  about  the  mat- 
ter of  drainage.  Supposing  these  main  shafts,  in  all  the 
principal  min.es  on  the  Comstock,  should  be  below  the 
tunnel  level  before  the  tunnel  reaches  the  Comstock,  'of 
what  considerable  advantage  will  the  tunnel  be  in  the  way 
of  drainage? 

A.  It  will  save  the  raising  of  water  an  average  of  per- 
haps some  1,650  or  1,700  feet,  depending  upon  the  level  of 
the  tops  of  their  shafts. 

Q.  The  value  of  that  water,  when  raised  to  the  surface, 
will  be  so  much  loss  to  the  mining  companies? 

A.  I  should  presume  so;  but  it  would  be  used  by  the 
reduction  mills  at  the  month  for  the  very  purpose  it  is  used 
for  now,  as  I  understand  it,  to  some  extent. 


424 

Q.  I  am  glad  you  mentioned  that,  I  want  to  ask  you 
now  of  what  value  would  the  water  be  in  the  Comstock 
that  would  be  drained  by  the  tunnel?  Where  could  it  be 
utilized,  and  for  what  purpose? 

A.  It  could  be  used  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  for  power, 
or  for  the  various  purposes  for  which  it  is  necessary  in  the 
reduction  and  concentrating  mills.  . 

Q.  Something  has  been  said  during  this  examination 
about  the  use  of  this  water,  found  in  the  ledge  at  the  tunnel 
level,  for  compressing  air  for  motive  power  generally. 
Is  the  supply  of  water  on  the  Comstock  so  regular  or  cer- 
tain, as  that  it  can  be  made  of  any  practical  use  on  that 
level  for  any  such  purpose? 

A.  That  question  cannot  be  answered  positively.  It 
would  be  subject  to  great  fluctuations  undoubtedly,  and 
there  would  be  that  objection  to  its  use;  but  that  it  might 
be  used  as  a  supplement  to  other  power  is  of  course  possi- 
ble; whether  it  would  be  economical  or  not  is,  of  course, 
a  matter  that  cannot  be  determined  now  or  here. 

Q.  If  you  use  water  power  or  any  other  power  for  com- 
pressing air  to  be  used  on  the  tunnel  level,  you  want  that 
supply  of  power  to  be  regular,  don't  you?  Must  it  not 
necessarily  be  so  ? 

A.  It  would  be  much  better  to  be  regular;  and  it  might 
be  so  irregular  as  to  make  it  not'  worth  while  to  use  it  at 
that  point,  but  to  allow  it  to  flow  out  at  the  mouth  of  the 
tunnel  and  use  it  there.  That  would  be  a  question  of  dol- 
lars and  cents. 

Q.  Well,  there  is  no  doubt  it  could  be  used  at  the  mouth 
of  the  tunnel  economically,  but  would  you  rely  upon  it  as 
of  any  value  for  use  in  the  mines  ? 

A.  That,  as  1  said  before,  is  impossible  to  say.  It  could 
not  be  relied  upon  as  the  only  power  for  use  in  the  mines, 
and  it  would  be  a  simple  question  of  dollars  and  cents 
whether  it  should  be  used  there  at  all  or  not.  If  it  can  be 
used  economically,  they  will  use  it;  if  it  cannot,  they  won't. 
The.  amount  of  water  can  only  be  determined  after  they 
have  reached  the  tunnel  level. 


425 

Q.  I  believe  you  have  stated,  General,  in  yo\ir  report, 
that  the  water  decreased  as  you  attain  depth  on  the  lode? 

A.  That  seems  to  be  the  general  opinion,  and  I  have  not 
the  slightest  doubt  of  it,  in  my  own  mind,  from  what  I  saw 
and  learned  there. 

Q.  Now,  in  the  Sierra  Nevada  and  Chollar,  both  of 
which  I  mentioned  before  on  the  question  of  ventilation,  is 
there  any  water  to  be  pumped  or  drained  that  would  make 
the  tunnel  any  benefit  to  them  as  they  are  now  working? 

A.  None  whatever,  so  far  as  I  know.  Certainly  not  in 
the  Chollar;  I  believe  not  in  the  other. 

Q.  Where  does  this  low-grade  ore  exist,  so  for  as  you 
know  or  are  informed  ?  You  have  spoken  of  large  bodies 
of  low-grade  ore.  I  mean  where  is  it — near  the  surface,  or 
on  the  lower  level  ? 

A.  Generally  it  is  at  what  may  be  considered  the  upper 
level.  It  is  not  at  the  deep  levels. 

Q.  Those  levels  are  now  drained,  are  they  not? 

A. '  So  far  as  they  have  been  yet  worked,  they  are. 

Q.  There  is  no  water  there  any  longer  to  interfere  with 
the  working  ? 

A.  I  saw  none  of  any  moment. 

Q.  Then,  could  the  tunnel  be  of  any  benefit  to  the  mines 
in  the  mining  and  extraction  of  these  low-grade  ores  ? 

A.  In  many  instances  this  low-grade  ore  has  been  al- 
ready mined,  and  has  been  used  for  filling.  So  far  as  that 
is  concerned,  the  tunnel  will  be  of  no  use  for  drainage ; 
but  there  are  some  portions,  as  I  understand,  that  have 
not  been  mined  at  all,  or  have  been  passed  over  as  not 
now  worth  the  mining;  but  in  the  process  of  mining  these, 
pockets  may  be  struck,  and  a  Targe  amount  of  water  let 
into  the  mines. 

Q.  Do  you  know  how  long  the  Chollar  Potosi.has  been 
mined  without  pumping? 

A.  It  is  stated,  I  think,  by  the  superintendent  in  the 
report.  I  would  prefer  to  refer  to  that,  rather  than  to  give 
my  own  memory. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  It  is  not  disputed  at  all  that  there  is  no 


426 

water  in  the  upper  levels.  It  all  finds  its  way  to  the  bot- 
tom. There  couldn't  be  any  water  here.  It  goes  down  to 
the  bottom  of  the  shaft. 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  His  answer  in  reference  to  the  cost  of 
pumping  is,  that  for  two  years  last  this  mine  has  been 
entirely  exempted  from  pumping. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Now,  is  there  any  water  in  that  mine 
where  it  is  being  worked  ? 

A.  JSTone  of  any  moment. 

Q.  No  water  pumped  out  of  the  shaft? 

A.  No  pumping  at  all. 

Q.  Then,  if  you  were  to  stop  work  on  all  the  mines  on 
the  Comstock,  would  the  water  rise  to  these  upper  levels, 
where  the  low-grade  ore  is  found  ? 

A.  That  I  cannot  say.  I  should  suppose  after  a  very 
long  time  it  might. 

Q.  It  hasn't  risen  for  two  years  in  the  Chollar  mine? 

A.  It  has  not. 

Q.  Did  you  hear  anything  when  you  were  there  about  a 
project  of  bringing  water  in  from  the  eastern  slope  of  the 
Sierra  Nevadas? 

A.  I  did  not;  or  perhaps  I  should  in  answer  to  that  say, 
that  Mr.  Sharon  spoke  of  bringing  water  from  someplace — 
which,  as  I  understand,  was  the  Washoe  lake — by  means 
of  pipes. 

Q.  The  proposition  is,  to  bring  water  from  different 
lakes  and  from  a  stream  which  is  called  Franktown  creek, 
by  means  of  a  reservoir  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Sierras, 
considerably  above  the  leve*  of  Virginia  City,  in  an  inverted 
siphon  ? 

A.  Oh,  there  was  a  project  for  bringing  water  to  Vir- 
ginia City. 

Q.  That  is  what  I  am  talking  about.  Suppose  that  water 
to  be  brought  in  there  now,  could  not  the  water  be  used 
for  the  compressing  of  air  and  sending  it  down  the  differ- 
ent shafts  to  any  levels,  and  then  be  used  afterwards  at 
the  different  hoisting  works,  by  the  two  towns  of  Virginia 
City  and  Gold  Hill  and  by  the  mills  in  the  neighborhood  ? 


427 

A.  You  couldn't  use  it  but  once  on  the  same  level. 

Q.  I  was  talking  about  using  it  as  power  on  tbe  surface? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  Then  saving  the  water  and  using  it  for  these  other 
purposes  ? 

A.  It  would,  so  far  as  it  would  go,  of  course. 

Q.  Supposing  you  bring  it  on  Mount  Davidson,  200  feet 
above  the  different  shafts  ? 

A.  But  you  don't  want  to  bring  it  up  there.  It  depends 
upon  what  height  you  bring  It  from.  In  bringing  it  over, 
they  will  undoubtedly  bring  it  over  the  lowest  point  they 
can  that  is  higher  than  the  town;  and  they  get  then  the 
pressure  of  the  water  from  the  head  from  which  it  comes; 
but,  by  going  over  a  greater  height,  you  get  no  more  pres- 
sure. The  pressure  depends  upon  the  difference  in  the 
levels  of  the  entrance  of  the  water  and  its  delivery,  when 
carried  in  pipes. 

Q.  I  am  supposing  now,  General,  that  it  will  be  brought 
in  there  and  emptied  in  a  reservoir  on  the  side  of  Mount 
Davidson,  and'then  be  used  as  a  power  to  compress  air 
and  send  it  down  the  different  shafts.  It  don't  use  up 
the  water  again,  but  it  may  still  be  retained  at  a  sufficient 
height  to  use  it  for  the  different  hoisting  works  and  for  the 
two  towns.  Is  that  practicable? 

A.  My  answer  would  be  a  snap  judgment  entirely.  I 
should  not  suppose  it  would  be,  in  an  economical  point  of 
view,  to  bring  water  in  that  way  in  pipes,  and  in  sufficient 
quantity  to  fill  a  reservoir,  to  supply  all  thosie  wants. 

Q.  Is  there  any  cost  in  bringing  the  water  after  the  first 
construction  of  the  works? 

A.  None  whatever  but  keeping  them  in  order. 

Q.  Do  you  know  the  estimated  cost  of  bringing  that 
water  in  ? 

A.  I  do  not  remember.  It  was  stated  by  somebody 
there,  but  I  have  forgotten  entirely  what  the  estimate  was. 
I  know  it  was  further  spoken  of  as  a  project  that  probably 
would  not  be  carried  out,  but  whether  that  would  be  so  or 


428 

not  I  do  not  know.  It  was  that  it  would  not  be  carried 
out  on  account  of  the  cost. 

Q.  Did  you  hear  $400,000  or  $500,000  mentioned  as  the 
cost  ? 

A.  I  don't  remember.  I  should  think  it  was  a  good  deal 
more  than  that.  The  water  was  to  be  brought  for  the  use 
of  the  town,  as  I  understand  it,  simply  to  supplement  their 
present  supply. 

Q.  What  is  the  water  used  for  there  now,  generally? 

A.  For  all  the  purposes  of  life. 

Q.  It  supplies  all  the  hoisting  works,  don't  it  ? 

A.  No,  sir ;  not  all. 

Q.  What  hoisting  works  are  now  without  it? 

A.  They  use  what  they  pump  out,  in  part. 

Q.  Do  you  know  how  many  steam  mills  are  run  by  that 
water  ? 

A.  I  haven't  the  slightest  idea. 

Q.  Ain't  those  in  Seven  Mile  canon  under  that  "Water 
company  ? 

A.  I  suppose  they  must  get  their  supply  from  that  Water 
company,  except  what  they  get  from  pumping  and  what 
they  purchase  from  other  mills.  Some  of  these  mines  pro- 
duce more  water  than  they  can  use,  and  they  can  sell  it  out 
to  other  mills. 

Q.  Don't  that  Water  company  run  all  the  mills  now  in 
the  ca|ion,  from  Gold  Hill  down  to  the  lower  end  of  Silver 
City? 

A.  I  don't  know.  Most  of  them  were  not  running  at 
all  when  I  was  there. 

Q.  Don't  you  think  it  practical,  General,  to  place  engines, 
to  be  operated  with  compressed  air,  at  a  depth  of  2,000  or 
2,500  feet  below  the  surface  ? 

A.  Undoubtedly.  Your  receiver  is  there ;  your  power  is 
manufactured  at  the  surface,  and  forced  down  into  these 
shafts. 

Q.  Wouldn't  that  afford  ample  air  for  ventilation  in  the 
mines  where  it  is  necessary  to  have  it  ? 

A.  It  would,  undoubtedly. 


429 

Q.  How  much,  farther,  then,  could  you  get? 

A.  As  far  down  as  man  can  go. 

Q.  That  is  a  little  uncertain,  I  suppose  ? 

A.  I  believe  so. 

Q.  Did  you  state,  General,  what  per  cent,  would  be 
gained  in  the  ability  of  men  to  work  if  the  vein  were 
improved  beyond  what  it  now  is  ? 

A.  I  did  not. 

Q.  I  believe  you  were  not  able  to  arrive  at  that  ? 

A.  I  was  not  able  to  arrive  at  any  percentage  ? 

Q.  In  your  opinion,  as  expressed  in  your  report,  you 
think  there  is  a  possibility  of  striking  other  mines  on  the 
line  of  this  tunnel,  do  you  not  ? 

A.  I  think  there  is  a  possibility,  certainly. 

Q.  Any  probability? 

A.  That  is  a,  question  I  cannot  answer.  I  do  not  see 
any  reason  why  they  couldn't  strike  other  veins.  Veins 
show  themselves  on  the  surface.  They  seem,  to  be  large. 

Q.  How  many  veins  did  you  see  there  between  the 
mouth  of  the  tunnel  and  the  Comstock? 

A,  Three. 
,  Q.  What  were  they? 

A.  The  first  was  the  vein  in  which  the  Solferino  mine 
is  situated. 

Q.  That  is  the  nearest  to  the  Comstock? 

A.  Yes.  The  next  was  the  Monte  Christo,  on  which 
was  situated  the  Occidental  and  the  St.  John's,  and  sundry 
other  mines.  And  the  third  we  have  down  as  the  claims 
that  we  examined,  formerly  worked  by  Dr.  Buncher.  It 
is  east  of  the  Monte  Christo. 

Q.  What  value  do  you  think  there  is  in  any  of  these 
veins?  Did  you  see  any  evidence  of  any  value  ? 

A.  Oh,  yes. 
E  Q.  What? 

A.  One  running  from  the  Solferino  mine,  which  they 
were  then,  working,  and  one  in  the  St.  John's  mine. 

Q.  Who  was  working  the  Solferino? 

A.  I  don't  know  who  it  was. 


430 

Q.  How  much  ore  were  they  getting  out  ? 

.A.  Very  little.    They  were  working  in  a  rude  way. 

Q.  How  wide  was  the  ledge? 

A.  That  I  don't  know.  I  didn't  inquire  particularly 
about  it. 

Q.  You  didn't  go  down  into  it? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  it  was  six  inches  wide  or 
twelve  ? 

A.  I  don't  know  how  wide  the  vein  was,  hut  there  were 
indications  of  the  general  lode  upon  the  surface. 

Q.  They  got  some  rich  assays  out  of  that.  It  has  broken 
every  man  that  ever  stuck  to  it  long  enough. 

A.  They  were  hoisting  up  ore  and  testing  it,  and  they 
got  out  the  gold  first. 

Q.  They  got  some  very  rich  assays  from  that.  Now, 
about  the  Occidental.  That  is  on  the  Monte  Christo.  Were 
they  working  that? 

A.  They  were  not. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  its  value? 

A.  I  do  not.  It  was  sold  out  some  time  ago,  and  was 
purchased  by  Colonel  Pair.  Perhaps  some  others  were 
connected  with  him.  He  told  me,  with  others,  that  he  was 
going  to  work  it  again. 

Q.  He  didn't  want  the  tunnel  to  meet  it,  did  he  ? 

A.  He  didn't  say  anything  about  it. 

Q.  Don't  you  know  it  is  very  much  poorer  on  the  level 
of  the  lower  tunnel  than  it  was  above,  where  it  was  worked  ? 

A.  No ;  I  don't  know  positively. 

Q.  Well,  it  is  not  worked  at  all  on  the  level  of  the  low 
tunnel  ? 

A.  It  isn't  worked  at  all  at  the  present  time. 

Q.  It  never  has  been.     How  much  space?- 

A.  No  very  large  space.  There  were  some  stopes  in  the 
lower  tunnel,  according  to  my  recollection. 

Q.  What  was  your  information  as  to  whether  it  would 
pay  at  all  ? 


431 

A.  My  information  was  that  it  had  not  paid,  for  the  com- 
pany had  sold  it  out. 

Q.  The  Solferino  has  sold  out  too,  I  suppose? 

A.  I  don't  know.  I  will  say  that  the  people  of  Gold  Hill 
and  Virginia  City  have  no  confidence  in  anything  but  in 
the  Comstock.  .  It  would  be  hard  to  induce  them  to  put 
money  in  that  mine. 

Q.  Do  you  know  why  Dr.  Buncher  has  stopped  work- 
ing his  mine  there  ? 

A.  I  understood  he  had  a  very  small  capital,  and  that 
he  was  driven  out  by  water. 

Q.  Speaking  of  this  tunnel  as  an  exploring  work,  of 
what  considerable  advantage  would  it  be  to  any  of  these 
veins,  or  to  the  Comstock,  to  run  a  single  drift  at  right 
angles  across  the  vein  ? 

A.  It  would  enable  an  exploration  of  these  veins  to  the 
right  and  left,  at  comparatively  small  expense,  at  a  great 
depth. 

.    Q.  Did  you  go  into  the  lowest  tunnel  running  into  the 
Comstock  ? 

A.  I  think  we  did;  if  I  recollect  aright  it  was  in  the 
Gould  and  Curry.  There  has  been  a  cave-in  in*  General 
Van  Bokelen's;  there  had  been  a  cave-in  in  it,  and  he  was 
not  willing  to  enter  it  himself. 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  was  the  information  upon  the 
question  of  that  ever  having  developed  anything? 

A.  I  understood  it  had  developed  nothing.  They  passed 
through  the  vein  at  a  barren  point. 

Q.  Then  you  think  it  very  possible,  General,  to  run 
through  a  vein  like  the  Comstock  with  a  single  drift  with- 
out encountering  any  ore  at  all  ? 

A.  The  chances  are  that  you.;  will  pass  through  a  barren 
spot,  as  the  barren  portions  far  exceed  the  ore-paying 
portions. 

Q.  I  will  ask  you  as  to  the  character  of  these  superin- 
tendents with  whom  you  came  in  contact  while  you  were 
there? 

A.  Well,  I  considered  them  as  entirely  reliable  men, 


432 

men  of  a  high  order  of  intelligence,  and  I  was  satisfied 
that  the  information  they  gave  us,  so  far  as  facts  were  con- 
cerned, was  correct,  or  as  nearly  correct  as  they  could 
make  it.  They  believed  it  to  be  correct.  As  far  as  their 
opinions  went  we  did  not  always  agree  with  tliem,  as 
shown  in  our  report. 

Q.  Are  not  the  books  of  the  different  mining  companies 
kept  in  such  «a  manner  that  they  know,  by  reference  to 
them,  all  the  facts  that  they  pretend  to  state  in  their 
reports? 

A.  I  so  understand  it.  The  books  that  we  looked  at 
were  kept  in  great  detail,  much  greater  than  I  had  ex- 
pected to  find. 

Q.  What  have  you  to  say  as  to  their  skill  in  mining  and 
conducting  the  business  of  the  companies  which  they 
control  ?  • • - 

A.  They  all  appeared  to  me  to  be  able  men,  and  I  have 
no  doubt  they  conducted  the  business  as  economically  as 
they  well  can,  and  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  companies,  or 
they  would  substitute  others  for  them. 

Q.  What  was  your  opinion  as  to  the  mode  of  their 
mining?-  Did  you  have  any  improvement  to  suggest  upon 
the  present  mode  of  working  the  Comstock? 

A.  Well,  I  suggested  the  use  of  compressed  air  to  a  cer- 
tain extent,  and  the  use  of  machine  drills  in  the  place  of 
hand  drills. 

Q.  Both  those  improvements  might  be  introduced  with- 
out running  the  Sutro  tunnel,  might  they  not? 

A.  Of  course  they  could  be  used  in  either  way  of  oper- 
ating the  mines. 

Q.  What  kind  of  drills  are  used  in  the- Sutro  tunnel? 

A.  When  we  were  the^e  they  were  conducting  their 
operations  on  a  small  scale,  in  the  same  manner  in  which 
they  were  conducted  in  the  mines. 

Q.  In  the  same  manner  and  with  the  same  kind  of 
drills? 

A.  Yes ;  hand  drills. 


433 

Q.  Double  drills — that  is,  one  man  holds  a  drill,  and  the 
other  strikes  ? 

A.  As  a  general  rule,  yes. 

Q.  There  has  been  a  question  raised  here  as  to  whether 
there  was  sufficient  capital  on  the  Pacific  coast  to  operate 
these  mines.  Did  you  see  any  evidence  of  want  of  capital 
there  for  any  purpose? 

A.  I  did  not ;  but  I  don't  know  the  amount  of  capital 
on  the  Pacific  coast,  of  course. 

Q.  Well,  at  Virginia  City  or  Gold  Hill? 

A.  I  saw  no  evidence  of  want  capital  either  there  or  in 
California, 

Q.  Did  you  observe  an*y  evidence  of  any  such  jealousies 
between  different  mining  companies  there  as  to  interfere 
with  the  effective  and  effectual  working  of  the  mines  ? 

A.  I  cannot  say  that  I  did.  I  thought,  as  a  general  rule, 
they  worked  together  whenever  it  was  for  their  mutual  in- 
terests. In  certain  cases  I  know  they  did. 

Q.  Sometimes  where  they  did  not  like  each  other  very 
well? 

A.  I  think  very  likely.  Their  interests  generally  con- 
trol them. 

Q.  The  accuracy  of  these  reports  has  been  attacked,  and 
particularly  the  report  of  Captain  Day.  Have  you  any  rea^ 
son  to  doubt  the  accuracy  of  his  report,  as  far  as  he  gives 
the  cost  of  pumping  and  the  cost  of  drifting  and  sinking 
of  shafts? 

A.  I  have  not. 

Q.  Will  you  state  now  whether  there  is  any  difference 
in  cost  of  raising  a  ton  of  water,  by  pumping  or  otherwise, 
and  a  ton  of  ore  ? 

A.  There  must  be  a  great  difference  ordinarily. 

Q.  Why? 

A.  In  pumping,  the  power  is  in  constant  action ;  water 
is  constantly  being  raised.  In  the  other  case  it  is  done  in- 
termittently. The  application  of  power  to  the  raising  of 
ore  in  the  different  mines  is  not,  as  a  general  rule,  as 
economical  as  in  pumping;  and,  as  explaining  the  first  part 
28 


434 

of  my  answer,  I  would  say  that  the  expense  of  raising  500 
tons  a  day  by  hoisting,  or  100  tons,  is  not  as  one  to  five. 

Q.  About  what  would  be  the  difference? 

A.  That  I  could  not  give  in  figures;  but  as  many  engi- 
neers, firemen,  &c.,  have  to  be  employed  for  100  tons  as 
for  500.  They  must  have  the  same  power.  They  may 
have  less  boiler  capacity,  but  they  must  have  the  same 
power  to  hoist  100  tons  as  500. 

Q.  Will  there  be  any  difference  in  the  cost  of  raising 
600  tons  per  day  and  100,  except  as  to  the  consumption  of 
fuel? 

A.  There  will  be  something  in  the  wear  and  tear,  be- 
sides the  use  of  oils,  &c. 

Q.  That  would  be  inconsiderable, though,  would  it  not? 

A.  Yes,  compared  with  the  other  cost. 

Q.  "What  quantity  of  ore  do  you  think  would  be  hoisted 
in  twenty-four  hours  through  two  compartments  in  a  shaft 
by  a  double  cage  ? 

A.  I  have  no  means  of  knowing.  About  250  tons  of  ore 
is  as  much  as  they  generally  raise;  but  if  so  much  could  be 
delivered,!  should  think  they  could  hoist  600  tons  through 
two  compartments. 

Q.  You  refer  to  Mr.  Atwood  in  your  report,  General. 
Do  you  know  what  position  he  occupies  in  the  Oomstock  ? 

A.  The  information  in  reference  to  Mr.  Atwood  was 
obtained  entirely  by  a  single  member  of  the  commission, 
not  myself.  As  I  understand  it,  he  is  now  on  the  Eberhart 
mine,  in  White  Pine. 

Q.  Where  do  you  get  that  information  from,  that  he  is 
on  the  Eberhart  ? 

A.  It  was  obtained  from  one  of  the  members  of  the 
commission,  who  saw  him, and  had  the  interview.  I  did 
not  see  him  myself,  and  could  say  nothing  as  to  personal 
knowledge. 

Q.  He  was  working  the  Eberhart  in  San  Francisco,  was 
he  not,  when  that  information  was  obtained? 

A.  That  is  more  than  I  can  say. 

Q.  Well,  that  was  obtained  in  San  Francisco? 


435 

A.  That  is  more  than  I  know. 

Q.  Was  any  member  of  the  commission  at  White  Pine? 

A.  No. 

Q.  The  Eberhart  is  at  White  Pine? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Then  the  information  from  Mr.  Atwood  was  not 
gained  at  White  Pine  ? 

A.  It  was  not  gained  at  White  Pine.  I  am  not  sure 
whether  it  was  gained  at  Virginia  City,  or  San  Francisco, 
or  New  York.  My  impression  is  that  it  was  got  at  Vir- 
ginia City  or  Gold  Hill,  but  I  am  not  certain.  The  in- 
formation and  notes  were  brought  to  us  by  Dr.  ^Tewcomb, 
who  met  him.  I  did  not  see  him,  and  I  think  General 
Foster  did  not. 

Q.  There  has  been  an  attempt  here,  General,  to  discredit 
the  present  mode  of  working  the  Comstock,  and  to  create 
a  prejudice  against  the  present  owners  of  the  Comstock, 
on  account  of  their  stock-jobbing,  as  one  witness  has  said  : 

"  "When  they  have  Ore  in  the  mines,  they  are  generally  worked  for  the 
benefit  of  the  stockholders;  when  they  have  no  ore,  the  mines  are  worked 
in  San  Francisco." 

Do  you  know  anything  about  that? 

A.  I  do  not.  I  have  heard  it  stated  there  often,  how- 
ever, that  stock  was  purchased  in  these  mines  not  for  pur- 
poses of  investment,  but  for  purposes  of  speculation,  and 
that  seemed  to  be  the  general  idea.  That  is  about  all  I 
know  in  reference  to  the  management. 

Q.  It  has  been  said  that,  when  ore  is  discovered  in  a 
mine,  the  parties  in  control  take  advantage  of  the  other 
stockholders  and  buy  the  stock.  Do  you  know  anything 
about  that? 

A.  I  cannot  say  that  I  do.  There  was  one  instance  in 
which  it  was  supposed  that  a  strike  had  been  made  in  the 
Belcher,  and  one  individual  connected  with  it,  as  soon  as- 
he  heard  of  the  strike,  purchased  stock;  at  least  he  in- 
formed me  that  he  did;  and  he  informed  me  next  day  that 
he  had  lost  money  on  it.. 

Q.  Were  you  in  the  Belcher  ? 


436 

A.  I  did  not  go  into  the  Belcher  at  all. 

Q.  Don't  you  know  that  that  body  of  ore  was  found  in 
.the  Crown  Point,  and  then  ran  across  the  line  i^to  the 
Belcher? 

A.  It  was  supposed  to  be  a  continuation  of  the  Crown 
Point.  It  proved  to  be  a  very  small  deposit. 

Q.  When  ore  is  discovered,  its  discovery  must  neces- 
sarily be  by  running  a  drift  or  a  shaft,  or  by  sinking  a 
winze,  or  by  drilling? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  Well,  somebody  has  got  to  know  that  first,  haven't 
they? 

A.  Certainly. 

Q.  Anything  unnatural  in  the  first  man  that  finds  it  not 
buying  stock  ?  . 

A.  I  don't  see  anything  unnatural. 

Q.  Is  there  anything  wrong  in  it  ? 

A.  I  don't  know  that  I  would  like  to  give  an  opinion  on 
a  moral  question.  Men  will  do  it.  I  rather  distrust  my 
judgment  on  such  points. 

Q.  Well,  supposing  this  thing  to  be  wrong,  and  all  these 
men  who  control  the  Comstock  to  be  great  rascals,  as<  Mr. 
Sutro  claims,  do  you  think  the  moral  influence  of  the  tun- 
nel would  do  away  with  all  that?  Wouldn't  you  discover 
the  ore  in  the  tunnel  in  the  same  way,  if  the  tunnel  were  in, 
as  now? 

A.  I  do  not  see  why  not,  exactly  in  the  same  way,  and 
why  there  would  not  be  the  same  advantages  taken  by 
somebody;  and  I  do  not  see  why  not  by  the  same  parties. 

Q.  If  the  parties  who  now  control  the  Comstock  mines 
continue  to  control  them,  would  the  running  of  the  tunnel 
effect  any  revolutions  in  that  respect  ? 

A.  I  don't  see  how  it  could.  They  will  get  the  first  in- 
formation when  they  can. 


HEARING  SATURDAY  EVENING,  MARCH  SD. 

• 
Re-cross-examination  of  Gen.  Wright. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  General  Wright,  you  stated,  in  answer  to  a 
question  by  Mr.  SunderlancTj  that  the  draught  between 
Crown  Point  and  Yellow  Jacket  is  very  strong? 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  I  did. 

Q.  How  far  are  these  shafts  apart,  General? 

A.  I  do  not  remember  at  all.  It  could  easily  be  meas- 
ured on  the  map,  and  the  exact  distance  be  found. 

Q.  The  map  gives  about  600  feet? 

A.  I  should  suppose  that  would  be  about  it. 

Q.  There  is  no  difficulty  in  drifting  a  distance  of  600 
feet?  In  connecting  these  shafts  each  drift  would  have  to 
go  300  feet? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  There  would  be  no  difficulty  in  extending  such  a 
drift  every  100  feet  of  descent,  every  level  they  open  ? 

A.  At  every  level;  no  difficulty  whatever. 

Q.  ISTow,  supposing  you  wanted  to  explore  the  Comstock 
lode  between  two  distant  points,  where  there  is  no  inter- 
vening shaft,  say,  for  instance,  between  the  Hale  and  ISTor- 
cross  shaft  and  the  Imperial  shaft,  how  would  you  go  to 
work  to  ventilate  that  mine? 

A.  I  should  ventilate  it  by  forcing  air  into  the  drifts  by 
means  of  machinery  placed  upon  the  surface. 

Q.  That  would  then  be  artificial  ventilation  entirely? 

A.  Yes,  of  course. 

Q.  And  very  difficult  ventilation  ? 

A.  I  don't  think  very  difficult  ventilation.  It  would  be 
purely  artificial  ventilation.  I  should  not  consider  it  as 
difficult  ventilation,  because  the  Sutro  Tunnel  Company 
have  run  their  drift  in  about  half  a  mile,  and  their  work- 
ing is  by  means  of  air  forced  in,  and  it  is  perfectly  good 
air.  * 

437 


438 

Q.  General,  do  you  know  that  there  is  any  difference  in 
driving  in  air  horizontally  or  perpendicularly,  when  you 
use  these  force  blowers? 

A.  There  would  probably  be  some  more  difficulty  in 
getting  it  down  to  the  level  than  there  would  be  in  run- 
ning it  horizontally.. 

Q.  Isn't  the  resistance  greater  in  the  case  of  driving  it 
down  ? 

A.  Certainly;  somewhat  greater. 

Q.  Isn't  heat  generated  by  compressing  air? 

A.  As  you  compress  air  you  of  course  generate  heat,  in 
accordance  with  a  well-known  law. 

Q.  Then  it  would  be  an  exceedingly  difficult  thing  to 
bring  about  natural  ventilation  "between  two  distant  shafts? 
The  case  of  the  Yellow  Jacket  and  Crown  Point  would  not 
apply  there  ? 

A.  It  would  be  impossible  to  establish  an  air  connection, 
unless  you  had  an  absolute  connection  between  the  two 
shafts. 

Q.  If  you  want  to  ventilate  a  mine  thoroughly,  you  have 
to  make  a  connection  at  each  level  you  open,  say  each 
100  feet  in  depth  ? 

A.  Certainly. 

J 

Q.  Would  you  consider  it  judicious  or  advisable  to  drift 
3,000  feet  at  every  100-foot  level,  in  order  to  bring  about 
a  natural  ventilation? 

A.  If  it  could  not  be  attained  otherwise,  you  would  be 
compelled  to  do  it.  These  prospecting  drifts  naturally  be- 
come Ventilating  drifts  when  connections  are  made.  By 
operating  from  the  surface,  as  at  present,  you  must  have 
artificial  ventilation,  in  my  judgment. 

Q.  ISTow,  General,  supposing  that  tunnel  were  con- 
structed, and  these  drifts  run  along  the  lode,  as  is  proposed 
to  be  done,  and  shafts  extended  down  from  the  surface  to 
the  lateral  drift,  which  would  be  greatly  facilitated  by  hav- 
ing bore  holes  put  down  first? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  Would  it  not  be  the  rational  way  of  working  these 


439 

mines  to  put  down  a  shaft,  say  at  least  every  1,000  feet,  and 
then  connect  these,  and  thus  bring  about  natural  ventila- 
tion? 

A.  I  have  no  doubt  you  would  get  much  better  ventila- 
tion in  that.  way.  I  doubt,  then,  that  I  can  give  my  views 
in  answer  to  that  question  any  better  than  they  are  ex- 
pressed by  the  "commission,  in  its  report,  and  I  should  pre- 
fer to  answer  the  question  in  that  way.  The  commission 
says,  on  page  7,  the  second  paragraph: 

"It  is  therefore  the  opinion  of  the  commission  that,  while  the  proposed 
tunnel  would  increase  and  improve  the  ventilation  of  the  mines,  and  possi- 
bly dispense  with  the  use  of  some  part  of  the  means  for  artificial  ventilation 
now  employed,  it  is  not  a  necessity  for  ventilation.  Even  with  all  the  aid 
that  the  tunnel  can  he  expected  to  afford,  it  is  the  opinion  ©f  the  commission 
that  mechanical  ventilation  hy  blowers,  operated  by  steam  or  other  power, 
would  still  be  needed  at  the  headings  and  in  the  scopes  where  the  air  from 
the  tunnel  would  not  penetrate. 

"According  to  natural  laws,  as  at  present  understood  and  received,  the  air 
entering  the  proposed  tunnel  will  pass  through  it  and  up  the  shafts  of  the 
mines,  by  the  easiest  and  therefore  by  the  most  direct  channels,  thereby  con- 
ferring little,  if  any,  benefit  upon  the  stopes  and  drifts  not,in  the  line  of  such 
direct. transit.  Hence  the  necessity  which  is  assumed  for  a  continuance  of 
mechanical  ventilation  for  certain  portions  of  the  mines  after  the  completion 
of  the  tunnel." 

Q.  General,  that  answers  the  question  in  regard  to  ven- 
tilation to  some  extent,  but  that  is  not  altogether  what  I 
want  to  get  at.  I  want  to  get  at  your  opinion  in  regard  to 
bringing  about  such  ventilation  as  you  have  seen  between 
the  Yellow  Jacket  and  the  Crown  Point,  which  are  600 
feet  apart;  and  my  question  is,  whether  it  would  not  be 
necessary  to  extend  a  number  of  these  shafts  down,  in 
order  to  make  these  drifts  between  these  different  shafts 
at  a  great  number  of  places? 

A.  I  don't  see  the  necessity  of  connecting  the  Hale'and 
Korcross  mine,  for  instance,  with  the  Imperial. 

Q.  How  would  they  explore  all  that  part  of  the  lode  be- 
tween the  Hale  and  Norcross  and  the  Imperial  mine  in 
depth  from  the  surface  down,  operating  from  the  surface, 
if  they  have  not  natural  ventilation  ? 

A.  They  must  do  it  by  means  of  shafts. 

Q.  Is  it  not  economical,  judicious,  advisable  to  sink  a 
shaft  down  every  1,000  feet  along  the  lode? 


440 

A.  I  should  say  that,  if  it  were  determined  to  explore 
all  the  lode  between  the  Hale  and  Norcross  and  the  Impe- 
rial, it  would  be  necessary  to  sink  shafts  at  certain  inter- 
vals, and  probably  not  greater  than  1,000  feet  apart,  prob- 
ably less.  It  would  be  more  economical  to  have  them  at 
even  less  distances  apart. 

Q.  Would  not  the  same  principle  apply  in  the  explora- 
tion of  that  portion  between  the  Gould  and  Curry  mine 
and  the  Ophir  mine  ? 

A.  I  should  say  so,  decidedly. 

Q.  "Would  it  not  also  apply  to  all  that  part  of  the  lode 
between  the  Ophir  mine  and  the  Sierra  Nevada  mine,  or 
the  Utah  mine?  Would  it  not  be  necessary,  in  order  to 
explore  the  Comstock  lode  judiciously  and  intelligently,  to 
sink  shafts  down  every  1,000  feet? 

A.  Certainly,  it  would. 

Q.  Then,  would  it  not  be  judicious  to  sink  shafts  simi- 
larly between  the  Crown  Point  mine  and  the  south  end  of 
the  Overman? 

A.  I  don't  recollect  the  distances  there,  but  I  should  say 
generally,  for  a  thorough  exploration  of  the  Comstock  lode, 
operating  from  the  surface,  it -would  be  judicious  and  eco- 
nomical to  have  shatts  at  intervals  of  say  1,000  feet. 

Q.  That  is  about  the  general  idea,  as  an  intelligent  min- 
ing proposition  ? 

A.  I  should  say  so,  decidedly. 

Q.  Then,  if  those  shafts  are  down,  the  difficulty  would 
not  be  great  in  bringing  about  connections  between  them? 

A.  Certainly  not. 

Q.  Provided  that  tunnel  is  in  and  these  lateral  drifts  ex- 
tended along  the  lode,  will  it  not  be  much  easier  to  make 
those  shafts  than  it  will  be  under  the  present  system  of 
working,  by  letting  the  water  out  below? 

A.  It  would,  to  the  extent  of  having  the  drainage  per- 
formed by  the  tunnel  without  the  intervention  of  ma- 
chinery. 

Q.  Could  not  these  shafts  be  constructed  by  going  clown 
from  the  surface,  and  going  up  from  below,  by  making 


441 

accurate  surveys,  and  connecting  them  in  that  manner,  by 
getting  two  points  of  attack  ? 

A.  I  would  not  like  to  answer  that  question. 

Q.  Do  you  see  any  difficulty  about  it  as  far  as  yon  know? 

A.  I  wouldn't  like  to  express  an  opinion  upon  the  point. 
I  never  have  given  it  any  consideration.  I  should  myself 
rather  question  the  practicability  of  excavating  a  shaft  of 
a  given  shape  up  vertically  as  easily. 

Q.  I  did  not  say  as  easily,  but  I  want  to  know  whether 
it  can  be  done  ? 

A.  Oh,  I  think  it  can  be  done.  I  think  it  is  a  possi- 
bility. 

Q.  I  now  want  to  get  at  your  opinion  with  regard  to  the 
facility  with  which  that  shaft  can  be  made — whether  it 
would  be  as  easy  from  the  bottom  or  from  the  top? 

A.  I  should  say  not,  very  decidedly.  I  think  you  would 
have  difficulty  in  getting  miners  to  operate  upon  a  shaft 
of  that  kind. 

Q.  Are  not  all  mining  operations  on  the  lode  carried  on 
in  such  a  manner  that  they  first  sink  down  their  shaft  to  a 
given  level,  then  drift  off  to  the  vein,  and  then  mine  up- 
wards to  the  next  level  above  ? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  Do  they  not  let  the  ore  fall  down  to  the  level  upon 
which  they  are  working,  and  then  convey  it  to  the  shaft, 
.and  hoist  it  up? 

A.  They  do. 

Q.  Then,  why  should  there  be  any  difficulty  in  going  up 
from  the  tunnel,  in  constructing  a  shaft  ? 

A.  I  think  there  would  be  a  great  difference  between 
the  two  operations  of  mining  out  a  certain  chamber  and 
carrying  up  a  rectangular  hole  of  say  1,000  feet. 

Q.  What  do  you  think  would  be  the  difficulty  in  the 
survey  ? 

A.  None  whatever  in  the  survey.  I  think  they  can  be 
made  to  join  with  sufficient  accuracy  without  any  great 
difficulty.  It  would  be  the  objection  of  the  miners  to 


442 

working  in  such  a  place,  with  such  a  mass  of  earth  over- 
head. 

Q.  The  danger  of  caves  ? 

A.  I  think  they  would  fear  the  danger  of  the  rock  fall- 
ing upon  them. 

Q.  Isn't  there  the  same  danger  in  those  stopes? 

A.  I  think  not. 

Q.  The  rock  caves  in  sometimes? 

A.  'Well,  they  can  easily  get  out  of  the  way  there. 

Q.  Could  they  not  make  small  chambers  outside  of  that 
shaft,  say  two  feet  in,  to  stand  in? 

A.  They  certainly  could  do  that;  but  that  would  be  one 
of  the  difficulties. 

Q.  It  would  make  a  little  extra  expense.  Do  you  know 
that,  in  the  Harz  mountains,  they  constructed  a  shaft, 
which  they  started  at  half  a  dozen  different  levels,  and 
connected  within  half  an  inch  ? 

A.  I  can  understand  that,  if  they  all  went  down.  There 
would  be  no  surveying  difficulties. 

Q.  Then,  your  opinion  is,  if  there  were  shafts  down 
every  1,000  feet,  it  would  greatly  facilitate  mining  opera- 
tions and  ventilation? 

A.  I  should  think  so,  certainly. 

Q.  Then,  did  you  say  that  those  shafts  could  be  sunk 
much  easier  by  having  bore-holes  down,  first  connecting 
with  the  tunnel? 

A.  Undoubtedly.    You  get  rid  of  the  water. 

Q.  Then  that  would  relieve  the  miners  of  the  greatest 
expense  in  making  those  shafts,  because  they  wouldn't  re- 
quire machinery  for  pumping? 

A.  It  would  relieve  them  from  one  great  source  of  ex- 
pense, whether  the  greatest  or  not  I  cannot  say. 

Q:  Then  the  tunnel  would  be  very  important  in  that  re- 
gard, in  order  to  thoroughly  explore  the  Comstock  lode 
and  bring  about  this  system  of  ventilation  ? 

A.  It  certainly  has  its  advantages  for  drainage,  just  to 
the  extent  of  what  the  drainage  would  cost. 

Q.  Yes ;  but  what  I  mean  to  say  is,  that  it  would  facili- 


443 

tate  the  construction  of  these  shafts  every  1,000  feet  to  a 
very  large  extent  ? 

A.  Oh,  undoubtedly. 

Q.  Then,  after  these  shafts  be  constructed,  there  would 
be  no  further  difficulty  in  bringing  about  ventilation  be- 
tween all  these  different  shafts,  and  making  a  thorough 
exploration  of  the  lode  down  to  the  tunnel  level? 

A.  I  think  you  would  get  a  pretty  thorough  system  of 
artificial  ventilation  in  certain  parts,  wherever  this  connec- 
tion "is  direct;  but  wherever  you  run  off  from  this  by  your 
drifts,  you  must  make  use  of  artificial  ventilation,  whether 
that  ventilation  be  operated  from  the  tunnel  level  or  from 
the  surface  above. 

Q.  All  that  I  wish  to  get  at  in  the  questions  I  have  asked, 
General,  is  whether,  after  the  tunnel  is  in,  the  facilities 
would  not  be  immensely  greater  for  sinking  these  shafts, 
which  would  facilitate  the  ventilation  of  those  parts  of  the 
Comstock  lode  which  want  exploring  ? 

A.  If  they  are  to  be  explored,  certainly. 

Q.  That  is  all,  in  regard  to  that  subject.  Mr.  Sunder- 
lond  has  laid  great  stress  upon  the  fact  that  there  is  no 
water  in  the  Sierra  Nevada  mine  or  the  Chollar  mine  near 
the  surface.  You  stated  that  they  were  working  neat-  the 
surface,  and  he  asked  you,  and  also  the  other  commission- 
ers, whether  you  saw  any  water  there.  Now,  is  it  very 
likely  there  would  be  any  water  near  the  surface,  where 
they  have  got  shafts  down  from  500  or  600  feet  to  1,000 
feet  and  more  ? 

A.  Well,  I  think  there  is  no  water  here,  simply  because 
all  the  water  that  they  hav,e  tapped  has  been  drawn  off 
already. 

Q.  Well,  would  not  the  water  find  its  way  in  the  Chol- 
lar mine  down  to  this  deep  shaft  ?  ."Would  there  be  any 
water  left  in  the  upper  part  of  that  mine  where  they  are 
working  ? 

A.  That  shaft,  in  my  opinion,  would  be  very  soon  filled 
up.  It  is  not  absolutely  impermeable  to  water,  but  1  think 
the  leakage  would  be  a  very  small  affair. 


444 

Q.  I  don't  exactly  understand  your  answer. 

A.  If  there  is  any  amount  of  water  in  the  Chollar  mine 
at  any  of  the  upper  levels,  it  would  be  running  into  that 
shaft,  and  would  soon  fill  up  the  shaft. 

Q.  Would  it  fill  it  up  if  there  were  mines  again  beyond 
that,  where  it  could  only  rise  to  a  certain  height,  and  then 
run  off  into  the  other  ? 

A.  But  that  is  not  the  case. 

Q.  General,  supposing  you  had  a  common  well  100  feet 
deep,  with  say  20  feet  of  water  in  it,  and  you  would  go  to 
work  and  sink  another  well  alongside,  20  feet  deep  from 
the  surface  only,  would  you  consider  it  a  most  wonderful 
thing  if  there  were  no  water  in  that  20-foot  well  ? 

A.  It  would  depend  entirely  upon  the  character  of  the 
ground. 

Q.  Well,  in  ordinary  rock,  such  rock  as  is  on  the  Com- 
etock  lode? 

A.  I  don't  think  the  water  comes  from  the  rock  at  all. 
It  would  depend  entirely  upon  where  the  water  comes  from 
into  tins  deeper  well.  If  it  comes  from  the  bottom,  I 
should  say  the  lesser  well  would  not  contain  any  water. 

Q.  Supposing  it  were  any  ordinary  rock,  could  there  be 
anyfwater  in  a  well  20  feet  deep  alongside  another  100  feet 
deep? 

A.  If  it  were  to  fill  up  say  to  95  feet  in  the  deep  well, 
it  would  be  15  feet  deep  in  the  lesser  well. 

Q.  If  there  is  15  feet  of  water  in  the  deep  well,  and  you 
sink  another  well  only  20  feet  deep  from  the  surface  along- 
side of  it,  would  it  be  probable  that  you  would  find  water 
in  the  shallow  well? 

A.  I  must  know  something  more  about  it;  otherwise, 
there  is  no  answer  to  the  question.  If  the  water  stands  at 
the  height  of  only  15  feet  in  your  well  100  feet  deep,  the 
source  of  that  water  is  more  than  85  feet  below  the  surface. 

Q.  Couldn't  any  portion  of  the  water  come  from  the  top 
down? 

A.  Undoubtedly;  but  it  would  fill  your  well  to  a  greater 


445 

height  than  15  feet.  There  is  no  reason  why  it  should  stop 
at  a  height  of  15  feet. 

Q.  I  simply  wanted  to  illustrate  the  impossibility  of  hav- 
ing water  in  the  upper  working  of  the  Chollar  mine  when 
they  have  a  shaft  down  alongside  of  it  which  is  1,200  feet 
in  depth. 

A.  I  don't  think  that  that  follows  at  all.  I  think  that  if 
they  made  further  explorations,  perhaps,  in  the  Chollar 
inine^  they  might  strike  reservoirs  of  water  that  never  yet 
have  been  pierced. 

Q.  Wouldn't  it  run  off  into  that  deeper  part? 

A.  It  would  until  that  deeper  part  filled  up. 

Q.  Would  that  amount  to  any  evidence  about  the  non- 
•exi  stence  of  water  in  those  parts  ?  When  you  were  asked 
whether  you  saw  any  water  in  the  upper  workings  of  that 
mine,  you  testified  you  did  not. 

A.  My  answer  was,  in  answer  to  a  question  of  fact,  that 
there  was  no  water  there.  According  to  all  the  statements 
we  received  in  reference  to  the  Chollar  mine,  water  had 
been  met  with  at  the  different  levels  as  they  went  down> 
That  water  from  each  body  they  struck  had  been  exhausted 
as  they  went  down,  and  when  they  returned  to  these  up- 
per levels,  after  abandoning  the  lower  part,  they  worked  in 
a  dry  lode. 

Q.  You  are  now  answering  what  I  wanted  to  get  at. 
Would  it  be  probable,  then,  that  they  would  find  any  water, 
at  the  time  you  we're  there,  in  those  upper  levels  ? 

A.  I  think  they  may  find  it  still. 

Q.  By  drifting  off? 

A.  Yes,  and  striking  new  bodies  of  water  that  have  never 
yet  been  tapped. 

Q.  Were  they  making  any  new  drifts  in  the  Chollar 
mine  at  that  point  when  you  were  there  ? 

A.  That  is  more  than  I  can  say.  I  do  not  think  that 
they  were  prospecting.  They  were  engaged  in  mining  ore. 

Q.  We  have  shown  here,  and  in  fact  the  reports  show  it, 
that  there  is  water,  and  sometimes  a  great  deal  of  water,  in 
the  deep  shafts.  Mr.  Sunderland  has  asked  the  question  re- 


446 

peatedly,  whether  you  saw  any  water  either  in  the  Sierra 
Nevada  mine  -or  the  Chollar  mine  ? 

A.  I  have  answered  in  reference  to  the  Sierra  Nevada 
mine  that  I  did  not  go  into  it,  and  in  reference  to  the  Chol- 
lar mine,  on  the  levels  in  which  they  were  working,  there 
was  none,  but  in  their  deep  shaft  there  was  water. 

Q.  What  I  want  to  arrive  at  is,  isn't  it  quite  natural 
that  there  should  be  no  water  standing  in  that  mine  when 
there  was  a  shaft  alongside  of  it  1,200  feet  deep  ? 

A.  The  water  won't  stand  there,  of  course.  It  will  run 
into  the  deep  shaft  so  long  as  that  shaft  has  the  capacity  to 
retain  it. 

Q.  Is  there  any  wonder  about  it  that  you  didn't  see  any 
water  in  that  mine  ? 

A.  I  don't  think  there  is  any  wonder  about  it. 

Q.  That  is  what  I  wanted  to  get  at.  Isn't  it  quite  nat- 
ural that  there  won't  be  any  water  there  when  there  is  a 
deeper  shaft  beside  it  ? 

A.  You  spoke  of  the  cause  of  the  non-existence  of  water 
there,  that  they  have  a  deep  shaft.  I  say  that  it  is  because 
the  water  has  been  drawn  off. 

Q.  Mr.  Sunderland  wants  to  show,  by  asking  you  a  ques- 
tion about  some  mines,  that  there  is  no  water  there,  but  I 
want  to  know  whether  there  could  be  any  water  there  when 
there  is  a  deeper  shaft  alongside  ? 

A.  I  think  there  may  be  water  still  on  that  level  of  those 
mines.  They  may  strike  it  yet  in  their  search,  if  they  con- 
tinue prospecting. 

Mr.  KENDALL.  I  suppose,  General,  the  point  is  this : 
whether  or  not  these  deeper  shafts  do  not  have  a  tendency 
to  drain  the  more  shallow  workings  ? 

A.  They  possibly  may  have,  or  may  not. 

Q.  Provided  the  rock  is  sufficiently  porous  to  allow  drain- 
age from  the  upper  levels  to  the  lower  ones  ? 

A.  I  don't  think  it  is.  The  water  doesn't  appear  to  exist 
in  that  way.  Jt  exists  in  pockets  or  reservoirs  surrounded 
by  clay,  which  is  impermeable  to  water.  The  moment 
the  miners  strike  this  clay,  the  water  breaks  out.  I  do 


447 

not  think  this  condition  of  things  exists  where  the  rock 
is  so  porous  as  to  allow  the  percolation  of  water  through  it. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Mr.  Sunderland  asked  you,  General,  whether 
the  tunnel  would  be  of  any  benefit  to  the  Chollar  mine, 
where  they  are  now  working,  and  he  asked  you  whether 
you  saw  any  water,  and  your  answer  to  that  was,  I  think, 
that  it  would  be  of  no  use  at  the  present  time? 

A.  I  should  say  it  would  be  of  no  use  for  drainage,  if 
there  were  no  water  in  the  mine.  It  appeared  to  be  a  very 
obvious  answer. 

Q.  Then  it  is  very  important  to  know  whether,  if  there 
be  any  water  there,  the  water  would  go  into  the  lower 
shaft  ? 

A.  It  certainly  would  run  into  the  lower  shaft  unless 
they  stopped  it  from  communication  with  that  shaft  and 
pumped  it  out. 

Q.  If  the  Chollar  mine  would  want  to  prospect  to  greater 
depth  than  what  their  prospecting  shaft  is  down  now,  would 
you  consider  that  the  tunnel  would  be  of  any  benefit  to  the 
Chollar  mine  for  drainage? 

A.  Certainly;  it  would  be  a  benefit  to  the  mine  as  well 
as  to  all  others. 

Q.  Mr.  Requa  states,  in  his  report  about  that  mine,  that 
all  the  ore  which  is  in  sight  now  would  be  worked  out  in 
three  years.  Would  it  take  that  long  to  get  the  tunnel  in, 
or  nearly  that  long  ? 

A.  About  that. 

Q.  Then  all  the  working  of  that  mine  would  be  pros- 
pecting afterwards  ? 

A.  If  they  continue  to  work  it,  it. will  be  all  prospecting. 

Q.  Would  they  have  to  pay  anything  to  the  tunnel  com- 
pany, in  the  way  you  understand  it,  if  they  are  only  pros- 
pecting, and  not  taking  out  ore  ? 

A.  Nothing  at  all ;  unless  they  carried  out  their  debris 
for  them,  or  brought  in  their  timbers. 

Q.  Well,  that  is  voluntary? 

A.  Undoubtedly  voluntary ;  they  are  not  compelled  to. 


448 

Q.  They  wouldn't  be  compelled  to  pay  a  single  dollar  to 
the  tunnel  company? 

A.  ISTo,  sir. 

Q.  Then  it  would  be,  under  those  circumstances,  very 
advantageous  to  the  Chollar  company-  to  have  that  tunnel 
in? 

A.  I  should  certainly  think  so ;  for  the  purpose  of  drain- 
age alone  it  would  be  of  great  importance  to  it. 

Q.  It  is  shown  in  the  report  of  Mr.  Batterman  that  the 
Gould  and  Curry  shaft  has  been  sunk  294  feet  in  the  last 
year,  and  I  think  you  were  asked  how  long  it  would  take 
to  reach  down  to  the  tunnel  level  at  that  rate  of  progress  ? 

A.  I  do  not  ^collect. 

Q.  I  want  to  ask  you,  General,  how  long  do  you  think 
it  took  to  get  down  to  that  level  before  they  started  on  that 
294  feet,  say  from  the  1,100-foot  level  ? 

A.  I  have  no  means  of  knowing  when  they  commenced 
at  all. 

Q.  It  took  a  number  of  years,  didn't  it  ? 

A.  I  have  no  idea  when  they  commenced  that  shaft. 

Q.  Took  quite  a  number  of  years  ? 

A.  Oh,  yes;  two  or  three  years,  I  suppose. 

Q.  They  don't  sink  all  the  time,  do  they? 

A.  I  don't  think  they  do ;  that  is  my  impression. 

Q.  Do  you  know,  General,  how  deep  the  shafts  were  in 
the  mines  of  the  Harz  mountains  at  the  time  the  Ernst 
August  tunnel,  which  has  a  length  of  14  miles,  was  com- 
menced ? 

A.  I  don't  remember;  I  think  some  of  them  were  down 
2,000  feet  or  more.  * 

Q.  Well,  they  were  down  some  700  or  800  feet  below 
the  tunnel  level  before  they  commenced  the  construction 
of  that  tunnel.  Then,  General,  these  people  there  looked 
upon  the  advantages  which  a  tunnel  would  confer  as  be- 
ing entirely  below  the  level  of  that  tunnel  ? 

A.  They  must  have  looked  upon  this  tunnel  as  a  new 
departure,  I  presume. 

Q.  In  other  words,  a  new  basis  of  operations  ? 


449 

A.  Undoubtedly;  they  so  stated  it. 

Q.  In  fact  they  constructed  that  tunnel  to  pnmp  the 
water  from-tho  lower  depths  to  that  level,  and  bring  their 
ore  in  there,  and  they  constructed  a  canal  in  it. 

A.  Yes;  that  tunnel  has  a  canal,  and  all  their  water  is 
raised  to  that  level. 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  the  shafts  in  the  Freiberg 
mines  were  much  deeper  than  the  Rotheshoeneberger 
tunnel,  where  they  commenced  it? 

A.  N"o,  sir.  I  am  not  at  all  familiar  with  them,  except 
in  general  terms. 

Q.  The  mines  were  carried  down  to  2,000  feet,  and  the 
tunnel  comes  in  at  about  1,100  feet  in  depth,  so  they  must 
have  been  down  some  900  feet  below  the  tunnel  level  ? 

A.  I  presume  they  were  below  the  tunnel,  although  I 
do  not  remember  now. 

Q.  Do  you  not  so  understand  it  that  in  England  and  in 
,s.ther  countries,  where  mining  is  carried  on  on  a  pretty 
extensive  scale,  they  calculate  -the  depth  of  their  shafts 
vrorn  the  tunnel  level  down  ? 

A.  I  think  it  is  so. 

Q.  Then,  according  to  that, -we  have  not  fairly  touched 
the  Comstock  lode  yet.  We  are  going  to  establish  a  new 
basis  of  operations  when  the  tunnel  goes  in.  We  are 
going  down,  and  we  are  going  to  count  down  from  that 
point? 

A.  I  think,  as  the  water  and  ore  would  all  be  raised  to 
that  height,  they  would  undoubtedly  count  the  depth 
from  the  tunnel  level. 

Q.  Then  what  is  above  the  tunnel  would  become' really 
to  be  counted  as  surface? 

A.  Well,  I  am  under  the  impression  that  they  will  pros- 
pect all  above  the  tunnel  before  they  will  go  below  it. 

Q.  Do  you  think  that  the  Comstock  lode  can  be  thor- 
oughly prospected  its  whole  length  of  four  or  five  miles 
in  100  years  ? 

A.  Oh,  I  have  no  idea  at  all.  I  wouldn't  be  willing  to 
give  an  opinion  as  to  that.  It  depends  entirely  upon  the 
29 


450 

energy  with  which  it  is  prospected  and  the  money  that 
can  be  got  for  the  purpose.  I  think  myself,  from  what  I 
saw  there,  that  there  are  certain  parts  of  the  Comstock 
lode,  between  the  Sierra  Nevada  on  the  north  and  the  Over- 
man on  the  south,  that  will  never  be  prospected  any  further 
than  they  have  been  already. 

Q.  Do  you  know  that  the  Yeta  Madre  of  .Guanajuato,  in 
Mexico,  has  been  abandoned,  during  the  last  three  hun- 
dred years,  a  dozen  times,  and  re-prospected  and  new 
bodies  of  ore  found? 

A.  I  knew  that  a  good  many  of  the  mines  in  Mexico 
have  been  abandoned  over  and  over  again.  They  have 
been  abandoned  generally,  as  I  understand  it,  on  account 
of  what  they  considered  insurmountable  difficulties.  !N"ew 
machinery  has  been  put  in,  and  the  mines  have  been 
worked  again,  often  with  great  success,  until  the  power  of 
the  machinery  which  they  put  up  was  exhausted,  or  until 
they  had  reached  the  limit  of  that  power. 

Q.  Don't  you  think,  General,  that  it  will  require  hun- 
dreds of  miles,  or  even'  thousands  of  miles,  of  drifts  on 
that  Comstock  lode  to  thoroughly  explore  it  from  one  end 
to  the  other  down  to  the  tunnel  level? 

A.  To  thoroughly  explore  the  whole  lode  from  the  sur- 
face to  the  tunnel  level  would  require,  yes,  thousands  of 
miles  of  drifts,  undoubtedly. 

Q.  They  have  probably  hundreds  of  miles  now? 

A.  I  presume  there  are  several  hundred  now. 

Q.  Several  years  ago  the  number  was  estimated  at  75 
miles.  Then  the  tunnel  would  open  up  an  entirely  new 
basis  of  operations  to  go  down,  about  which  we  know 
nothing  yet — to  which  we  have  not  yet  penetrated? 

A.  If  operated  by  the  tunnel,  certainly  everything  would 
refer  to  that  level. 

Q.  Do  you  know  Anything  about  those  great  tunnels  in 
Europe,  whether  the  government  took  any  part  in  them  ? 

A.  In  several  of  the  German  tunnels,  I  know  that  the 
government  took  part.  As  I  understand  it,  as  a  rule  the 


451 

German  mines  are,  to  a  certain  extent,  under  the  super- 
vision and  management  of  the  government. 

Q.  To  some  extent;  not  entirely.  The  mines  in  Freiberg 
are  owned  by  private  individuals  to  a  certain  extent? 

A.  Yes;  but  the  government  has  a  certain  amount  of 
supervision  or  control  over  them;  but  what  the  extent  of 
that  is  I  am  not  prepared  to  say. 

Q.  Are  you  aware.  General,  that,  in  Freiberg,  the  erec- 
tion of  the  reduction  works  has  been  helped  by  the  gov- 
ment? 

A.  I  do  not  know  specifically  about  the  reduction  works. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  the  Mont  Cenis  tunnel, 
which  is  simply  a  railroad  tunnel,  whether  government 
assistance  was  given  there? 

A.  Government  assistance  was  given  both  by  France 
and  Italy. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  the  Hoosac  tunnel,  in 
Massachusetts?  Did  they  receive  any  any  State  aid? 

A.  I  know  the  State  has  furnished  a  large  amount  of 
aid  to  the  tunnel,  and  at  the  present  time  it  has  full  con- 
trol. The  present  amount,  I  think,  is  somewhere  about 
four  and  five  millions  of  dollars. 

Q.  Isn't  the  whole  amount  which  the  State  of  Massa- 
chusetts has  advanced  about  $7,000,000  ? 

A.  I  don't  know  the  amount. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  I  think  it  is  over  $7,000,000. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  What  is  the  object  of  the  tunnel? 

A.  It  is  to  establish  railroad  communication  through  the 
Hoosac  range.  It  is  a  railroad  running  from  Troy  to 
Boston. 

Q.  It  will  cheapen  transportation  ? 

A.  They  assume  that  it  will  save  the  grade  which  exists 
upon  what  is  called  the  Western  railroad — I  think  the 
railroad  from  Greenbush  to  Boston. 

Q.  It  has  been  stated,  that  the  construction  of  that  tun- 
nel will  reduce  the  freight  on  a  barrel  of  flour  two  cents. 
Do  you  know  anything  about  that  ? 


452 

A.  I  have  heard  such  statements.  I  cannot  vouch  for 
the  figures,  as  I  have  never  entered  into  the  calculations. 

Q.  "Would  you  consider  the  Hoosac  tunnel  as  of  as  much 
importance  to  Massachusetts  as  the  Sutro  tunnel  to  Ne- 
vada? 

A.  They  are  two  different  things  that  do  not  admit  of  a 
comparison  at  all. 

Q.  As  far  as  interests  are  involved? 

A.  If  that  is  an  answer  to  the  question,  I  take  more 
interest  in  the  Sutro  tunnel. 

Q.  Well,  is  not  «the  question  of  wealth  that  is  to  be 
created  or  developed — the  question  of  the  developing  the 
mining  regions — of  immensely  greater  importance  in  the 
one  case  than  in  the  other? 

A.  I  think  it  depends  entirely  upon  the  view  one  takes 
of  the  matter.  An  opinion  upon  such  a  question  is  neces- 
sarily a  speculative  one. 

Q.  How  much  money,  General,  do  you  think  would  be 
taken  from  the  Comstock  lode.  Have  you  any  idea? 

A.  Not  the  remotest. 

Q.  Could  you  guess? 

A-  Ko,  sir;  I  never  guess. 

Q.  Do  you  think  there  is  money  enough  there  to  pay 
the  national  debt? 

A.  I  think  there  may  be  enough  to  pay  it  ten  times 
Qver,  or  you  may  not  find  a  dollar  below  the  level  they  are 
working  now. 

Q.  Do  you  think  that  is  probable  ? 

A.  I  do  not. 

Q.  Don't  you  think  it  is  probable  they  will  find  the  ore 
down  to  indefinite  depth  ? 

A.  I  think  so.  The  evidence,  so  far  as  it  goes,  is  en- 
tirely in  favor  of  that  view. 

Q.  You  have  stated  in  your  report  that,  if  no  water 
power  be  secured  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  and  concen- 
trating works  erected,  the  commission  could  advise  the 
continuance  of  the  present  mode  of  working.  How  did 


453 

you  arrive  at  that  result?  Was  it  on  the  basis  of  the 
reports  furnished  you  by  the  superintendents? 

A.  Undoubtedly.     It  is  so  stated  in  the  report. 

Q.  Supposing  it  could  be  demonstrated  that  those  re- 
ports are  not  correct,  would  it  change  your  opinion? 

A.  It  might,  or  it  might  not.  I  should  have  to  make  a 
new  comparison,  and,  although  discrepencies  might  be  dis- 
covered, the  judgment  might  be  the  same.  But  I  can  un- 
derstand that  it  might  be  so  changed  that  my  opinion  would 
be  changed  entirely. 

Q.  Supposing  it  could  be  shown  clearly,  to  your  satis- 
faction, that  the  cost  of  pumping  on  the  Comstock  lode 
would  amount  to  more  than  §1,000,000  per  annum,  would 
that  change  your  opinion  ?  You  estimate  the  cost  at 
$124,000. 

A.  In  certain  calculations  that  we  made,  we  assumed 
the  cost  at  the  present  mode  of  operations  to  be  a  little 
over  §1,750,000.  If  it  could  be  shown  that  the  cost  of 
pumping  was  over  §1,000,000,  it  would  change  that  result 
to  one  favorable  to  the  tunnel,  instead  of  unfavorable. 

Q.  Supposing  it  could  be  shown  to  cost  §2,000,000? 

A.  It  would  be  still  more. 

Q.  Supposing  there  were  still  other  items  brought  in, 
that  would  amount  to  several  millions  of  dollars,,  wouldn't 
that  change  it  very  much? 

A.  Certainly;  any  change  of  a  million  or  more  would 
change  it. 

Q.  Gould  you  tell  what  becomes  of  the  §15,000,000  which 
are  extracted  from  ^the  Comstock  lode  per  annum,  while 
the  expenses  for  hoi^ting^  for  transportation,  for  pumping, 
and  for  hoisting  and  lowering  the  men,  is  only  given  at 
§1,000,000,  and  the  average- profit  is  only  §1,000,000,  which 
make  §2,000,000?  t  Can  you  tell  what  becomes  of  the  other 
§13,000,000? 

A.  Well,  there  are  a  great  many  other  items  of  the  cost 
of  mining — the  timbering,  the  reduction  of  ores,  and  all 
those  things. 

Q.  Do  you  think  that  amounts  to  §13,000,000  a  year? 


454 

A.  I  haven't  an  idea. 

Q.  You  didn't  take  that  into  your  calculation? 

A.  Of  course  not.  That  was  no  part  of  the  duty  im- 
posed upon  the  commission. 

Q.  You  have  stated,  in  reply  to  a  question  by  Mr.  Sun- 
derland,  that  labor  and  materials  are  much  dearer  with  us 
than  they  are  in  Germany?  Isn't  that  another  argument 
in  favor  of  introducing  self-acting  reduction  and  concen- 
trating machinery  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  ? 

A.  Undoubtedly  it  is. 

Q.  You  say  that  the  water-rights  are  owned  by  the 
mines  and  private  parties? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  After  the  tunnel  is  in,  and  the  mines  would  be 
worked  legitimately  and  for  the  benefit  of  stockholders, 
wouldn't  the  stockholders  insist  on  adopting  the  most 
economical  plan? 

A.  I  should  suppose  that  they  would  always. 

Q.  IsTow,  supposing  the  present  owners  of  these  water 
rights  would  be  offered  the  same  power  at  the  mouth  of 
the  tunnel,  wouldn't  self-interest  make  them  accept,  ac- 
cording to  all  common  reasoning? 

.  A.  I  believe  they  will  act   according  to   their   own   in- 
terests. 

Q.  Are  not  men  actuated  generally  by  their  own  in- 
terests ? 

A.  Undoubtedly. 

<3fc.  Supposing  all  the  mills  on  Carson  river  would  be 
given  the  same  power  at  the  mouth  of  the  tjjunnel,  would 
we  not  still  have  a  very  large  amount  of  power  for  other 
purposes  ? 

A.  Yes,  most  unquestionably  so;  always  provided  that 
that  reservoir  is  possible.  * 

Q.  Wouldn't  that  surplus  power  at  the  tunnel,  after  giv- 
ing all  the  power  which  these  people  have,  be  sufficient  to 
answer  all  the  purposes  of  reduction  and  concentration  and 
condensing  air  for  the  ventilation  of  the  mines,  and  every- 
thing else,  to  work  the  Comstock  lode  ? 


455 

A.  Well,  I  think  that  the  water  that  can  bo  obtained 
from  the  Carson  river  and  the  drainage  of  the  mines  will 
be  sufficient  for  all  purposes  connected  with  the  Comstock. 

Q.  At  the  point  which  you  examined  there,  on  the  Car- 
son river,  near  the  Franklin  mill,  would  you  consider  there 
would  be  any  difficulty  in  making  a  dam  there? 

A.  I  don't  consider  there  is  any  difficulty  in  making  a 
dam  there. 

Q.  Couldn't  a  dam  be  constructed  there  that  would  with- 
stand any  pressure  created  by  the  water?  • 

A.  Most  unquestionably. 

Q.  Well,  do  you  see  that  there  is  any  serious  engineering 
difficulty  in  making  that  dam? 

A.  I  should  think  not. 

Q.  Don't  you,  on  the  contrary,  consider  it  a  very  simple 
and  feasible  undertaking? 

A.  The  committee  consider  it  a  rather  large  thing,  but 
not  a  difficult  one  at  all. 

Q.  What  do  you  think,  General,  would  be  the  cost  of 
the  dam?  Mr.  Day, states  it  at  $200,000. 

A.  It  would  be  utterly  impossible  to  say. 
,     Q.  Wonld  you  consider  that  an  under-estimate  ? 

A.  My  answer  must  be  a  mere  guess.  I  should  think  it 
was  an  under-estimate. 

Q.  How  much  more,  at  a  rough  guesa,  should  you  think 
it  would  possibly  cost  ? 

A.  I  sh'ould  prefer  to  increase  it  one-half. 

Q.  You  think  it  would  cost  $300,000,  probably? 

A.  I  shoul^hink  so.     That  is  a  mere  guess. 

Q.  It  has  been  stated  that  it  will  co.st  25  cents  per  ton  a 
mile  to  carry  out  ore,  or  waste  rock,  to  the  mouth  of  the 
tunnel.  Is  that  compulsory  on  the  mines  ?  Need  they  take 
their  rock  out  that  way  ? 

A.  They  needn't  take  anything  out  that  way. 

Q.  It  is  optional  with  them? 

A.  Entirely,  as  I. understand  it. 

Q.  Would  you  not  consider  it  highly  judicious  for  the 


456 

tunnel  company  to  reduce  that  down  to  such  a  rate  as 
would  be  acceptable,  if  it  be  considered  necessary. 

A.  I  should  think,  if  it  is  necessary,  in  order  that  they 
should  get  business,  they  would  reduce  it  down  to  any  fair 
paying  tariff. 

Q.  This  is  a  maximum  charge? 

A.  They  cannot  charge  any  more. 

Q.  But  they  can  charge  as  much  less  as  they  please? 

A.  Undoubtedly.  If  they  cannot  get  25  cents,  and  can 
carry  it  at  a  profit  for  10,  then  they  would  come  down. 

Q.  Don't  you  think  the  tunnel  company  would  reduce 
these  prices,  so  as  to  make  it  advantageous  to  both  parties? 

A.  I  think  they  will  do  that  which  makes  it  most  advan- 
tageous to  themselves. 

Q.  Wouldn't  that  be  to  put  down  the  prices  to  so  low  a 
rate  as  to  bring  about  the  largest  transportation  through 
the  tunnel? 

A.  I  think  they  will  put  down  the  rate  so  as  to  secure 
the  business  and  do  it  profitably,  but  not  one  cent  beyond. 

Q.  There  was  a  contract  between  the  tunnel  company 
and  the  mining  companies  ? 

A.  I  know  there  was  a  contract,  and  I  believe  that  the. 
prices  were  named  j  in  other  words,  I  believe  that,  in  the 
act  granting  franchises  to  the  tunnel  company,  Congress 
adopted  the  tariff  which  was  given  in  the  original  contract 
between  the  mining  companies  and  the  tunnel  company. 

Q.  Congress  ratified  the  contract? 

A.  I  couldn't  say  that.     They  ratified  the  charges. 

Q.  Did  the  Union  Mill  and  Mining  Corjpany  give  you 
the  cost  of  milling  ? 

A.  We  didn't  ask  the  Union  Mill  and  Mining  Com- 
pany any  question  upon  the  subject  at  all,  and  therefore 
.they  did  not.  We  obtained  their  rates  of  charges  from 
the  different  mining  companies. 

Q.  Wouldn't  the  Union  Mill  and  Mining  Company 
charge  all  they  could  get  ? 

A.  I  haven't  the  slightest  doubt  of  it. 

Q.  They  charge  $12  a  ton? 


457 

A.  I  believe  so,  generally. 

Q.  And  that  is  what  the  mines  ha'd  to  pay? 

A.  It  is  whatf  the  mines  do  pay  for  milling  and  trans- 
portation. 

Q.  Are  you  acquainted  with  railroad  transportation  ? 

A.  Very  little. 

Q.  Have  you  a  general  idea  how  much  it  'costs  per  ton 
per  mile? 

A.  That  depends  entirely  upon  where  it  is. 

Q.  In  a  pretty  level  country,  where  there  is  large  trans- 
portation ? 

A.  I  don't  remember  exactly  what  it  is. 

Q.  It  has  been  stated  here  at  a  cent  and  a  quarter  per 
mile.  Do  you  think  that  is  about  correct? 

A.  I  should  think  it  was  more  than  that.  My  impres- 
sion is  that  it  is  over  two;  though,  on  some  roads,  they  per- 
haps may  afford  to  carry  it  at  far  less. 

Q.  Well,  call  it  two  cents.  You  have  stated  the  average 
distance  at  5  miles  from  the  mines  to  the  mouth  of  the 
tunnel  ? 

A.  It  is  about  that. 

Q.  "Would  it  be  possible,  then,  to  carry  ore  at  10  cents 
to  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  for  the  whole  distance? 

A.  I  should  hardly  think  it  would. 

Q.  How  much  should  you  think  it  could  be  done  for? 

A.  My  impression,  when  looking  over  the  matter,  was, 
that  it  might  be  carried  for  perhaps  7  or  8  cents,  by  the 
tunnel,  a  mile. 

Q.  We  have  some  figures  here  by  Mr.  Carlyle,  which 
show  that  it  would  cost  7  cents  for  the  whole  distance. 
Did  you  examine  them? 

A.  There  were  a  good  many  figures  of  Mr.  Carlyle's 
which  I  did  not  adopt. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Who  is  Mr.  Carlyle? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Mr.  Carlyle  is  an  engineer — a  man  of  great 
ability,  a  very  thorough  mechanic,  and  a  first-rate  man — 
who  made  a  report  upon  the  tunnel. 


458 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  He  was  employed  to  make  your  re- 
port? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  He  made  a  report  upon  the  cost  of  construc- 
tion of  the  tunnel. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Employed  by  you? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Yes,  he  was  our  engineer.  (To  Mr.  Wright.) 
"Well,  supposing  it  costs  7  or  8  cents  a  mile — did  you  say 
a  mile? 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  Yes. 

Q.  That  would  be  about  40  cents  ? 

A.  Yes.  / 

Q.  Would  you  consider  that  it  would  cost  40  cents,  if 
you  carry  3,000  tons  a  day,  take  all  the  transportation  of 
the  rock  and  waste  ? 

A.  Well,  this  is  very  much  of  a  guess.  I  don't  attach 
much  value  to  the  amount,  of  course ;  but  I  should  think 
it  would. 

Q.  These  mining  companies  at  Virginia  City  sell  some 
of  their  water.  Do  you  know  how  much  they  get  for  it? 

A.  I  do  not.  I  haven't  the  slightest  idea  what  it  sells 
for. 

Q.  Do  you  think  it  is  $1,000  an  inch? 

A.  I  haven't  the  slighest  idea. 

Q.  You  didn't  look  into  it? 

A.  I  did  ask  the  question,  but  I  have  forgotten  the  an- 
swer entirely. 

Q.  If  a  supply  of  water  was  to  be  carried  down  in  pipes 
from  the  surface  to  supply  these  hydraulic  engines  at  the 
tunnel  level,  could  there  not  reservoirs  be  constructed,  as 
is  done  in  Germany,  within  a  number  of  miles  from  the 
mines,  in  the  mountains,  wherever  tfye  configuration  of 
the  country  allows  it,  for  the  purpose  of  accumulating 
water  in  winter  from  rain  and  melting  snow  ? 

A.  It  could  undoubtedly  be  done. 

Q.  Take  adistance  of  5  or  6  miles  around  Virginia  City, 
in  those  ravines,  could  there  not  dams  be  constructed  and 
large  lakes  of  water  formed? 

A.  Undoubtedly. 


459 

Q.  Have  they  systems  of  that  kind  in  all  these  mining 
districts  of  Germany  on  the  most  extensive  scales — every 
drop  of  water  that  falls  being  collected  and  carried  down 
in  the  shafts  and  used  'for  power?  ¥ow,  supposing  that 
were  done  in  Nevada,  would  it  not  create  a  very  large 
power  at  the  tunnel  level? 

A.  Well,  water  enough  could  be  collected  in  that  way, 
added  to  the  water  from  the  mines,  to  furnish  a  very  large 
power;  whether  it  would  be  economical  to  do  so  is  another 
question.  Speaking  of  the  mere  possibility  of  it,  it  can  be 
collected. 

Q/  What  would  be  the  principal  expense  about  it,  be- 
sides the  construction  of  dams  ? 

A.  The  expense  of  the  dams  is  all,  unless  the  land  would 
be  something. 

Q.  Would  the  land  cost  anything  ? 

A.  I  don't  know  what  it  costs.  I  think  it  would  cost,  if 
anybody  owns  it. 

Q.  Does  anybody  own  it? 

A.  That  is  more  than  I  know.  I  think  a  good  many 
would  like  to  own  it,  if  there  were  a  prospect  of  selling  to 
the  Sutro  Tunnel  Company. 

Q.  Mr.  Weissbach,  in  a  statement  read  here  yesterday, 
gave  a  power,  with  50  gallons  a  second  at  a  depth  of  2,000 
feet,  of  1,800  horse  power.  Would  you  think  there  would 
be  any  difficulty  in  collecting  water  to  that  extent  by  the 
construction  of  proper  reservoirs  over  there? 

A.  I  couldn't  answer  that  question.  It  depends  upon 
the  rainfall  and  a  great  many  other  circumstances,  I  should 
suppose  so ;  but  the  answer  is  worth  nothing. 

Q.  You  would  suppose  there  would  be  no  difficulty.  It 
has  been  stated  here  that  the  water  in  those  mines  decreases 
in  depth.  Do  you  not  ascribe  that,  to  a  large  extent,  to  the 
dry  seasons  which  had  prevailed  for  some  years? 

A.  My  own  impression  is,  that  the  water  which  has  been 
met  with  in  the  mines  is  the  accumulation  of  long  years. 

A.  I  formed  that  impression  there,  and,  if  that  be  true,  a 


460 

dry  season  or  two  would  make  comparatively  little  differ- 
ence. It  would  be  likely  to  decrease  it  somewhat. 

Q.  Does  not  the  water  which  we  find  in  wet  seasons  go 
down  to  a  great  depth  ? 

A.  In  some  places  it  does;  in  others  it  does  not.  A 
great  deal  of  it  runs  out  in  the  shape  of  springs  and  brooks 
and  rivers. 

Q.  Would  there  be  more  water  after  a  rainy  season — 
a  good  deal — than  after  a  series  of  dry  seasons  ? 

A.  I  should  think  there  would  be  more. 

Q.  We  have  had  a  statement  here  about  bringing  water 
to  Virginia  City  in  pipes.  Are  you  aware  how  that  water 
is  to  be  brought  there  ? 

A.  It  is  to  be  brought  by  siphon  pipes  across  the 
Washoe  valley. 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  the  elevation  is  from  the  Washoe 
valley  across  those  mountains  ? 

A.  I  don't  remember. 

Q.  Would  you  think  1,700  feet  would  be  an  over-esti- 
mate of  the  height  ? 

A.  I  have  a  sort  of  impression  in  my  mind  that  it  was 
about  1,300,  but  I  may  be  entirely  wrong. 

Q.  It  would  take  a  pretty  strong  pipe,  .wouldn't  it  ? 

A.  Certainly. 

Q.  Supposing  mining  would  be  done  through  the  tun- 
nel, could  that  water  not  be  employed  very  usefully  by  con. 
ducting  it  down  to  the  tunnel  level,  and  providing  it  for 
machinery  for  pumping  and  hoisting  ? 

A.  Most  unquestionably. 

Q.  Could  they  get  sufficient  water  at  Virginia  City  for 
milling  or  concentrating  purposes  on  the  ore  of  the  Corn- 
stock  lode? 

A.  I  cannot  give  any  very  definite  answer  to  the  ques- 
tion. If  they  can  find  a  sufficient  supply  of  water  at  a 
height  above  Virginia  City,  it  can  undoubtedly  be  led  there. 

Q.  How  much  water  do  you  think  would  be  required  to 
concentrate  the  ores  of  the  Cornstock  lode  properly? 

A.  I  haven't  an  idea. 


461 

Q.  Would  you  think  they  could  bring  Carson  river  tip 
to  Virginia  City,  or  as  much  water  in  bulk  as  the  average 
Carson  river  would  furnish  ? 

A.  Certainly;  with  a  sufficient  number  of  pipes  they 
could. 

Q.  From  where? 

•A.  They  have  got  to  find  it,  of  course..  They  could  top 
Lake  Tahoe,  if  it  is  high  enough. 

Q.  Is  it  as  high  as  Virginia  City  ? 

A.  I  am  under  the  impression  that  it  is  represented  as  a 
little  higher.  They  would  have  to  get  over  some  higher 
places. 

Q.  How  much  do  you.  think  it  would  cost  to  bring  water 
from  Lake  Tahoe  into  Virginia  City  equal  in  volume  to 
the  Carson  river  ? 

A.  I  haven't  an  idea.  It  would  take  a  great  deal  of 
money. 

Q.  Do  you  think  it  feasible  ? 

A.  I  do  not,  in  the  sense  of  economy. 

Q.  You  might  as  well  try  to  bring  water  from  the  Rocky 
mountains  into  NQW  York  city,  as  far  as  economy  is  con- 
cerned. What  size  pipes  did  they  propose  to  bring  that 
water  in  ;  did  you  hear  ? 

A.  £To,  sir:  I  gave  very  little  attention  to  it. 

Q.  They  hadn't  done  anything  about  it? 

A.  Nothing  at  all,  so  far  as  I  know. 

Q.  You  visited  the  Lady  Bryan  mine,  on  the*  Flowery 
lode? 

A.  I  did.  *  " 

Q.  Did  you  see  large  quantities  of  low-grade  ore  there  ? 

A.  No,  sir,  not  large  quantities.  It  was  a  very  large 
lode  at  the  surface;  the  ore  was  distributed  over  a  consid- 
erable width;  but  it  was  a  mine1  that  had  been  opened  from 
the  surface.  All  the  ore  we  saw,  of  course,  was  what  was 
left  upon  the  exposed  surface. 

Q.  Supposing  that  a  connection  would  be  made  with  the 
tunnel,  could  that  ore  be  dropped  down  and  brought  to  the 


462 

mouth  of  the  tunnel,  and  reduced  there  more  profitably 
than  now? 

A.  That  I  could  not  say.  They  have  their  mill  imme- 
diately at  their  workings,  and  what  their  means  are  for 
obtaining  water  at  all  seasons  I  cannot  say. 

Q.  Would  they  have  water  there  for  concentrating  ores? 

A.  They  had  so  much  water  in  the  mine,  that  they  had 
stopped  working  the  lower  portions. 

Q,  They  couldn't  pump  it  out,  could  they? 

A.  They  couldn't  with  the  machinery  they  then  had. 
They  said  they  were  about  putting  in  powerful  machinery 
for  the  purpose  of  draining  the  mine,  but  when  we  were 
there  they  hadn't  yet  done  it. 

Q.  They  have  given  up  mining,  on  account  of  difficulties 
in  getting  down?  We  have  bought  their  machinery,  and 
itis  now  at  the  tunnel. 

A.  They  were  at  work  there  when  we  visited  the  mine. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  think  it  has  been  abandoned,  be- 
cause the  ore  wouldn't  pay. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Under  the  expensive  system  they  are  work- 
ing with.  Did  yon  say,  General,  that  you  saw  the  mine 
that  Dr.  Buucher  owned? 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  We  passed  it. 

Q.  What  was  the  statement  about  it.  Was  there  much 
water  there? 

A.  It  was  stated  that  he  was  driven  off  by  the  water. 

Q.  If  it  were  connected  with  the  tunnel,  wouldn't  the 
water  be  drained  off? 

A.  Undoubtedly.    ^ 

Q.  And  allow  him  to  prospect  his  mine? 

A.  Certainly. 

Q.  You  have  spoken  of  the  superintendents  over  there 
as  very  exellent  gentlemen,  of  great  intelligence.  Are  they 
not  rather  selected  for  their  sharp  business  qualifications 
than  their  qualifications  as  miners?  Had  any  of  them 
graduated  at  a  mining  school? 

A.  The  first  part  of  the  question  I  cannot  answer.   None 


463 

of  them  pretended  that  they  had  had  any  education  at  a 
mining  school,  and  many  of  them  stated  that  they  had  not. 

Q.  Are  they  not  as  a  class  pretty  sharp  business  men? 

A.  I  should  think  they  were. 

Q.  Very  intelligent,  smart,  shrewd  people? 

A.  I  should  say  so. 

Q.  You  were  asked  whether  any  improvements  could  be 
made  in  the  present  mode  of  mining.  Would  you  not  con- 
sider it  an  improvement  to  bring  about  more  thorough 
ventilation  than  they  have  now? 

A.  Yes,  I  certainly  should. 

Q.  If  the  tunnel  were  connected  by  a  great  number  of 
shafts  with  all  portions  of  the  mines,  would  that  not  bring 
about  more  perfect  ventilation  than  there  is  no^v? 

A.  I  have  no  doubt  it  would  somewhat. 

Q.  Wouldn't  that  improve  the  health  of  the  miners? 

A.  I  should  think  so. 

Q.  What  do  you  think  makes  these  miners  over  there 
all  in  favor  of  the  tunnel?  Don't  you  think  they  know 
something  about  mining — that  they  have  a  practical  knowl- 
edge of  mining? 

A.  I  think  they  have  a  practical  knowledge  of  the  use 
of  the  pick,  and  I  da  not  think  that  their  knowledge  goes 
much  beyond  that, 

Q.  You  do  not  think  they  are  men  of  intelligence  ? 

A.  I  wouldn't  say  that  they  are  not  men  of  intelligence, 
I  do  not  think  that  they  have  had  the  opportunities  of 
knowing.  I  doirt  think  that  they  are  the  men  I  should  go 
to  for  special  information  on  mining.  As  mining  men,  I 
should  think  their  information  would  be  of  much  value. 

Q.  Don't  you  think  their  interests  should  be  consulted, 
as  far  as  their  health  and  their  condition  is  concerned? 

A.  I  should  think  it  ought  to  be  consulted  by  the  mining 
companies. 

Q.  Should  it  not.  in  mining  countries,  be  a  subject  of  leg- 
islation, to  compel  mine-owners  to  carry  out  certain  protec- 
tive measure  for  the  lives  and  health  of  the  miners? 

A.  Certainly;  it  is  in  this  country  and  many  others. 


• 


464 

Q.  Isn't  the  opposition  to  this  tunnel  entirely  confined 
to  the  managers  of  the  mines  over  there? 

A.  So  far  as  I  know,  the  active  opposition  to  it  is. 

Q.  Mr.  Kelley,  of  Pennsylvania,  in  a  speech  made  in 
the  House  of  Representatives,  said : 

"  Gentlemen  on  the  other  side  have  spoken  for  the  owners  of  the  mines.  I 
propose  to  speak  for  the  miners,  the  men  who  with  pick  and  shovel  extract 
the  of*e,  and  forty-five  per  cent,  of  whom  die  of  miner's  consumption,  which 
seizes  them  and  penetrates  their  vitals  before  they  are  admonished  of  its  ap- 
proach, and  who  die  in  their  youth,  or  in  the  vigor  of  their  young  manhood, 
prostrated  by  the  heat  and  poisoned  by  the  atmosphere  of  these  mines.  These 
industrious  men  are  subscribing  to  ctock  in  the  Sutro  Tunnel  Company  ;  they 
swarrn  behind  Mr.  Sutro,  and  beg  Congress  to  vest  all  the  rights  in  him  that 
will  enable  him  to  redeem  them  from  the  terrible  doom  to  which  the  so-called 
miners'  friends  would  still  condemn  them. 

"  Sir,  I  brought  with  me  from  one  of  these  mines  a  bit  of  blackened  ore, 
blackened  by  the  smoke  of  a  fire  that  smothered  and  burned  forty-five  of 
these  men  in  the  mine.  Had  there  been  a  tunnel  such  as  Mr.  Satro  is  con- 
structing, they  would  have  been  breathing  pure  air  while  at  work ;  and, 
though  the  lumber  of  the  mine  might  have  burned,  the  miners  could  have 
dropped  below  the  fire  and  escaped.  It  is  essential  to  the  lives  of  the  miners 
that  better  arrangements  in  the  mines  on  the  Pacific  coast,  and  in  the  coal 
mines  of  my  own  State,  should  be  made,  and  our  Legislature  is  perfecting  a 
law  to  compel  their  construction.  This  is  not  a  local  question  ;  it  is  a  na- 
tional question.  The  State  of  Nevada  invested  Mr.  Sutro  with  authority 
and  arguments  with  which  to  present  it  to  the  country  as  a  national  ques- 
tion, and  to  assure  the  country  that,  in  applying  its  funds  to  promote  the 
completion  of  this  great  work,  it  was  promoting  the  interests  of  the  whole 
country." 

I  want  to  ask  you,  General  Wright,  whether  you  heard 
of  any  of  these  laboring  miners  over  there  being  interested 
in  the  tunnel;  whether  they  would  like  to  become  inter- 
ested in  it ;  and  whether  they  would  like  to  see  the  work 
go  through  ? 

A.  Some  of  them,  certainly,  who  were  working  in  the 
tunnel,  as  I  understand  it,  were  paid  partly  in  stock. 
*  Q.  I  want  to  askvyou,  General,  whether  these  laboring 
men,  in  investing  in  the  tunnel,  look  upon  it  as  a  good 
investment  ? 

A.  That  I  cannot  answer. 

Q.  Did  you  find  any  of  those  men  who  had  invested  in 
the  tunnel  company? 

A.  I  did;  and  I  found  a  good  many  men  who  had  in- 
vested in  the  mines  also. 

Q.  Well,  they  were  speculating  in  the  mines? 


465 

A.  Undoubtedly. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  But  not  in  the  tunnel,  I  suppose. 

A.  I  don't  know.     I  cannot  answer  that  question. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Did  you  hear  about  that  fire  in  the  Gold 
Hill  mines? 

A.  I  did? 

Q.  Do  you  think  there  would  have  been  a  greater  chance 
for  escape  if  the  tunnel  had  been  in? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  With  a  bore-hole  from  the  tunnel 
up  to  the  line? 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  If  a  connection  were  made  with  the  tun- 
nel, I  should  think  so — yes. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Would  you,  then,  consider  that  these  mi- 
ners are  not  right  in  urging  the  construction  of  this  tunnel? 

A.  Oh,  I  think  it  would  .add  to  their  security ;  but  I 
think  the  same  security  can  be  attained  in  another  way. 

Q.  Wouldn't  it  give  them  two  chances  of  escape,  either 
one  way  or  the  other? 

A.  I  think  it  would. 

Q.  Now,  General,  I  want  to  ask  you  about  hoisting 
waste  rock  in  some  of  the  mines.  Is  it  not  much  more 
expensive  to  hoist  4  or  5  tons  in  a  mine  than  it  would 
be  to  hoist  200  tons? 

A.  Undoubtedly,  in  proportion. 

Q.  You  didn't  bring  into  your  account  of  the  cost  of 
hoisting  ore  the  cost  of  hoisting  waste  rock? 

A.  I  did  not,  on  account  of  the  indefiniteness  of  the 
amount. 

Q.  Would  you  think  it  would  cost  a  great  deal  more  to 
hoist  waste  rock,  which  would  actually  be  limited  in  quan- 
tity, than  it  would  to  hoist  ore;  supposing  you  take  the 
Ophir  mine,  where  they  hoist  12  tons  a  day? 

A.  It  would  cost  more  per  ton  than  it  will  to  raise  250 
tons  of  ore  in  a  day;  certainly  more  per  ton.. 

Q.  Would  you  think  it  a  fair  estimate>  excluding  the? 
waste  rock? 

A.  I  couldn't  answer  that  question. 

Q.  Mr.  King  states  on  page  153  of  his  report:  j 

30 


466 

"The  Hale  and  Norcross  mine,  in  its  report  for  the  year  ending  M&rch, 
1867,  furnishes  the  following  statement  of  costs <tf  mining  29,401  tons  of  ore: 

Managerial  cost $0,51.7 

Hoisting  power.... 2,33.7 

Mining  cost 4,79.0 

Improvement  cost 65.9 

Relative  expense,  (weighing,  sampling,  and  contingent) 92.9 

9,08.2" 

Could  you  form  any  idea  at  all,  General,  about  what  it 
would  cost  to  hoist  waste  rock  ? 

A.  It  would  depend  entirely  upon  the  quantity  furnished 
per  day. 

Q.  18  it  not  naturally  limited  ? 

A.  Certainly  it  is. 

Q.  Where  they  take  out  200  or  300  tons  of  ore,  wouldn't 
the  quantity  of  waste  rock  only  be  5,  or  10,  or  20,  or  30 
tons  per  day? 

A.  Well,  it  would  depend  upon  the  number  of  men  em- 
ployed. Where  they  strike  a  bonanza,  they  put  in  all  the 
men  they  can  work. 

Q.  Have  you  ever  heard  of  ore  being  hidden  in  a  mine 
by  the  managers  after  it  had  been  discovered? 

A.  I  cannot  say  but  I  have  heard  that  it  has  been  at. 
tempted  to  keep  such  a  thing  secret.  I  really  don't  know 
whether  it  has  been  successful.  This  was  a  mere  rumor. 
I  have  no  information  upon  which  to  substantiate  it. 

Q.  As  far  as  you  know,  is  not  the  general  opinion  over 
there,  that  these  mines  are  managed  for  stock-jobbing  pur- 
poses, in  the  interest  of  rings? 

A.  I  think  they  are  managed  for  stock-jobbing  purposes. 
I  don't  think  they  are  managed  entirely^  perhaps,  in  the 
interests  of  a  ring.  I  would  like  to  say,  further,  that  the 
impression  I  got  there  was,  that  persons  did  not  purchase 
stock  in  the  mines  for  purposes  of  investment  at  all,  but 
for  purposes  of  speculation,  and  it  mattered  very  little  to 
them  whether  the  ore  was  found  or  only  reported  to  be 
foimd. 

Q.  Hasn't  a  law  been  spoken  of  to  be  passed  for  the  bet- 
ter protection  of  stockholders? 


467 

A.  I  don't  know. 

Q.  I  will  read  an  extract  here  from  the  San  Francisco 
CHRONICLE,  of  February  16,  1872.  It  is  headed  "Mining 
Management,"  and  is  as  follows: 

"  A  bill  has  passed  the  Assembly,  and  will  soon  come  up  in  the  Senate, 
which  is  intended  to  correct  some  of  the  abuses  known  to  exist  in  the  man- 
agement of  mining  corporations.  This  bill  provides  that  one-half  (in  inter- 
est) of  the  stockholders  of  a  mining  company  shall  have  power  to  call  a 
general  meeting  at  any  time,  at  which  two-thirds  of  all  the  stock  may  remove 
the  trustees  and  elect  new  ones  in  their  stead.  It  also  provides  that  one- 
third  of  the  stockholders  may  call  for  a  statement  of  the  _  affairs  of  the  com- 
pany— a  concession  of  but  little  practical  value — as  any  stockholder  has  now 
the  right  to  demand  an  examination  of  the  books  whenever  he  pleases.  The 
bill,  as  it  now  stands,  is  entirely  too  limited  in  its  scope  to  meet  the  exigen- 
cies of  the  case.  If  one-third  of  the  stockholders  coula  call  a  meeting,  and  a 
majority  elect  new  trustees,  it  would  be  more  in  accordance  with  practical 
business  ideas.  Let  us  take  an  illustration  from  the  events  of  the  day.  Cer- 
tain persons  have,  within  the  past  few  days,  purchased  a  majority  of  the 
shares  of  the  Savage  Mining  Company,  which  is  incorporated  in  this  State, 
and  will  come  under  the  operation  of  the  proposed  law,  should  it  be  passed. 
This  transaction  involved  the  purchase  of  over  8,000  shares  of  stock,  at  a 
price  said  to  exceed  $200  per  share.  At  these  figures,  $1,600,000  is  the  least 
sum  that  could  have  been  invested.  The  purchasers  oi  this  interest  will  be 
unable  to  obtain  control  of  the  property  until  July  next,  when  the  annual 
election  takes  place,  and,  in  the  meantime,  they  are  entirely  in  the  power  of 
the  present  trustees,  who  are  understood  to  represent  an  advene  faction; 
and  who,  if  they  choose,  may  close  the  mine  and  levy  heavy  assessments,  or 
do  anything  else  they  please  to  depreciate  the  value  of  the  property,  to  all  of 
which  the  owners  of  a  majority  of  the  stock  are  bound  to  suDmit,  because  they 
have  no  remedy.  It  may  be  said  that  respectable  trustees  would  not  do  such 
things,  but  'the  experience  of  the  past  is  the  philosophy  of  the  future,'  and 
two  years  ago,  in  this  very  mine,  when  the  same  interest  as  now  had  con- 
trol, and  their  representatives  were  about  to  retire  from  the  management,  one 
of  their  last  acts  was  to  make  a  contract,  with  mills  belonging  to  their  own 
friends,  to  crush  all  ore  extracted  for  the  next  two  years;  and  it  was  only 
under  threat  of  legal  proceedings  by  the  in-coming  trustees  that  the  contract 
was  rescinded.  The  circumstances  We  have  related  afford  a  very  strong  argu- 
ment in  favor  of  allowing  a  majority  of  the  stockholders  to  change  the  trus- 
tees. There  are  additional  safeguards  which,  in  the  opinion  of  many  person^ 
interested  in  this  description  of  property,  could  be  advantageously  added  to 
the  bill.  It  might  very  properly  be  provided  that  the  eligibility  of  a  person 
for  trustee  should  depena  upon  his  ownership  of  a  certain  proportion  of  the 
shares  of  the  company,  which  should  stand  in  his  own  name  and  actually 
belong  to  him.  Another  terrible  abuse  should  also  be  guarded  against  by 
stringent  and  practical  criminal  provisions.  It  should  be  made  a  State  prison 
offence  for  any  trustee  to  be  concerned  in  using  the  funds  of  the  company  for 
any  other  than  the  company's  uses ;  and  the  same  punishment  should  also 
apply  to  the  officers  who  were  concerned  in  conspiracies  to  depress  the  value 
of  the  stock,  by  means  of  fraudulent  suits  or  other  well-known  devices. 

"  It  would  not  be  difficult  to  frame  a  law  which  would  afford  the  fullest, 
protection  to  stockholders;  and  as  mining  must  always  be  among  the  leading 
industries  of  this  State,  and  as  the  means  for  carrying  on  the  ousiness  can 
most  conveniently  be  provided  through  joint  stock  organizations,  in  which 
the  people  at  large  may  safely  invest,  it  becomes  the  duty  of  the  Legislature 
to  make  such  provisions  as  shall  insure  protection  from  the  dishonesty  of 
those  to  whom  the  management  of  other  people's  property  is  intrusted." 


468 

General,  did  you  hear  complaint  about  the  management 
of  mines,  so  far  as  the  interests  of  the  stockholders  are 
concerned? 

A.  That  I  cannot  say. 

Q.  You  simply  heard  that  the  mines  were  used  for 
stock-jobbing  purposes? 

A.  Entirely  used  by  the  owners  of  the  mines,  by  out- 
siders, and  the  miners  themselves;  in  fact,  by  all  classes  of 
the  community. 

Q.  Did  you  hear  of  immense  fights  taking  place,  and 
immense  excitement  in  the  election  of  trustees? 

A.  I  did  not. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  hear  of  enormous  prices  being  paid 
for  shares,  in  order  to  get  control  of  a  mine? 

A.  I  did  not. 

Q.  Do  those  trustees  get  any  salary  ? 

A.  I  do  not  know. 

Q.  It  is  generally  known  that  they  do  not.  If  the  tun- 
nel be  constructed,  would  it  injure  the  railroad  there  ? 

A.  If  the  tunnel  were  constructed  and  used,  I  think,  as 
we  stated  in  our  report,  that  it  would  be  the  financial 
ruin  of  the  road. 

Q.  It  would  be  a  conflicting  interest,  then  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Is  it  not  a  usual  result  of  conflict  of  interests  in  mak- 
ing improvements,  and  introducing  new  systems,  that  op- 
position is  created? 

A.  I  suppose  so. 

Q.  If  a  railroad  is  started,  do  not  all  the  stage-coach 
drivers  in  the  country  oppose  it,  whom  it  would  throw  out 
of  employment?  ' 

A.  I  presume  so.  I  presume  the  companies  running 
the  excellent  wagon  roads  out  there  opposed  the  construc- 
tion of  the  railroad.  It  has  worked  their  financial  ruin. 
They  are  now  comparatively  worthless. 

Q.  In  the  opposition  against  the  first  railroads  all  sorts 
of  arguments  were  used,  some  of  them  of  the  most  unrea- 
sonable character? 


469 

A.  Shown  to  be  so. 

Q.  They  didn't  appear  to  be  unreasonable  at  the  time? 

A.  I  suppose  they  didn't  appear  so. 

Q.  Didn't  they  state  that  the  species  of  horses  would 
become  extinct,  and  that  oats  and  barley  would  become 
unsaleable  articles? 

A.  I  don't  remember.  There  were  a  great  many  repre- 
sentations of  that  general  character. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  General  Wright,  you  were  asked  why 
the  miners  on  the  Comstock  were  in  favor  of  the  Sutro 
tunnel? 

A.  I  was. 

Q.  What  was  your  answer    . 

A.  I  think  it  was,  I  didn't  know. 

Q.  Don't  you  know  that  there  is  a  great  deal  of  the  stock 
of  the  company  distributed  amongst  particular  miners? 

A.  I  do  not  know  it.  I  know  that  certain  of  it  have 
been  taken  by  the  miners. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Haven't  they  paid  for  all  they  got? 

A.  I  don't  know. 

Q.  Have  you  ever  heard  of  a  man  receiving  a  share  he 
didn't  pay  for? 

A.  I  know  nothing  about  it  at  all,  either  one  way  or  an- 
other. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Do  you  indorse  that  extract  from  the 
speech  of  William  Kelley  that  has  been  read  by  Mr. 
Sutro? 

A.  I  don't  indorse  any  man's  speech.  I  couldn't  make 
any  answer  to  it  as  a  general  question.  If  anything  were 
desired  upon  the  general  points,  I  could  give  it;  but  I 
couldn't  express  an  opinion  in  reference  to  the  whole  of  it. 

Q.  He  spoke  very  feelingly  of  the  unfortunate  death  of 
number  of  miners  by  the  fire.  I  will  get  you  to  state 
whether  the  safety,  so  far  as  it  can  be,  has  not  been  provid- 
ed for  the  miners  by  the  superintendents  of  the  mines? 

A.  I  have  no  doubt  that  greater  safety  could  be  provided. 
I  think  there  is  reasonable  safety  provided  now  in  those 
mines  where  they  are  connected.  The  mines  that  are  work- 


470 

« 

ing  up  their  own  shaft,  and  have  no  connection  with  any 
other,  I  think  ought  to  be  forced  to  make  a  connection  as 
soon  as  possible. 

Q.  If  the  connection  is  made  from  the  tunnel  upward 
by  bore-holes,  would  that  afford  any  exit  for  a  miner  in 
case  of  fire? 

A.  A  simple  bore-hole  of  course  would  not,  but  I  under- 
stood Mr.  Sutro  to  use  this  bore-hole  as  a  preliminary. 

Q.  The  bore-hole  is  for  the  purpose  of  ventilation. 

A.  I  think  not.  I  did  not  so  understand  the  question, 
and  my  answer  had  reference  simply  to  drainage.  A  sin- 
gle bore-hole,  say  of  4  inches,  would  carry  off  a  very  large 
amount  of  water  when  running  under  head,  but  it  would 
afford  very  little  in  the  way  of  ventilation. 

Q.  Do  you  know  how  many  shafts  were  connected  where 
the  fire  took  place  in  Gold  Hill  ? 

A.  I  do  not. 

Q.  Didn't  you  understand  that  the  counter  shaft  of  the 
Yellow  Jacket,  the  Kentuck,  and  the  Crown  Point  were 
connected  ? 

A.  I  understood  that  they  are  connected;  but  whether 
they  were  at  that  time  I  do  not  know. 

Q.  Didn't  you  understand  that  the  men  who  were  lost 
were  at  work  in  each  one  of  those  mines? 

A.  I  did  not. 

Q.  The  larger  number  were  lost  in  the  Crown  Point? 

A.  My  impression,  from  talking  with  two  of  the  super- 
intendents, was,  that  it  was  the  Yellow  Jacket. 

Q.  The  fire  took  place  in  the  Yellow  Jacket,  but  the 
greater  number  was  lost  in  the  Crown  Point.  If  these 
shafts  are  abandoned  upon  the  construction  of  the  tunnel, 
what  escape  would  there  be,  then,  in  case  of  fire? 

A.  That  would  depend  entirely  upon  what  part  of  the 
lode  they  were  working.  If  it  be  below  the  tunnel  level, 
it  would  not  need  a  connection  with  the  surface;  they 
would  escape  by  means  of  the  tunnel. 

Q.  Didn't  this  fire  occur  above  where  the  men  were  at 


471 

work?  The  loss  of  life  was  below  where  the  men  were  at 
work? 

A.  That  I  don't  know. 

Q.  Suppose,  upon  the  completion  of  the  tunnel,  the 
shafts  should  be  abandoned  and  a  fire  occur  on  a  level 
above  where  the  men  were  at  work,  what  escape  would 
they  have? 

A.  They  would  have  the  escape  by  the  connection  of 
the  portion  of  the  level  on  which  they  are  working  with 
the  tunnel  level.  They  could  go  down  to  the  tunnel  level. 
There  must  be  a  connection  between  the  point  at  which 
they  are  working  and  the  tunnel,  if  the  mines  be  operated 
by  the  tunnel. 

Q.  I  understand  you  to  say  that  some  of  these  mines 
there  now  will  be  below  the  tunnel  level  before  this  tunnel 
is  completed. 

A.  Undoubtedly. 

Q.  Suppose  this  fire  should  occur  below  the  tunnel  level 
and  above  where  the  men  are  at  work,  what  escape  will 
there  be  for  the  men  at  all  in  case  the  shafts  are  aban- 
doned? 

A.  They  would  have  to  work  by  means  of  shafts  still. 

Q.  To  what  point? 

A.  Up  to  the  tunnel  level;  and  their  mode  of  escape  to 
the  tunnel  level  would  be  the  same  as  their  mode  of  escape 
from  the  present  mines  to  the  surface.  It  would  be  exactly 
the  same  thing. 

Q.  Do  you  consider  that  the  construction  of  the  tunnel 
will  cause  the  sinking  of  a  greater  number  of  shafts  than 
now  exist  upon  the  Comstock?  In  other  words,  do  you 
suppose  that  in  barren  ground  shafts  would  be  sunk? 

A.  I  don't  know  anything  about  it.  Shafts  would  be 
sunk  where  there  is  any  prospect  of  getting  a  return,  I 
take  it. 

Q.  Are  not  shafts  sunk  now  where  there  is  a  prospect 
of  getting  a  return  ? 

A.  They  so  think. 

Q.  Then,  do  you  think  that  the  construction  of  the  tun- 


472 

nel  would  add  anything  to  the  safety  of  the  miners  in  case 
of  fire  ? 

A.  I  don't  see  how  it  would  below  the  tunnel  level.  If 
operations  were  continued  above,  and  the  shafts  kept  open 
to  the  surface,  and  continued  down,  to  connect  with  the 
tunnel,  it  would  afford  additional  chances  for  escape. 

Q.  If  a  fire  occurs  in  a  mine,  above  where  the  majority 
of  the  men  are  at  work,  the  gas  that  is  generated  by  the 
fire  goes  down,  and  extinguishes  life? 

A.  It  may,  or  it  may  go  up. 

Q.  It  goes  every  way,  I  guess,  don't  it? 

A.  No,  sir.  If  there  were  a  draught  down  one  shaft, 
and  through  the  connection,  and  up  another,  and  the  firo 
were  to  take  place  near  the  up-draught  shaft,  the  gas  would 
all  ascend,  or  nearly  all. 

Q.  Well,  was  there  a  connection  between  the  Crown 
Point,  the  Kentuck,  and  the  Yellow  Jacket  at  the  time  of 
the  fire  there  ? 

A.  That  I  do  not  know. 

Q.  Were  you  not  so  informed  ?  Have  you  not  so  stated 
in  your  report  ? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  think  not,  I  think  we  stated  that  the  Yel- 
low Jacket  and  the  Crown  Point  were  connected.  I  don't 
think  we  stated  it  was  connected  with  the  Kentuck. 


HEARING,  FRIDAY,  MARCH  15TH. 

Maj.  Gen.  Foster  appeared  in  response  to  the  invitation 
of  the  sub-committee,  given  at  Mr.  Sunderland's  request. 

Mr.  Negley  said  that,  in  his  judgment,  he,  as  chairman 
of  the  sub-committee,  had  no  right  to  administer  oaths  to 
witnesses.  If  Gen.  Foster  appeared  as  an  officer  of  the 
Government,  to  make  further  statements  in  regard  to  the 
report  of  the  commissioners,  the  committee  would  hear 
them  as  before,  in  the  nature  of  an  official  report,  and  with- 
out being  under  oath. 

Mr.  Sutro  said,  if  General  Foster  was  to  be  examined  as  one 
of  Mr.  Sunderland's  witnesses,  he  should  insist  on  his  be- 
ing sworn. 

Mr.  Sunderland  replied,  that  he  was  willing  General  Foster 
should  be  counted  as  one  of  the  witnesses  he  was  entitled 
to  bring,  and  that  it  was  immaterial  to  him  whether  his 
testimony  was  under  oath  or  not. 

After  consultation,  the  sub-committee  determined  to  al- 
low General  Foster  to  make  any  explanatory  statement  he 
desired,  in  regard'to  his  former  testimony,  or  in  regard  to 
the  report  of  the  commission,  without  being  sworn;  Mr. 
Sutro  to  have  twice  the  length  of  time  for  cross-examina- 
tion, occupied  by  Mr.  Sunderland  in  his  direct-examina- 


tion. 


General  Foster  was  then  examined  by  Mr.  Sunderland  as 
follows : 

Q.  You  have  spoken  in  your  report  of  a  proposition  to 
construct  a  large  dam  in  the  Carson  river,  at  or  near  the 
Franklin  dam,  for  the  purpose  of  using  the  whole  power 
of  the  Carson  river,  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel.  Please 
state  your  present  conclusion,  in  reference  to  that  whole 
project,  in  your  own  words,  and  in  the  shortest  manner 
possible. 

WITNESS.  Do  you  mean  the  testimony  I  gave  before  the 
committee,  or  do  you  refer  to  the  printed  report  ? 

473 


474 

Mr.  SUNDBRLAND.  I  refer  to  that  portion  of  the  commis- 
sioners' report  relating  to  the  dam;  and  also  to  that  por- 
tion of  your  testimony  relating  to  the  same? 

.4-  I  have  looked  over  the  report  a  second  time,  and  find 
it  is  perfectly  correct;  but  at  the  same  time  one  or  two  ex- 
planations may  be  necessary.  In  the  course  of  my  ex- 
amination I  think  it  was  mentioned  that  the  available  fall 
consequent  upon  this  dam,  which  would  be  155  feet — 
there  being  another  100  feet  fall  to  the  point  of  the  river 
opposite  the  tunnel — would  be  altogether  about  250  feet. 
The  only  view  in  which  such  a  statement  might  be  misun- 
derstood is,  that  which  supposes  the  dam,  or  the  reservoir 
above  the  dam,  to  be  filled  with  water,  and  that  the  water 
is  to  be  drawn  off  from  the  top  of  the  dam.  And  it  does 
not  take  into  consideration,  also,  the  fall  of  the  water  in 
flowing  from  the  dam  to  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel.  If, 
however,  in  the  dry  season,  from  evaporation  or  from 
filtration,  which  is  very  great,  and  into  which  subject  I 
have  looked  closely,  the  water  in  the  reservoir  should  be 
drawn  down,  in  order  to  make  it  available  as  a  reservoir, 
you  must  provide  for  taking  out  the  water  at  the  bottom 
of  the  dam,  instead  of  the  top,  which  would  leave  100  feet 
fall  in  carrying  it  through  an  open  canal  to  a  point  opposite 
the  tunnel. 

Q.  From  what  point  to  what  point  ? 

A.  From  the  foot  of  the  dam,  near  the  Franklin  dam,  to 
the  point  on  the  hill  side  opposite  the  tunnel. 

Q.  Then,  what  would  be  the  fall  obtained  by  building 
the  dam  and  constructing  the  canal,  as  proposed  by  Gen- 
eral Day  in  his  report  ? 

A.  The  actual  available  fall,  if  the  water  is  carried  from 
the  foot  of  the  dam  to  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  or  near  the 
mouth  of  the  tunnel,  would  be  about  90  feet.  Now,  in  re- 
gard to  the  reservoir,  the  dam  proposed  would  make  the 
reservoir  cover  about  1,400  acres :  the  evaporation  from 
which  would  be  about  257  cubic  feet  per  second  in  thp 
summer. 

Q.  What  would  the  filtration  be  ? 


475 

: 

A.  I  mean  the  evaporation  and  filtration  together ;  the 
evaporation  alone  for  a  year  would  be  about  45  vertical 
inches  in  that  climate.  I  make  that  statement  as  the  result 
of  the  observations  and  reports  of  French  engineers,  Eng- 
lish engineers,  and  American  engineers,  which  I  have  con- 
sulted. 

Q.  How  will  that  compare  with  the  volume  of  water 
which  flowed  in  the  Carson  river  at  the  time  you  were 
there? 

A.  I  judge  of  the  water  which  flowed  in  the  Carson  at 
the  time  I  was  there,  as  it  passed  through  Rock  Point  flume, 
at  an  area  of  about  25  square  feet;  which,  with  a  velocity 
of  4  miles  per  hour,  would  give  150  cubic  feet  per  second, 
or  a  little  more  than  half  the  amount  of  evaporation  and 
filtration  in  this  reservoir. 

Q.  The  evaporation  would  be  greatest  during  the  season 
when  the  water  is  the  lowest  ? 

A.  In  the  summer;  yes,  sir. 

Q.  Now,  General,  state  how  much  less  power  would  be 
given,  according  to  this  plan  proposed  by  General  Day,  of 
building  one,  dam  with  a  flume  attached,  than  is  now  obr 
tained  in  the  Carson  river  by  a  succession  of  dams  and 
mills  ? 

A.  By  the  succession  of  dams  now  you  obtain  all  the 
water  that  flows  with,  I  think,  155  feet  fall. 

Q.  In  addition  to  the  100  feet? 

A.  In  addition  to  the  100  feet. 

Q.  After  having  examined  this  subject,  what  is  your 
opinion  as  to  the  practicability  or  possibility  of  getting  suf- 
ficient water  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  to  furnish  the  power 
necessary  to  reduce  the  ore  from  the  Comstock  lode,  to  sup- 
ply the  power  for  compressing  the  air,  and  for  the  raising 
machinery  that  will  be  required? 

A.  I  think  it  will  require  the  additional  aid,  that  I  referred 
to  in  my  first  examination,  of  dams  up  near  the  source  of 
the  streams  that  feed  the  Carson,  to  provide  reservoirs 
higher  up,  else  there  would  not  be  sufficient  water. 
. 


476 

Q.  That  same  increase  of  power  during  the  dry  season 
can  be  obtained  now  in  the  same  manner  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  With  the  advantage  of  150  feet  and  more  additional 
fall? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  wish  to  add  any  other  explanation  to  that,  or 
does  that  explain  your  whole  view  of  the  matter? 

A.  I  do  not  know  of  anything  further  I  desire  to  add, 
unless  you  ask  me  direct  questions. 

Q.  I  understood  you  to  say  that  if  this  water  power  is  not 
sufficient  to  reduce  and  concentrate  all  the  ores  of  Com- 
etock  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  then  the  tunnel  project 
would  be  a  failure? 

A.  Then  the  project  would  not  be  recommended  by  the 
commission.  No,  sir;  they  would  consider  it  a  failure.  As 
they  stated  in  their  report,  they  considered  that  an  essential 
part  of  the  plan. 

By  Mr.  NEGLEY: 

Q.  In  making  your  calculations  of  the  amount  of  water 
evaporated  from  the  surface  of  the  proposed  reservoir,  you 
say  it  would  be  greater  than  by  the  use  of  the  small  dams 
now  in  existence? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  If  the  area  of  these  additional  dams  or.  series  of  dams 
now  constructed  were  equal  to  that  of  a  larger  reservoir, 
would  the  evaporation  be  the  same? 

A.  Certainly. 

Q.  Consequently  you  would  have  to  take  into  account 
the  area  of  the  present  dams,  in  order  to  find  the  difference 
between  the  evaporation  from  the  single  reservoir  and  that 
from  the  series  of  dams  now  constructed? 

A.  The  smaller  reservoirs  constructed  by  the  dams  now 
in  use  are  confined  to  the  channel  of  the  stream,  which  is 
very  deep  and  narrow.  The  water  is  confined  within  the 
river  banks,  while  the  reservoir  contemplated  by  this  pro- 
posed dam  would  cover  a  large  area,  extending  over  a  tract 
of  1,400  acres.  The  evaporation  would  be  much  greater 


477 

in  this  case.  In  France  they  found,  after  constructing  a 
new  canal,  that  the  whole  body  of  water  in  the  canal  would 
be  emptied  out  ifc  a  very  few  days.  After  a  year  had 
elapsed,  they  found*  the  whole  body  would  be  emptied  in 
considerably  less  time;  and  after  12  years,  that  it  would 
be  emptied  in  a  few  months:  showing  the  great  amount  of 
filtration  that  was  taking  place.  The  character  of  the 
rocks  along, the  banks  of  these  streams  is  favorable  to  fil- 
tration, and  the  soil  is  favorable  to  filtration;  so  .that  I 
hardly  think  it  would  be  possible  to  construct  so  large  a 
reservoir  without  finding  the  difficulties  from  filtration 
and  evaporation  insurmountable. 

B/Mr.  SUTRO. 

Q.  What  is  the  depth  of  that  gorge,  through  which  the 
Carson  makes  its  way — what  is  the  angle  of  the  walls  ? 

A.  It  is  different  at  different  cross-sections.  Where  it 
flows  through  the  mountains,  the  sides  are  very  precip- 
itous. 

Q.  What  is  the  angle,  in  your  judgment? 

A.  It  would  be  necessary  to  measure  it  to  answer  your 
question  accurately. 

Q.  Have  you  ever  seen  a  mountain  as  steep  as  45  de- 
grees ? 

A.  I  have  seen  plenty  of  mountains  as  steep  as  that. 

Q.  Do  you  think  there  are  many  mountains  alongside  of 
the  Carson  as  steep  as  45  degre.es? 

A.  You  know  there  are,  of  course. 

Q.  Are  there  any  steeper  than  45  degrees  ? 

A.  You  know  there  are,  of  course :  I  answer  yes. 

Q.  How  much  steeper  ? 

A.  I  cannot  answer  your  question  without  knowing  the 
measurement, 

Q.  Have  you  ever  looked  at  Mount  Davidson  ? 

A.  I  have. 

Q.  Do  you  not  think  Mount  Davidson  is  as  steep  as  any 
of  the  mountains  along  the  Carson  river? 

A.  I  do  not  know  the  object  of  asking  me  such  a  ques- 
tion as  that. 


478 

Q.  I  want  to  ascertain  the  angle  of  the  sides  of  the  gorge 
through  which  the  Carson  runs,  and  you  can  only  arrive 
at  it  by  comparison. 

A.  You  know  very  well  that  the  sides  of  Mount  David- 
son are  not  as  steep  as  some  of  the  mountains  bordering  on 
the  Carson. 

Q.  How  much  steeper  are  they? 

A.  I  do  not  know  how  to  answer  your  question.  In  some 
places  the  sides  are  vertical. 

Q.  For  how  long  a  distance  are  they  vertical? 

A.  I  cannot  answer. 

Q.  Are  they  for  as  much  as  100  feet? 

A.  I  do  not  undertake  to  say. 

Q.  Are  they  as  much  as  200  feet  ? 

A.  I  cannot  answer  such  a  question ;  it  is  very  easy  to 
have  a  survey  made. 

Q.  Now,  General,  I  want  to  ask  you  whether — with  moun- 
tains rising  out  of  the  river  on  each  side,  if  you  should  dam 
the  river — would  the  greatest  body  of  water  be  at  the  top 
or  bottom? 

A.  That  is  a  very  indefinite  question. 

Q.  Suppose  the  dam  to  be  200  feet  high,  would  the  larger 
body  of  water  be  above  the  height  of  150  feet  or  below  ? 

A.  Your  question  is  so  vague,  I  cannot  understand  it. 

Q.  I  mean,  which  is  the  larger  area,  taking  the  narrow 
gorge  and  going  150  feet  in  height,  and  then  taking  the 
area  50  feet  above? 

A.  That  is  a  mathematical  question,  for  which  you  must 
give  me  some  of  the  dimensions  to  enable  me  to  work  it 
out. 

Q,  Say  the  river  at  the  bottom  is  30  feet  in  width,  at  a 
height  of  250  feet  it  is  800  feet  in  width,  at  a  height  of  300 
feet  it  is  1,500  feet  in  width  I  want  to  know  whether  or  not 
there  is  any  more  water  from  the  line  of  250  feet  up  than 
there  is  below  that  line? 

A.  With  the  dimensions  you  have  given,  the  area  below 
the  800  feet  line  is  about  107,500  feet;  the  area  above  is 
57,500  feet.  Therefore  the  area  above  is  smaller,  and  the 


479 

body  of  water  would  be  greater,  because  the  cross-sections, 
multiplied  by  the  length,  would  give  you  the  solidity ;  the 
area  below  would  be  nearly  twice  the  area  above. 

Q.  Is  there  any  difficulty  in  making  a  dam  300  feet  high, 
and  in  making  the  outlet  50  feet  below  the  top? 

A.  I  think  there  would  be  very  great  difficulty  in  mak- 
ing that  dam  800  feet  high. 

Q.  Will  you  explain  the  difficulty? 

A.  The  difficulty  is  in  the  pressure  of  the  body  of  water, 
the  character  of  the  material,  and  the  height. 

Q.  Do  you  mean  to  say,  as  an  engineer  that  you  cannot 
construct  a  dam  300  feet  high  in  a  rocky  gorge  so  narrow 
as  the  one  in  question? 

A.  I  did  not  say  I  could  not  construct  such  a  dam ;  I 
said  there  would  be  great  difficulty  in  doing  it.  I  answer 
your  question,  that  it  is  not  impossible,  but  it  would  be  very 
difficult. 

Q.  Do  you  say  that  it  would  not  be  practicable  to  blast, 
out  rocks  from  the  sides  of  the  mountain,  and  let  them 
down  into  the  gorge,  so  as  to  make  a  dam  of  sufficient 
strength  ? 

A.  It  would,  of  course,  be  possible  to  make  a  dam  of 
sufficient  strength. 

Q.  The  difference  in  the  construction  of  such  a  dam  and 
a  smaller  one  is  simply  a  question  of  additional  cost,  is  it 
not? 

A.  It  is  a  question  of  cost  and  of  time. 

Q.  Do  you  see  any  difficulty  in  blasting  down  material 
sufficient  to  fill  up  that  river  200  or  300  feet  in  length  ? 

A.  You  would  have  to  fill  it  up  a  greater  distance  than 
200  or  300  feet,- if  you  propose  to  make  the  dam  300  feet 
high. 

Q.  Say  500  feet,  then;  would  that,  in  your  judgment,  be 
a  proper  thickness  at  the  bottom  ?  I  should  like  to  ob- 
tain your  opinion  on  that  subject,  for  we  will  make  that 
dam  some  day. 

A.  The  width  should  be  515  feet. 


480 

Q.  Now,  General,  let  me  ask  you  whether  you  see  any 
difficulty  in  making  a  gate  50  feet  below  the  top  of  the 
dam,  so  as  to  allow  the  water  to  escape  at  that  point? 

A.  There  is  difficulty,  of  course;  it  would  be  practicable 
and  possible. 

Q.  It  would  be  a  simple  operation,  in  fact? 

A.  No,  not  a  simple  operation,  but  perfectly  practicable. 

Q.  Supposing  that  to  be  done,  would  that  make  255  feet 
fall  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  the  outlet  being  made  50 
feet  below  the  top  of  the  dam  ? 

A.  No. 

Q.  How  much  less  will  be  secured  ? 

A.  You  will  get  a  fall  of  48  feet  at  the  mouth  of  the  tun- 
nel. 

Q.  How  do  you  figure  that  out — will  you  explain  it  ?— sup- 
posing the  dam  to  be  200  feet  high,  which  I  intended  to 
give  as  the  height,  instead  of  300  feet? 

A.  You  can  suppose  anything,  but  I  would  not  like  to 
base  a  calculation  upon  so  wild  a  supposition  as  that. 

Q.  Do  you  consider  it  wild  to  make  a  dam  200  feet  high  ? 

A.  I  do  not  believe  it  would  be  possible  to  construct  a 
dam  200  feet  high,  which  would  stand  and  hold  the  water 
in  that  gorge.  It  would  be,  of  course,  practicable  to  build 
the  dam,  but  I  do  not  believe  it  would  be  possible  to  hold 
the  water  with  a  dam  of  above  150  feet  high. 

Q.  What  would  prevent  you  from  retaining  the  water, 
supposing  the  dam  to  be  lined  with  planks? 

A.  The  water  would  go  through,  the  banks  like  a  sieve, 
you  would  have  to  line  the  banks  almost  the  entire  length 
of  the  reservoir. 

Q.  Do  you  not  know  that  there  is  a  sort  of  alkaline  earth 
there,  which  forms  a  lining  which  is  impervious  to  water  ? 

A.  No;  I  know  that  rock  is  full  of  seams,  and  that  you 
could  not  prevent  the  water  from  filtering  through  with  a 
dam  of  the  height  you  propose.  In  the  Louisville  and 
Portland  canal,  with  the  same  general  character  of  rocks, 
the  water  not  only  filters  through  the  rocks,  but  burst  out 


481 

miter  sills,  with  ahead  of  only  nine  feet:  and  you  proposed 
ahead  of  200  feet. 

Q.  You  have  just  said  that  it  is  practicable  to  construct 
a  dam  200  feet  high  of  sufficient  strength;  the  question, 
then,  is  on o  of  leakage? 

A.  Yes,  it  is  one  of  leakage. 

Q.  Could  not  the  dam  be  lined  with  tw'o  or  three  thick- 
nesses of  planks,  so  as  to  make  it  perfectly  water-tight? 

A.  Yes,  you  can  make  a  dam  water-tight ;  but  I  do  not 
intend  to  say  that  you  can  make  a  j  auction  between  the 
dam  and  the  rocks  water-tight.  I  do  not  believe  you  will 
find  it  possible  to  make  the  junction  water-tight  with  a  dam 
200  feet  high,  as  you  propose. 

Q.  Suppose  you  puddle  it  with  clay  at  the  junction,  and 
plank  the  sides? 

A.  That  would  not  make  any  difference;  you  cannot 
puddle  with  clay  down  into  the  rock,  and  it  would  still 
leave  the  junction  with  the  rock  not  water-tight;  and  I  do 
not  see  how  it  could  be  made  water-tight. 

Q.  That  is  contrary  to  my  experience.  I  have  seen  them 
built  as  tight  as  a  tub  ? 

A.  I  have  seen,  within  a  few  months,  the  miter  sills  of  a 
ship  canal  forced  out  with  a  head  of  9  feet  of  water. 

Q.  Now,  to  return  to  my  question :  suppose  the  dam  to 
be  200  feet  high,  could  you  make  the  outlet  50  feet  below 
the  top — can  that  be  done? 

A.  I  do  not  like  to  answer  any  such  questions,  I  con- 
sider the  supposition  altogether  too  wild,  and  I  do  not  care 
to  make  figures  upon  it.  When  you  will  give  me  a  basis 
that  is  practicable,  I  am  ready  to  make  figures  upon  it. 

Q.  What  is  wild  in  my  supposition  ? 

A.  The  height. 

Q.  You  do  not  mean  to  say  that  yon  could  not  build  a 
[am  200  feet  high? 

A.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  you  cannot  pile  rock  200 
feet  high.  I  do  say  it  would  be  very  difficult,  if  not  impossi- 
)le,  to  make  such  a  dam  that  would  hold  water. 

Q.  Could  you  say  that,  when  the  dam  is  to  be  con- 
31 


482 

structed  in  a  rocky  gorge,  with  the  sides  at  an  angle  of  45 
degrees  ? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  ]STow,  then,  suppose  the  dam  to  be  200  feet  high,  and 
the  outlet  50  feet  below  the  top,  how  much  fall  could%  you 
get  at  the  tunnel? 

A.  About  lOO^feet  to  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel. 

Q.  Would  not  the  fall  be  200  feet  at  the  mouth  of  the 
flume? 

A,  It  would  make  about  190  feet  fall  to  the  river. 

Q.  How  do  you,  make  that  out;  is  there  not  from  the 
mouth  of  the  tunnel  to  the  river  154  feet,  and  100  feet 
above,  making  254  feet  in  all? 

A.  If  you  draw  the  water  off  at  that  height,  and  let  it 
run  at  that  declivity,  you  would  get  about  240  feet  fall ;  but 
you  do  not  suppose  you  could  keep  the  reservoir  full  at 
that  height. 

Q.  I  will  come  to  that  in  a  moment.  How  much  fall  is 
necessary  in  5  miles  to  carry  the  water  from  the  dam  to  the 
mouth  of  the  tunnel  ? 

A.  About  twelve  inches  to  the  mile. 

Q.  Is  that  necessary? 

A.  I  do  not  say  it  is  absolutely  necessary ;  it  is  a  proper 
allowance. 

Q.  Have  you  ever  seen  flumes  absolutely  level,  and  the 
water  still  running  from  them  ? 

A.  Water  will  seek  its  level  of  course. 

Q.  At  what  rate  would  water  flow  in  a  flume  10  feet 
deep,  if  carried  at  a  perfect  level? 

A.  It  would  not  flow  at  all. 

Q:  I  mean,  of  course,  with  an  outlet  at  the  end  of  the 
flume? 

A.  With  one  end  full  at  the  dam,  and  the  other  end  open 
ten  feet  deep,  the  water  would  flow,  of  course.  The  rate 
of  flow  would  depend  altogether  upon  the  head  of  the 
reservoir. 

Q.  Say  it  has  no  head  at  all,  but  is  kept  full  at  one  end 
at  the  dam  and  is  10  feet  deep  and  50  feet  in  width? 


483 

A.  The  formulas  will  give  you  the  velocity  with  which 
it  will  flow  out.  I  think  it  would  be  about  18  feet  a  second 
in  the  middle  of  a  section  10  feet  square  in  the  dam. 

Q.  How  much  would  that  be  an  hour? 

A.  About  12  miles  an  hour. 

Q.  That  is  a  pretty  rapid  flow,  is  it  not? 

A.  That  depends  upon  what  you  consider  rapid;  some 
people  would  consider  it  very  slow. 

Q.  Then,  with  the  flume  at  a  perfect  level,  you  would 
get  254  feet  fall? 

A.  No;  my  calculation  was  240  feet. 

Q.  You  understand  that  I  am  now  speaking  of  having 
the  flume  perfectly  level  ? 

A.  I  do  not  undertake  to  say  with  this  level  flume  the 
water  delivered  would  flow  at  that  velocity.  You  could 
not  deliver  a  full  flume  of  water  without  a  head  of  at  least 
5  feet.  Without  that  of  course  the  flume  would  not  be 
full. 

Q.  Do  you  mean  that  it  would  not  carry  the  water  through 
at  all? 

A.  It  would  carry  it  through,  but  not  at  this  velocity. 

Q.  Then  at  what  velocity  ? 

,  A.  I  am  not  prepared  to  state  that;  I  have  not  a  formula 
here  to  calculate  the  friction. 

Q.  Now,  your  difficulty  is  about  evaporation.  How  much 
do  you  say  it  would  amount  to  ? 

A.  In  England  the  average  of  this  year's  rain  fall  is 
33  ffc  inches;  evaporation,  36  TY<r  inches. 

Q.  I  am  not  now  speaking  of  England,  but  of  Nevada? 

A.  I  am  giving  you  the  basis  of  my  calculations.  Dur- 
ing the  winter  months  the  rain  fall  was  14  y1-^  inches;  the 
evaporation,  12  ^  inches;  in  the  summer  the  rain  fall  was 
19  j'Yo"  inches,  and  evaporation  36  /^  inches.  To  sum  up 
these  observations  in  England  :  in  localities  similar  to  those 
>f  the  Carson,  Nevada — that  is,  in  dry  localities — the  evap- 
oration during  the  year  was  44  T4^  inches.  At  Deep  creek, 
in  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  at  the  summit  of  the  Chesa- 
peake and  Ohio  canal,  the  evaporation  for  104  days  was 


484 

14  j4^  inches.  At  Salem,  Massachusetts,  the  evaporation  for 
tlie  year  was  56  inches.  I  think  it  would  be  safe  to  say 
that  the  evaporation  in  Nevada  would  be  at  least  equal  to 
that  of  Deep  creek,  which  was  44  /^  inches. 

Q.  Suppose  the  evaporation  to  be  44  ^  inches,  and  sup- 
pose we  have  a  dam  200  feet  high,  how  much  would  that 
leave  us  at  the  end  of  the  season  ? 

A.  That  would  depend  of  course  upon  how  much  water 
yon  would  draw  off. 

Q.  Suppose  there  should  be  no  water  drawn  off,  but  it 
should  remain  a  lake  200  feet  deep,  and  the  evaporation 
should  be  44  inches,  how  deep  would  it  leave  that  lake? 

A.  Just  44  inches  less.  I  suppose  a  little  over  196  feet 
altogether;  that  is,  supposing  there  was  no  filtration  or 
leakage. 

Q.  You  say  that  is  a  fair  statement  of  the  evaporation? 

A.  Yes.  I  can  give  you  the  French  reports,  too,  if  you 
want  them,  which  give  a  little  more. 

Q.  We  admit  that  there  will  be  that  much  evaporation. 
Now,  I  want  to  ask  you  whether  you  know  anything  about 
the  rain  fall  during  the  winter  or  rainy  season? 

A.  Yes.  I  know  from  the  report  of  General  Day  which 
is  here. 

Q.  Now,  suppose  there  were  dams  made  up  in  the  moun- 
tains, would  not  the  evaporation  be  a  great  deal  more  at  a 
higher  elevation? 

A.  Evaporation  depends  more  upon  temperature  than 
altitude. 

Q.  Does  it  not  depend  upon  elevation  to  a  very  large 
extent  ? 

A.  No ;  the  evaporation  is  greater  at  the  sea  shore  than 
in  the  mountains.  It  is  greater,  for  instance,  at  Salem 
than  at  Deep  creek,  in  the  Alleghany  mountains. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  the  temperature  of  the 
Sierra  Nevada  mountains  in  the  summer  time? 

A.  I  do  not  know  that  I  do. 

Q.  Do  }rou  not  know  that  in  the  gorges,  .where  these 


485 


dams  would  be  constructed,  the  heat  is  greater  than  it  is 
on  the  plains? 

A.  I  suppose  you  ought  to  know  that. 

Q.  Did  I  understand  you  to  say  that  evaporation  is  more 
rapid  in  higher  altitudes  than  in  lower? 

A.  !N"o;  what  you  are  thinking  of,  I  presume,  is  the 
point  at  which  water  will  boil,  which  is  at  a  much  less  de- 
gree of  temperature  in  the  mountains.  Evaporation  -de- 
pends upon  pressure  to  some  extent,  but  upon  temperature 
more  than  anything  else. 

Q.  You  stated  that  you  obtain  the  same  fall  by  the 
smaller  dams  which  they  have  now.  l^"ow,  if  you  do  not 
get  the  full  amount  of  fall,  do  you  not  make  it  up  in  the 
quantity  of  water? 

A.  In  case  the  large  dam  is  built,  as  the  reservoir  is 
drawn  off,  you  must  take  the  water  from  the  bottom  of  the 
dam,  and  you  lose  all  the  fall  above. 

Q.  Can  you  economize  all  this  water  unless  you  make 
dams  somewhere? 

A.  I  presume  it  will  be  necessary  to  economize  the 
water  by  constructing  dams  somewhere;  but  the  better 
way  would  be,  as  I  said  in  my  first  examination,  to  make 
them  up  in  the  ravines,  beyond  the  dams  already  in  exist- 
ence. You  will  then  save  all  the  water  power,  and  save 
also  the  water,  by  constructing  the  reservoir  back  in  tl^e 
mountains. 

Q.  I  want  to  ask  you  one  more  question,  now,  in  regard 
to  this,  matter  of  infiltration,  which  you  have  laid  great 
stress  upon:  whether  you  have  never  seen  along  those 
plains  pools  of  water  formed  by  the  winter  rains  which 
have  remained  all  summer,  the  bottom  being  water-tight? 

A.  My  observation  of  the  soil  of  that  country  is,  that  it 
sucks  up  water  with  the  greatest  avidity.  You  know  that 
the  sink  of  the  Carson  is  not  very  far  from  this  point, 
(proposed  location  of  dam,)  where  the  whole  river  disap- 
pears, and  that,  the  Humboldt  disappears  in  the  same  way. 
I  observed  that  it  was  a  thirsty  soil,  and  that  it  drinks  up 
water  with  the  greatest  avidity. 


486 

Q.  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  the  sink  of  the  Carson,  the 
sink  of  the  Humboldt,  and  the  sink  of  the  Truckee,  are  to 
be  accounted  for  by  the  doctrine  of  infiltration? 

A.  I  have  not  made  a  statement  of  that  kind.  I  said 
that  the  sink  of  the  Humboldt  and  the  sink  of  the  Carson 
in  that  vicinity  showed  that  to  be  a  thirsty  soil. 

Q.  Don  say  that  these  rivers  sank  by  filtering  into  the 
earth  ? 

A.  They  filter  into  the  earth  or  evaporate  into  the  air. 

By  Mr.  SUNDERLAND  : 

Q.  If  the  water  is  taken  from  the  top,  or  near  the  top  of 
the  dam, is  there  any  advantage  in  the  dam  as  a  reservoir? 

A.  No,  none  whatever. 

Q.  If  the  water  should  be  taken  out  near  the  top  of  the 
dam,  would  not  the  evaporation  and  percolation  be  so  great, 
that  with  the  flow  of  the  Carson  river  in  the  dry  season 
there  would  be  no  water  for  use  at  all  ? 

A.  The  evaporation  and  filtration  in  a  reservoir  of  that 
size  would  be  nearly  twice  the  whole  body  of  water  which 
flows  in  the  Carson  in  the  dry  season,  according  to  the  ob- 
servations which  I  have  given  you,  and  which,  I  think, 
establish  the  fact. 


HEARING  MONDAY,  MARCH  18m 

I.  L.  REQUA  called  and  examined. 

By  Mr.  SUNDERLAND  : 

Q.  How  long  have  you  been  upon  the  coast  of  Califor- 
nia? 

A.  About  22  }rears  upon  the  coast. 

Q.  How  long  have  you  been  engaged  in  mining? 

A.  About  17  years  in  mining  and  milling. 

Q.  What  portion  of  that  time  have  you  been  engaged  in 
milling  actually? 

A.  About  six  years. 

Q.  How  long  have  you  been  upon  the  Comstock  ? 

A.  Eleven  years  next  June. 

Q.  What  has  been  your  business  since  you  have  been 
upon  the  Comstock? 

A.  Mining  and  milling. 

Q.  In  what  capacity  ? 

A.  In  mining  and  milling — in  running  a  mill.  I  have 
always  owned  an  interest  in  it — running  it  for  myself  and 
parties  owning  it  with  me. 

Q.  Then  you  superintended  it? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  When  not  engaged  in  milling,  what  were  you  en- 
gaged in  ? 

A.  Mining  and  superintending. 

Q.  Are  you  acquainted  with  the  mills  on«Carsou  river? 

A.  I  am,  sir. 

Q.  I  will  get  you  to  give  the  names  of  those  mills,  to- 
gether with  their  capacity — the  capacity  of  each,  and  their 
value? 

A.  I  will  start  first  with  the  Mexican,  150  tons  capacity, 
value  §250,000;  the  Morgan,  100  tons  capacity,  value 
§150,000;  Brunswick,  200  tons,  value  $300,000;  the  Mer- 
rimack,  45  tons,  value  §100,000  ;  the  Vivian,  35  tons,  value 
$75,000;  the  Santiago,  70  tons,  §140,000;  Eureka,  just 

487 


488 

completed,  200  tons,  cost  $350,000;  Franklin,  30  tons, 
$75,000;  Woodworth,  80  tons,  §150,000;  Birdsall,  120  tons, 
valued  at  §240,000;  Rock  Point,  80  tons,  value  $100,000 : 
making  a  total  of  1,110  tons  per  day,  and  a  total  valuation 
of  $1,980,000. 

By  the  CHAIRMAN: 

Q.  May  I  ask  what  the  valuation  is  taken  from  ? 

A.  It  is  taken  from  the  owners  of  the  mills,  the  prices 
paid  for  them,  and  the  amount  of  their  cost — the  value  set 
upon  them  by  the  men  who  own  them. 

By  Mr.  SUNDERLAND  : 

Q.  I  will  get  you  to  state  now  whether  these  mills  oc- 
cupy all,  or,  if  not  all,  what  proportion  of  the  available 
mill-sites  and  power  upon  that  river? 

A.  I  think  nearly  all.  I  believe  they  calculate  that 
there  are  about  two  sites  more  that  could  be  made  availa- 
ble. 

Q.  Do  you  remember  the  fall  in  each  or  either  of  those 
mill-sites  not  now  occupied? 

A.  I  think  they  estimate  one  at  about  20' feet,  which 
could  be  increased  some;  the  other  about  fifteen. 

Q.  How  does  the  capacity  of  the  mills  upon  the  Carson 
river  compare,  in  its  reduction  of  ore,  with  the  Corn- 
stock  ? 

A.  The  mills  on  the  Carson  river  will  work  all  the  ore 
that  the  Comstock  is  producing  to-day  within  300  tons. 

Q.  Compared  with  the  value  or  cost  of  the  mills,  what 
would  be  the  expense  of  removing  the  mills  from  their 
present  location  to  a  point  on  the  Carson  river  opposite 
the' mouth  of  the  Sutro  tunnel? 

A.  Let  me  see  if  I  understand  you  correctly.  Your 
question  is,  what  will  be  the  expense  of  removing  the  mills. 

Q.  Taking  into  consideration  the  damage  and  injury 
done  to  any  or  every  part  of  the  mill  in  tearing  it  down 
and  removing  it. 

,  A.  I  might  almost  as  well  build  them  up  anew.  As  a 
rule,  they  are  so  built.  Old  quartz  mills  are  not  valued 
very  highly,  except  for  the  old  iron  contained  in  them; 


489 

I 

that  is,  as  fur  as  removing  them  and  putting  them  up  anew. 
The  rule  is  to  use  new  material.  Those  who  do  not  do  so, 
generally  regret  it. 

Q.  IIow  many  mills  have  you  known  to  be  removed 
from  one  point ,to  another  in  that  district? 

A.  Well,  I  do  not  recollect  now  of  any  that  were  re- 
moved from  one  point  to  another  in  that  district.  I  know 
of  one  or  two  that  were  taken  down  and  refitted  and  taken 
to  White  Pine.  I  have  no  recollection  of  any,  at  present, 
being  removed  in  that  district.  General  Williams  moved 
one  from  American  Flat  down  to  Spring  Valley,  I  believe. 
I  heard  the  General  myself  say  that  it  cost  more  than  it 
would  to  build  a  new  mill,  and  he  has  no  mill  now. 

Q.  According  to  the  survey  and  report  of  General  Day, 
what  would  be  the  fall  from  the  proposed  dam  of  the  Car- 
son river,  at  or  near  the  Franklin  dam,  to  a  poiflt  opposite 
the  Sutro  tunnel,  if  the  dam  is  used  for  a  reservoir? 

A.  General  Day  gives  that  here  in  his  report.  He  says 
the  point  selected  is  the  Franklin  dam. 

Q.  The  fall  of  the  river  from  this  point  to  the  point  op- 
posite the  Sutro  tunnel  is  100  feet? 

A.  I  never  surveyed  it. 

Q.  How  high  is  the  bank  there  ? 

WITNESS.  The  bank  where  ? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.    At  a  point  opposite  the  Sutro  tunnel. 

A.  My  recollection  is  the  banks  are  not  high. 

Q.  Ten  feet? 

A.  Might  be  15  or  20.  It  runs  off  very  flat.  I  never 
measured  them. 

Q.  Then,  what  would  the  whole  be,  supposing  it  is  10  or 
15  feet? 

A.  General  Day  says  here  that  the  fall  of  the  river  is 
100  feet.  I  think  that  answers  the  question. 

Q.  The  height  of  the  bank  then  would  be  deducted  from 
the  100  feet,  would  it  not? 

H.  That  I  could  not  say.  I  did  not  make  the  survey.  I 
should  infer  it  would — the  river  bank  or  river  bed,  which- 
ever he  measured.  If  you  measure  the  bed,  you  get  a  fall 


490 

of  100;  if  von  measure  at  the  surface,  1  presume  his  cal- 
culation was  the  same.  I  do  not  think  there  is  very  much 
difference. 

Q.  What  would  be  the  proportion  of  power  at  a  point 
opposite  the  tunnel,  where  this  water  could  be  taken  from 
the  reservoir,  as  proposed,  to  the  power  now  utilized  in  the 
Carson  river  ? 

A.  There  would  be  55  feet  less  than  the  present  fall,  ac- 
cording to  General  Day.  I  think  that  is  it. 

Q.  How  much  of  a  fall  is  there  below  Rock  Point  to  the 
point  below  the  fall? 

A.  That  I  could  not  say.  There  is  155  feet  to  the  Frank- 
lin dam;  and  100  feet  from  there  down. 

Q.  That  is  255  feet? 

A.  Yes,  sir.  j 

WITNESS.  Do  you  include  the  Rock  Point  mill  in  that 
question? 

COUNSEL.  That  is  the  one  I  am  talking  about  now — 
about  the  mills  on  the  Carson  river,  as  they  exist  at  present. 

WITNESS,  (resuming.)  One  hundred  and  fifty-five  feet 
from  the  Mexican  dam  to  the  Franklin  dam  and  fall  of  the 
river.  From  the  Franklin  dam  to  a  point  opposite  the 
tunnel  is  100  feet. 

Q.  Below  the  Rock  Point  mill,  is  there  any  such  fall  in 
the  river  as  could  be  utilized  for  power?  Is  there  suffi- 
cient fall  to  run  any  mill  of  any  description  ? 

A.  Well,  there  might  be  a  possibility  of  getting  in  one 
mill  with  a  very  small  fall. 

Q.  About  how  much? 

A.  That  is  an  opinion  that  is  called  for,  because  I  never 
surveyed  that.  I  had  no  figures  for  it. 

Q.  Does  the  current  flow  rapidly  below  where  the  race 
comes  into  the  river  from  Rock  Point  mill? 

A.  £To,  sir;  goes  very  sluggishly. 

Q.  Now,  you  have  given  the  present  capacity  of  the 
mills  on  the  Carson  river  at  about  1,100  tons  per  day. 
Taking  this  present  fall  utilized — the  power  utilized  upon 
the  river  now — and  comparing  it  with  the  90  feet,  or  what- 


491 

ever  the  foil  is  of  the  Franklin  dam,  down  to  a  point  op- 
posite the  tunnel,  how  will  the  power  at  the  mouth  of  the 
tunnel  compare  with  the  present  power  as  utilized  on  the 
Carson  river? 

A.  Be  about  one-third  less. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  ahout  the  quantity  of  water 
required  for  concentrating? 

A.  No,  only  what  I  have  seen  operated  there  in  Vir- 
ginia City. 

Q.  What  kind  of  concentration  do  you  refer  to? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAXD.  That  is  a  little  more  than  I  can  tell 
you,  because  I  am  not  sufficiently  acquainted  with  the  ma- 
chinery for  concentration. 

Q.  What  kind  of  concentration  have  you  seen  used 
there? 

A.  There  was  an  effort  made  there  at  one  time  by  Mr. 
Uzney  to  concentrate  the  ore  in  a  coarser  state,  not  in 
pulp — broken  up  in  small  pieces  from  the  .size  of  a  pea  to  a 
walnut.  That  was  a  failure, because  there  was  not  water 
enough  in  the  whole  of  that  section  of  country  to  concen- 
trate ten  tons  a  day  with.  Aside  from  that,  the  concentra- 
tion was  a  failure,  because  it  did  not  work  as  he  antici- 
pated. 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  he  called  that — the  machinery  he 
used  ? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  talked  with  him  about  it,  and  he  said  it 
was  still  used  in  Germany. 

Q.  Deducting  any  quantity  of  water  that  might  be  nec- 
essary for  concentrating  and  compressing  air  at  the  mouth 
of  the  tunnel  in  the  Comstock,  what  amount  of  power 
would  be  left  for  milling  at  the  point  opposite  the  mouth 
of  the  tunnel  ? 

A.  That  would  all  depend  upon  the  amount  of  air  that 
you  compressed.  You  could  not  arrive  at  that  at  all  with- 
out definitely  stating  the  amount  of  air  that  would  be  nec- 
essary. 

Q.  Well,  it  would  require  power  to  compress  air,  and 


492 

also  to  concentrate,  over  and  above  the  water  used  for  the 
reduction  of  the  ore  fo  a  pulp,  would  it  not? 

A.  I  suppose  so. 

Q.  Then,  I  will  get  you  to  state  whether  or  not  there 
would  be  power,  taking  the  water  as  proposed  in  this  res- 
ervoir, and  taking  it  to  a  point  opposite  the  tunnel,  to 
reduce  the  ore  of  the  Comstock,  if  the 'mines  would  yield 
as  they  do  now. 

A.  No,  sir;  there  would  not. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  the  cost  of  milling  upon 
the  Carson  river  at  present,  and  after  the  ore  is  delivered 
at  the  mill? 

A.  They  claim  to  do  it  there  for  $4  50  per  ton, 

Q.  You  are  a  mill  man;  you  have  been  engaged  in  that 
business  how  long? 

A.  Some  six  years  ? 

Q.  I  will  get  you  to  state  whether  that  is  an  unreason- 
able estimate  upon  the  cost  of  milling? 

A.  Nbt  in  the  manner  they  are  milling — I  should  say 
not.  I  should  think  that  is  a  very  fair  estimate. 

Q.  What  prices  were  paid  for  milling  ore  when  you  first 
went  upon  the  Comstock  ? 

A.  I  milled  ore  that  I  got  $25  per  ton  for  milling. 

Q.  What  are  the  prices  now  paid  ? 

A.  Twelve  dollars  is  the  highest. 

Q.  What  is  the  lowest? 

A.  They  mill  it  as  low  down  as  $8. 

Q.  Does  the  difference  depend  upon  the  quality  of  the 
ore? 

A.  Well,  nothing  material  in  quality.  If  it  was  very  rich, 
they  could  not  mill  so  much  of  it.  It  would  be  worth  a 
little  more  money  to  mill  it — the  class  of  ore  they  are  mill- 
ing there  now.  The  best  of  them  are  milling  at  $12. 

Q.  If  this  dam,  as  proposed,  should  be  erected  155  feet, 
what  milling  property  or  mill  property  on  the  river  would 
be  destroyed? 

A.  It  would  destroy- — 


493 

Q.  State  whether  it  would  not  destroy  all  of  it,  as  a  mat- 
ter of  fact? 

A.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  if  the  dam  were  erected,  it  would 
destroy  the  whole  of  it. 

Q.  What  injury  would  the  erection  of  that  dam  be  to  the 
railroad? 

WITNESS.  Do  you  mean  if  the  ores  were  taken  out  of  the 
mouth  of  the  tunnel? 

Q.  I  first  want  to  ask  you  if  it  would  not  overflow  a 
number  of  mills  on  the  railroad  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  it  would. 

Q.  Would  it  be  possible  to  raise  that  road  so  as  to  take 
it  above  the  overflow,  considering  the  steepness  of  the  hills 
there,  and  would  it  not  be  an  absolute  destruction  of  a 
number  of  the  mills  on  the  railroad? 

A.  It  would  be  possible  to  raise  it  up,  but  it  would  be 
quite  impracticable. 

Q.  Taking  into  consideration  the  expense  the  tunnel 
was  constructed  at,  and  the  ores  transported  through  the 
tunnel,  would  the  business  upon  the  railroad  pay  for  opera- 
ting it  ? 

A.  That  is  a  rule  of  supposition  I  do  not  like  to  work  by. 

Q.  What  business  has  the  railroad  now? 

A.  The  railroad  has  all  the  business  connected  with  the 
transportation  of  ores  and  the  mill  wood  to  Virginia  City, 
and  a  great  deal  of  other  business — timber,  lumber,  coal: 
about  all  the  transportation  that  is  done  in  connection  with 
mines  and  mills,  and  a  great  deal  of  outside  freight,  and 
soon  will  carry  everything  that  comes  from  Reno,  on  the 
line  of  the  Central  Pacific.  r 

Q.  That  is  the  general  freight  you  refer  to  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Suppose,  now,  that  the  business  of  ore  hauling  to 
Virginia  City  should  be  "removed  to  the  mouth  of  the  tun- 
nel, what  business  would  there  be  for  that  railroad  to 
transact? 

A.  ]!sTone. 

Q.  About  how  much  has  that  road  cost  ? 


494 

A.  Well,  the  probable  cost  of  it  was  about  $1,800,000; 
that  is,  the  Carson  branch.  I  do  not  know  what  the  other 
section  will  cost. 

Q.  What  is  the  distance  from  Virginia  City  to  Carson, 
the  road  that  you  speak  of  that  cost  about  $1,800,000? 

A.  About  23  miles  distant  between  the  two  points,  but 
running  up  around  the  mountains. 

Q.  I  am  speaking  about  the  length  of  the  road  ? 

A.  About  23  miles. 

Q.  What  is  the  distance  of  the  road  from  Reno  to  Car- 
son City — to  complete  the  road  from  Reno  to  Virginia 
City? 
•  A.  About  30  miles,  I  believe,  or  30. 

Q.  Is  there  any  other  property  that  would  be  destroyed 
by  this  immense  reservoir  ? 

A.  Well,  my  opinion  is,  that  if  the  reservoir  were  built, 
and  could  be  made  tight  to  hold  that  amount  of  water,  it 
must  destroy  Carson  City  as  a  place  of  residence.  Fever 
and  ague  would  drive  the  people  away.  People  cannot 
live  upon  the  river  now  in  the  summer  season. 

Q.  What  is  the  general  health  on  the  Carson  river? 

A.  Not  very  good.  They  have  the  fever  and  ague  down 
there  very  badly. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  any  families  that  have  been  obliged 
to  leave  there  at  a  particular  season  of  the  year,  and  if  so, 
when  and  who  ? 

A.  Some  of  the  superintendents  take  their  families  away 
in  the  summer  season,  in  consequence  of  its  being  so  un- 
healthy. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  the  suspension  of  work 
at  Franklin  mill,  because  of  sickness,  last  fall? 

A.  I  do  not  know  of  work  being  suspended,  but  they 
kept  changing  men  constantly.  One  gang  got  sick  and 
they  would  have  to  go  off,  and  then -they  would  get  an- 
other, and  so  it  would  be.  It  was  the  same  way  with  Eu- 
reka. They  employed  a  large  number  of  hands  there  in 
the  completion  of  the  mill,  but  they  were  bothered  a  great 
deal  by  the  men  getting  sick. 


405 
\ 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  the  effect  of  irrigation 
on  the  health  of  the  people  and  on  the  ground  irrigated? 

A.  No  sir ;  I  do  not  know  anything  about  it. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  the  healthfulness  of 
the  climate  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  sink  of  the  Carson 
or  Hinnboldt? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Of  the  present  mode  of  working  ores,  about  what  is 
the  percentage  saved? 

A.  Of  the  present  mode  of  working  ores,  that  is,  before 
the  slime  and  tailings  are  entirely  passed  off,  the  estimate 
is  90  per  cent. — 92, 1  think.  I  would  like  to  explain  that  a 
little,  for  those  gentlemen  who  do  not  understand  it.  First, 
the  ore  is  taken  to  the  mill.  It  is  crushed  in  the  form  of 
pulp,' and  put  in  a  pan  and  worked.  The  product  of  that 
is  the  greatest.  Then  it  is  passed  from  the  mill  in  a  series 
of  reservoirs,  falling  one  below  the  other,  until  from  the 
last  reservoir  the  water  as  a  rule  runs  off  nearly  clear — clear 
endngli  to  drink  with  us.  \ 

Q.  Could  you  illustrate  it  any  better  if  you  had  Mr. 
King's  drawings? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  think  I  can  explain  it  so  the  gentlemen 
can  understand  it.  The  reservoirs  are  large.  They  are 
dug  out  of  the  earth.  After  they  fill,  the  water  is  turned 
into  another  series  of  reservoirs,  and  these  are  cleaned  out. 
The  material  is  wheeled  out,  taken  upon  the  dry  ground, 
and  exposed  to  the  sun.  They  are  allowed  to  "  slack,"  as 
they^  term  it.  It  is  dried,  carried  to  the  slime  mills,  and 
worked  under  a  peculiar  process — one  new  to  that  section, 
so  far  as  I  have  heard  or  read  of.  It  passes  from  that  into 
other  reservoirs,  and  is  preserved  precisely  in  the  same 
manner  as  it  was  in  the  beginning.  T^hose  reservoirs  in 
turn  are  cleaned  out  the  same  as  the  first,  and  then  are 
worked  over  and  over  again,  until  the  slime  mill  considers 
it  not  valuable  enough  for  them  to  work  it  again,  and  it  is 
left  to  run  down  on  the  Carson  river,  where  there  is  another 
very  large  mill.  There  it  is  concentrated  in  a  reservoir,  and 
sold  at  the  rate  of  fifty  cents  per  ton.  Those  parties  work  it. 


496 

They  work  slimes  there  that  assay  $8  a  ton,  and  make  mo- 
ney out  of  it.  They  work  it,  and  it  is  then  caught  again 
,by  the  parties  who  sell  it  to  them,  stacked  up,  and  held  in 
reserve  for  a  future  working.  That  is  as  worked  to-day. 
The  estimates  are,  and  I  think  they  are  very  correct,  90 
per  cent,  of  all  the  precious  metal  that  is  contained  in  the 
ore  is  extracted.  In  making  up  the  annual  reports  of  these 
various  mines,  they  state  how  much  is  taken  from  the  ore; 
that  is,  the  first  working;  and  as  a  rule  it  will  go  as  high 
as  72  the  first  working. 

Q.   What  report  is  that  you  have? 

A.  This  is  my  report  of  last  year. 

Q.  What  return  did  you  get? 

A.  I  do  not  find  it  there.  I  will  try  and  get  it.  I  do 
not  think  it  is  in  this  report. 

Q.  That  is  the  system  of  working  to-day  on  the  Comstock 
lode? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  I  understand  Professor  Newcomb,  in  his  examination, 
to  say  that  there  was  great  loss  of  these  slimes  and  tailings 
generally,  and  that  there  was  danger  of  their  all  flowing 
down  the  canons,  as  they  were  piled  up  in  the  reservoirs. 
I  will  ask  you  now  if  the  winter  just  past  has  not  been  as 
severe,  if  not  more  so,  as  any  you  have  seen  since  you  have 
been  here? 

A.  JSTo,  sir;  it  has  been  as  severe  as  any  within  the  last 
ten  years,  but  the  winter  ten  years  ago  was  much  more 
severe. 

Q.  Were  any  of  the  tailings  or  slimes  lost  by  the  freshets 
during  last  winter? 

A.  Not  that  I  know  of. 

Q.  Is  there  any  possibility  of  a  loss,  the  way  that  people 
are  prepared  from  one  end  of  the  canons  to  the  other  upon 
the  Carson  river,  in  cases  of  floods? 

A.  There  is  no  probability — scarcely  a  possibility.  They 
have  provided  for  those  things  in  the  lessons  taught  them 
by  the  experience  of  the  past. 

Q.  Then,  if  any  one  reservoir  should  break  away,  the 


497 

tailings  and  slimes  would  be  caught  at  some  place  below 
them  on  the  Carson  river? 

A.  There  is  no  doubt  of  that,  I  think. 

Q.  I  understand  you  to  say  that  the  slimes  were  dried  be- 
fore working  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Now,  I  will  get  you  to  state  if  they  have  been  worked 
successfully  in  any  other  way  in  that  country? 

A.  They  never  have. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  any  experiments  that 
have  been  made  to  work  them  without  drying  them  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  I  have  made  some  myself  and  I  know  of 
others  who  have  made  them,  and  they  proved  failures  in 
every  case. 

Q.  I  forgot,  in  reference  to  that  dam,  to  ask  you,  if  the 
water  was  taken  out  at  the  top  of  the  dam,  so  as  to  give  the 
fall  in  the  river  we  now  have,  whether,  from  percolation 
and  loss  of  water  by  all  other  means — evaporation,  &c. — 
there  would  be  any,  and,  if  any,  how  much,  water  to  flow 
in  the  ditch  or  flume  from  the  $am  to  a  point  opposite  the 
tunnel  ? 

A.  I  think  General  Foster's  answer  to  that  was  a  very 
correct  one — his  figures.  That  is  an  estimate  I  have  not 
made,  but  my  experience  teaches  me  that  a  dam  of  that 
height,  overflowing  that  amount  of  ground  in  that  section 
of  country,  would  be  almost  useless. 

Q.  You  made  a  report,  I  believe,  to  the  Sutro  tunnel 
commissioners,  did  you  not? 

A.  I-did. 

Q.  I  will  get  you  to  state  now  whether  all  the  facts  set 
forth  in  that  report  are  true? 

A.  They  are,  or  my  name  would  never  have  been  signed 
to  them. 

Q.  Both  with  regard  to  the  hoisting  of  ore  and  pump- 
ing? 

A.  I  say  nothing  about  pumping. 

Q.  You  did  not  have  any  pumping  ? 

A.  No,  sir. 
32 


498 

1  Q.  I  will  get  you  to  state  whether,  since  you  have  been 
upon  the  Comstock,  there  has  been  any,  and,  if  so,  what, 
reduction  in  the  cost  of  mining? 

A.  There  has  been  no  reduction  in  labor.  The  reduc- 
tion has  been  in  timber  and  transportation  of  freight  from 
California  arid  the  better  mode  of  mining — more  system- 
atic. 

Q.  I  believe  your  president,  in  his  last  report,  states  that 
the  cost  of  mining  and  milling,  for  the  year  ending  1871, 
was  about  $1  50  less  than  it  was  for  the  previous  year.  Is 
that  correct  ? 

A.  I  think  that  is  correct. 

Q.  I  will  ask  you  if,  notwithstanding  the  mines  are 
being  worked  deeper  every  year,  the  cost  of  mining  has 
not  decreased  from  the  very  commencement  until  the  pres- 
ent time  ? 

A.  ISTo  doubt  of  that. 

Q.  What  effect  has  the  building  of  the  Virginia  and 
Truckee  railroad  had  upon  the  cost  of  supplies  and  the 
transportation  of  ore  from  tfee  mines  to  the  mills? 

A.  It  has  reduced  the  coafc  of  supplies  at  least  one-third, 
In  the  transportation  of  ores,  the  reduction  has  not  been 
so  great.  Had  not  the  railroad  been  completed,  it  would 
have  been  very  much  more.  They  were  combining  to  put 
the  price  up. 

Q.  During  the  time  that  the  railroad  has  reduced  the 
cost  of  supplies,  has  not  the  timber  and  wood  every  year 
become  more  inaccessible  in  the  mountains? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Then,  do  you  attribute  the  reduced  price  of  supplies 
solely  to  the  building  of  the  railroad? 

A.  I  see  no  other  source  to  attribute  it  to. 

Q.  Could  the  tunnel,  if  completed,  be  of  any  advantage 
to  your  mine,  in  any  way  at  all — in  the  way  of  ventilation, 
drainage,  or  transportation  of  ore? 

A.  In  my  report  to  the  commissioner  I  say  it  could 
not.  My  opinion  has  not  changed  upon  that  subject, 


499 

By  the  CHAIRMAN  : 

Q.  I  believe  you  have  not  stated  what  mine  this  is  ? 

A.  The  Chollar  Potosi. 

Q.  Then,  if  completed,  it  would  be  an  absolute  tax  of 
$2  per  ton  upon  all  ores  taken  out,  without  any  compen- 
sation  whatever? 

A.  With  the  understanding  of  the  royalty  attached  to 
it. 

By  Mr.  SUNDERLAND: 

Q.  Is  there  or  not  a  large  amount  of  low-grade  ore  in 
the  Chollar-Potosi  mine  ? 

A.  There  are  hundreds  of  thousands  of  tons,  as  I  have 
stated  before,  of  low  grades  of  ore. 

Q.  What  proportion  of  that  could,  by  possibility,  be 
worked  with  profit  without  paying  this  royalty  of  $2  per 
ton? 

A.  It  is  difficult  to  answer  that.  It  will  be  altogether 
owing  to  how  long  before  the  royalty  would  attach.  If  it 
is  a  matter  of  three  or  four  years,  the  mine  will  be  pretty 
well  exhausted;  that  is,  so  far  as  we  have  any  knowledge 
of -ores  existing. 

Q.  What,  in  your  opinion,  would  be  the  effect  upon  the 
working  of  the  low-grade  ores,  or,  in  fact,  the  whole  of  the 
Comstock,  if  the  tunnel  were  completed,  and  the  mine  had 
to  pay  this  royalty  ? 

A.  That  is  very  similar.  If  the  royalty  attaches  in  three 
or  four  years,  the  present  indications  are  that  the  ore  would 
be  pretty  thoroughly  exhausted.  The  remaining  ore  would 
be  so  low  in  value,  that  it  could  not  afford  to  pay  the  $2 
royalty. 

Q.  Would  a  great  portion  of  the  work  upon  the  Com- 
stock cease? 

A.  That  would  be  the  effect,  I  think. 

Q.  You  are  pretty  well  acquainted  with  the  depths  of  the 
shafts  upon  the  Comstock,  are  you  not? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  How  long  will  it  be  before  a  majority  of  them  are 
down  to  the  -tunnel  level  ? 


500 

A.  Not  to  exceed  six  months  at  the  rate  they  are  sink- 
ing. 

Q.  Do  you  know  the  depth  of  the  Yellow  Jacket? 

A.  I  have  received  a  dispatch  from  the  superintendent 
to-day,  stating  that  they  were  down  to  the  level  of  the 
Sutro  tunnel. 

Q.  Who  is  the  superintendent  of  that  mine? 

A.  G.  T.  Taylor. 

Q.  You  rely  upon  the  facts  stated  in  that  telegram? 

A.  Most  undoubtedly.  If  there  is  a  man  of  veracity  liv- 
ing, he  is  one. 

Q.  After  the  shafts  have  reached  the  level  of  the  tunnel, 
of  what  advantage  possibly  could  the  tunnel  be  to  the 
mines,  either  for  ventilation,  drainage,  or  otherwise? 

A.  I  can  see  no  advantage  to  accrue  to  the  mine  on  the 
completion  of  the  tunnel. 

Q.  You  know  something  about  the  litigation  that  we 
have  had  out  there  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  I  will  ask  you  whether  the  most  of  it  has  not  arisen 
from  disputes  as  to  whether  there  was  one  or  more  ledges? 

A.  That  has  been  the  cause  of  most  of  the  litigation  on 
the  lode. 

Q.  Suppose  the  tunnel  were  to  run  in,  and  find  a  bed  of 
ore  not  yet  found  by  any  mine  ? 

A.  That  is  the  rule  of  supposition,  upon  which  I  do  not 
like  to  work. 

Q.  I  will  ask  you  whether  every  body  of  ore  discovered 
upon  the  Comstock  in  going  down  has  not  been  found  far- 
ther east  than  any  body  above  it? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  that  is  a  fact.  That  is  owing  to  the  confor- 
mation of  the  western  country,  which  carries  it  to  the  east- 
ward. 

Q.  Then  there  is  a  liability,  is  there  not,  for  the  same 
disputes  to  arise  that  formerly  arose  in  finding  one  body 
of  ore  farther  east  than  another,  and  the  parties  finding 
the  body  of  ore  to  the  east  claiming  that  there  were  two 
ledges  ? 


501 

A.  Possibility,  but  not  much  probability;  because  the 
Comstock  points  are  too  well  defined  to  admit  of  that  kind 
of  litigation  to-day. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  know  a  Mr.  Carlile? 

A.  I  never  had  much  of  an  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Car- 
lile; I  know  him  by  sight. 

Q.  He  has  been  mentioned  here  as  a  very  eminent  engi- 
neer. 

A.  He  is  a  good  figurer,  but  rather  impracticable.  He 
has  been  found  such. 

Q.  In  what  capacity  was  he  employed  upon  the  Com- 
stock, and  by  whom  ? 

A.  He  was  at  one  time  in  the  employ  of  the  Gould  and 
Curry  company,  when  Mr.  Strong  was  superintendent. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  his  putting  up  an  en- 
gine on  the  ground? 

A.  He  is  credited  with  having  put  one  up  on  the  ground 
in  the  Gould  and  Curry. 

Q.  Do  yon  know  anything  about  his  drawing  a  plan  for 
a  wheel  that  was  to  be  put  under  the  ground,  attached  to 
this  engine? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  What  was  the  wheel — a  fly-wheel  or  a  cog-wheel? 

A.  A  friction-wheel,  I  think. 

Q.  What  was  the  size  of  the  shaft  down  which  the  wheel 
was  to  be  lowered  ? 

A.  The  apartments  were  about  4J  feet  by  5. 

Q.  What  was  the  size  of  the  wheel  ? 

A.  My  recollection  is  15  or  16  feet  in  diameter. 

Q.  Did  he  get  the  wheel  down? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  think  not. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  his  setting  up  an  en- 
gine at  the  Gould  and  Curry  mill  ? 

A.  I  know  he  set  up  one  at  the  mill. 

Q.  What  kind  of  a  job  did  he  make  of  it  ? 

A.  The  engine  was  entirely  too  light  to  do  the  duty  it 
was  called  on  to  do. 

Q.  Did  it  retain  its  place  ? 


502 

A.  There  was  a  great  deal  of  extra  fastening  and  bolting, 
and  they  managed  to  work  it  for  a  season. 

Q.  Have  you  ever  known,  since  your  connection  with 
the  Comstock,  any  want  of  capital  for  the  purpose  of  work- 
ing the  mine  or  building  or  running  the  mill? 

A.  I  never  have.  They  have  always  obtained  all  the 
capital  required,  as  far  as  I  know. 

Q.  You  never  had  to  call  for  money  but  what  you  got  it  ? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  remember  the  name  of  a  Frenchman  men- 
tioned by  Professor  IJewcomb  as  having  built  a  mill  in 
Virginia  City? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  recollect  the  name  i 

A.  I  could  not  speak  the  name.  The  Professor  gives  it, 
but  I  have  no  recollection  of  a  man  by  that  name. 

Q.  You  have  known  all  mills  built  there? 

A.  Nearly  so. 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  any  such  man  ever  built  a  mill 
there? 

A.  I  have  no  recollection ;  I  never  heard  of  a  man  of  that 
name  building  a  mill  or  having  anything  to  do  with  a  mill. 

Q.  Would  not  you  be  likely  to  know  if  he  ever  built  a 
mill  there  ? 

A.  Yes,  it  would  be  very  likely  I  should. 

Q.  Have  not  you  known  all  the  mill  men  there? 

A.  There  never  were  any  there  that  were  there  for  any 
length  of  time  that  I  have  not  known. 

Q.  Dr.  Newcomb  says  that  he  requested  the  superintend- 
ents upon  the  Comstock  to  make  the  strongest  arguments 
they  could  against  the  tunnel.  Was  any  such  request  ever 
made  of  you  by  any  one  of  the  commission  ? 

A.  Neither  of  the  commissioners  ever  made  that  remark 
to  me. 

Q.  What  did  they  ask  you  to  do  ? 

A.  They  did  not  ask  me  to  do  anything.  They  presented 
this  circular,  as  you  see  it  here.  You  will  notice  there  are 
a  series  of  questions.  That  is,  so  far  as  the  answers  to  them 


503 

are  concerned,  they  simply  sent  them  thro  ugh  the  post  office, 
requesting  an  answer. 

Q.  Have  you  thought  sufficiently  of  that  dam  to  give  an 
opinion  of  its  practicability? 

A.  In  what  sense? 

Q.  Whether  it  would  he  an  economical  expenditure  of 
money ,  as  compared  with  the  present  mode  of  utilizing  the 
waters  of  the  Carson  river. 

A.  I  can  see  nothing  to  he  gained  by  the  dam,  as  the 
river  affords  about  as  much  power  to-day  as  could  be  well 
obtained  from  the  dam,  provided  the  darn  works  success- 
fully. 

Q.  And  the  successful  working  of  it  is  not  problematical, 
in  my  mind. 

A.  I  think  it  could  not  be  made  a  success,  in  consequence 
of  percolation,  filtration,  and  evaporation. 

Q.  That  is  just  what  I  was  going  to  ask  you  about. 
What  is  the  conformation  of  the  other  side  of  the  Carson 
river  ? 

A.  The  formation  of  that  whole  country  is  shattered 
and  seamy.  There  is  a  pressure  upon  the  dam,  if  it  could 
be  filled,  that  would  be  so  great,  that  it  would  assist  very 
materially  in  forcing  the  water  out. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  the  bed  of  the  river — 
what  it  is  composed  of? 

A.  I  saw  where  they  had  built  a  dam  at  the  Eureka  mill 
last  summer;  on  either  side  of  the  river  they  got  bed  rock, 
but  in  the  center  they  went  down  to  a  great  depth  and  did 
not  get  it.  They  went  into  gravel,  and  finally  put  the  dam 
down  there  and  completed  it  in  that  way. 

Q.  Do  you  remember  how  deep  they  went? 

A.  I  did  not  see  the  exact  depth — they  had  commenced 
to  fill  it  up;  but  they  told  me  20  feet  below  the  bed  of  the 
river  they  found  no  bed  rock;  that  is,  they  told  me  they 
did  not. 

Q.  State  what  percentage  was  saved  and  returned  to  the 
mine,  if  you  remember  it? 


504 

A.  It  was  about  72  per  cent,  for  the  year  ending  May 
31  last,  the  company's  year. 

Cross-examined  by  Mr.  Sutro. 

Q.  YOQ  are  superintendent  of  the  Chollar  Potosi? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  How  long  have  you  been  in  that  position  ? 

A.  Five  years  next  July. 

Q.  You  say  you  have  had  a  large  experience  in  mining? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  That  you  have  been  in  California? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Twenty-two  years? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  on  the  Pacific  coast  about  that  time. 

Q.  And  been  mining  a  great  number  of  years — I  forget 
how  many  you  stated? 

A.  I  have  been  engaged  mainly  in  the  milling  and  min- 
ing business  on  the  coast. 

Q.  Are  you  a'mining  engineer? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  make  no  claim  of  that  character. 

Q.  Have  you  ever  visited  any  mines  of  Europe  ? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  never  was  in  Europe. 

Q.  Have  you  ever  read  any  books  on  mining  ? 

A.  I  have  read  a  few,  not  many. 

Q.  Have  you  ever  studied  geology? 

A.  No,  sir;  not  as  a  study. 

Q.  Have  you  ever  studied  mineralogy? 

A.  Not  specially. 

Q.  Are  you  acquainted  with  chemistry. 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Then  your  experience  of  mining  is  confined 

A.  To  experience  alone. 

Q.  In  California  and  in  Nevada  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  What  quartz  mines  have  you  been  engaged  on  in 
California? 

A.  No  quartz;  what  we  call  surface:  hill-diggings,  drift- 
diggings. 


505 

Q.  Then  your  experience  in  quartz  and  lode  mining  is 
confined  to  the  Comstock  lode? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  visit  any  other? 

A.  I  have  visited  them;  yes. 

Q.  Name  them,  if  you  please. 

A.  The  lode  in  Sierra ville.  I  forget  the  name;  but  thjat 
of  the  Sierraville  mine.  I  have  been  once  in  Grass  Valley, 
but  I  did  not  go  there  for  the  purpose  of  viewing  the  mines 
critically;  I  looked  them  over,  however. 

Q.  How  much  time  did  you  spend  in  Grass  Valley. 

A.  Not  to  exceed  two  days. 

Q.  You  just  went  there  for  a  visit? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Then,  if  I  understand  you  aright,  your  whole  expe- 
rience in  lode  mining  has  been  on  the  Comstock  lode? 

A.  That  is  correct. 

Q.  You  have  spoken  of  the  mills  on  Carson  river,  and 
have  stated  that  their  cost  is  one  million  eight  hundred 
and  ninety  thousand  dollars,  ($1,890,000.)  How  do  you 
arrive  at  that  figure? 

A.  I  arrive  at  it  by  the  prices  paid.  Some  of  the  mills 
changed  hands  recently  by  the  cost  of  the  construction-  of 
the  Eureka  mill,  which  is  about  completed.  The  mills  on 
the  Carson  river  are  to  be  valued  very  much  higher  than 
they  were  a  year  ago,  in  consequence  of  the  accumulated 
amount  of  ore  that  is  said  to  exist  in  Crown  Point  and 
Belcher. 

Q.  Do  you  know  how  much  they  are  taxed  for  ? 

A.  I  do  not. 

Q.  Have  you  any  idea  that  they  are  taxed  at  any  such 
figures  as  that  ? 

A.  I  have  no  idea  what  the  taxes  are. 

Q.  Are  you  interested  in  any  of  those  mills  on  the  river? 

A.  No,  sir;  not  one. 

Q.  You  say  those  mills  have  a  capacity  of  1,100  tons? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Can  they  work  that  in  the  dry  season  ? 


506 

A.  I  could  not  say  they  could. 

Q.  How  much  did  they  work? 

A.  Last  summer  they  hung  up  entirely  in  the  dry  season. 

Q,  They  could  scarcely  work  anything  at  all,  could 
they? 

A.  No,  sir.  I  know  some  of  them  that  were  entirely 
hung  up. 

Q.  Are  they  not.  very  much  troubled  by  high  water  in 
winter  time? 

A.  They  have  not  been  very  much  this  last  winter. 

Q.  Some  of  the  dams  have  been  carried  away  this  win- 
ter, I  believe? 

A.  Not  any.  There  was  a  small  break  in  the  Mexican 
dam ;  which  was  repaired,  however,  at  a  high  stage  of  water. 
It  is  running  now. 

Q.  None  other? 

A.  Kone  other,  that  I  recollect  of.  There  was  a  little 
damage  done  to  the  Brunswick,  but  that  amounted  to 
nothing. 

Q.  Is  that  all? 

A.  That  is  all  I  recollect. 

Q.  I 'will  read  from  an  article  in  the  "  TERRITORIAL  EN- 
TERPRISE," dated  Sunday,  March  10,  1872. 

WITNESS.  That  is  since  I  left  there. 

"  RESUMED  OPERATIONS.— The  Vivian  mill,  Carson  river,  started  up  day  be- 
fore yesterday.  The  mill  has  been  shut  down  since  the  flood  in  the  river  last 
winter.  The  dam  and  bulkhead  have  been -repaired,  and  the  mill  will  now 
run  regularly,  and,  unless  there  be  another  flood  this  spring,  will  most  prob- 
ably not  again  be  shut  down  until  it  shall  become  necessary  to  stop  for  a 
general  overhauling,  on  account  of  the  wearing  out.  of  the  machinery.  It  is 
not  likely  that  there  will  be  any  stoppages  occurring  this  season  on  account 
of  low  water." 

WITNESS.  I  will  state,  in  connection  with  that,  the  dam- 
age was  merely  nominal.  They  could  get  no  ore  at  the 
mill  at  all,  in  consequence  of  the  road  being  carried  away, 
ann  they  made  no  effort  whatever  to  repair  the  small 
amount  of  damage  that  occurred  there. 

Q.  It  must  have  been  shut  up. 

A.  Shut  up  because  they  could  not  get  any  ore  to  work. 

Q.  Why? 


507 

, 

A.  Because  they  had  other  mills  that' they  could  work 
ore  in  to  equally  as  good  an  advantage,  of  greater  capacity. 

Q.  How  did  you  come  to  have  this  statement  hereof 
the  cost  of  these  different  mills?  Did  you  prepare  that  on 
purpose?  • 

A.  I  have  prepared  that  since  I  came  here. 

Q.  How  did  you  get  those  figures  here? 

A.  From  my  own  knowledge. 

Q.  It  is  not  taken  from  any  official  figures? 

A.  No.  sir;  not  at  alj.  I  know  all  about  the  Mexican 
mill  and  the  parties  owning  it — the  cost  of  fitting  it,  and  the 
cost  of  repairs.  The  Morgan  mill  the  same  way,  and  also 
the  Franklin  mill. 

Q.  Who  assisted  you  in  making  up  these  figures? 

A.  No  one;  I  made  them  up  myself  from  the  knowledge 
I  had  obtained  during  my  residence  in  that  country. 

Q.  Did  you  not  consult  Mr.  Sunderland? 

A.  Mr.  Sunderland  did  not  have  anything  to  say  about  it. 

Q.  Did  you  not  show  it  to  him? 

A.  It  is  likely  I  did. 

Q.  Did  you  not  consult  Mr.  Batterman  about  it? 

A.  I  think  not  of  any  moment.  I  may  have  talked  over 
it  since  here;  but  every  figure  there,  I  think,  is  of  my  own 
making. 

Q.  You  have  stated  that  it  would  be  as  ^heap  to  build 
new  mills  as  to  remove  the  old  ones. 

A.  That  is  my  experience  in  that  country. 

Q.  Does  not  that  remark  apply  to  worn-out  mills? 

A.  Well,  the  fact  is,  that  with  any  mill  that  has  been  run 
for  any  length  of  time,  if  you  attempt  to  remove  it  *and  to 
replace  the  machinery  necessary  to  fit  it  up,  it  will  cost 
about  as  much  as  to  buy  new  machinery  out  and  out. 

Q.  Is  there  any  difficulty  in  moving  a  steam-engine  and 
putting  it  up  again  ? 

A.  Not  any  special  difficulty. 

Q.  Where  is  the  great  difficulty  about  the  pans,  stamps, 
and  batteries? 


508 

A.  The  pans,  stamps,  and  batteries  would  be  decayed 
more  or.  less. 
,    Q.  What  about  the  stamps? 

A.  The  iron,  by  use,  usually  becomes  crystalized,  and  the 
pans,  by  standing,  rust  rapidly,  and  it  becomes  difficult  to 
move  them  and  set  them  up  in  a  new  place;  so  that,  with 
taking  them  down  and  the  labor  and  expense  of  removal 
I  should  think  it  would  be  better  on  the  whole  to  build  new 
mills  in  preference  to  undergoing  the  process  of  removal. 
If  I  built  a  new  mill,  when  I  got  it  done  I  would  have  a 
good  one;  one  I  could  depend  on  to  run  steadily.  If  I 
take  an  old  mill  and  tear  it  down  and  put  it  up  anew,  there 
are  a  great  many  parts  in  it  that  are  liable  to  give  out. 

Q.  I  infer  from  that  remark  that  these  mills  wear  out 
pretty  rapidly  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  How  often  do  you  have  to  replace  the  stamps  and  the 
pans? 

A.  The  pans  in  the  manner  they  use  them  now  ?  I  know 
pans  that  are  working — that  have  been,  through  repairs 
that  have  been  put  upon  them,  working  for  the  last  five  or 
six  years. 

Q.  How  often  do  the  shoes  in  those  pans  wear  out,  or  the 
bottom  and  shoes  both? 

A.  That  depends  upon  the  iron  triey  are  made  of. 

Q.  Suppose  you  take  the  best  chilled  iron  ? 

A.  A  good  mill  man  never  uses  that.  He  takes  soft  iron, 
and  this  is  calculated  to  wear  out  a  set  of  shoes  every  three 
weeks.  The  dies  will  wear  longer. 

Q.  I  believe  that  is  one  of  the  experiences  you  have 
made  out  there — that  of  using  soft  iron? 

A.  That  is  an  experiment  that  has  proved  of  value. 
Q.  Can  you  explain  why? 

A.  For  the  reason  that  two  hard  substances  do  not  grind 
as  well  as  soft  ones.  You  may  take  two  pieces  of  marble 
and  rub  them  together  in  this  manner,  (illustrating  Ms 
meaning  by  moving  his  hands  one  upon  the  other;)  the 
friction  is  so  slight,  that  the  wear  is  very  limited.  You 


509 

take  two  pieces  of  soft  metal  and  rub  them  together  in  the 
same  way,  and  the  particles  underneath — whatever  comes 
in  contact  with  the  iron — reduces  it  much  more  rapidly 
than  it  does  between  hard  surfaces. 

Q.  Is  there  any  other  reason? 

A.  That  is  the  principal  reason.  The  other  reasons  may 
be,  that  the  iron,  in  reducing  in  that  way,  may  assist  in 
amalgamation,  wearing  it  more  rapidly.  But  the  principal 
reason,  in  consequence  of  the  grinding,  is,  that  the  soft 
surfaces  reduce  the  pulp  much  finer  and  more  rapidly,  giv- 
ing much  better  results  in  amalgamation. 

Q.  You  say  that  the  shoes  and  dies  wear  out  about  every 
three  weeks? 

A.  The  shoes.  The  dies  wear  longer.  The  dies  being 
stationary  and  the  shoes  being  in  motion,  the  parts  in 
motion  wear  more  rapidly  than  that  which  is  stationary, 

Q.  How  long  do  the  shoes  attached  to  the  stamps  last? 

A.  That  depends  a  great  deal  upon  the  depth  of  the  cast- 
ing. Some  of  them  are  cast  eight  or  nine  inches  thick, 
others  only  five  inches. 

Q.  Do  you  speak  of  the  ordinary  revolving  stamp  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  some  do  not  have  as  great  depth  to  their 
shoes.  I  have  seen  them  ten  inches  deep.  I  have  used 
them  myself  of  that  depth. 

Q.  Frorn^where  they  fasten  on  the  stamp  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  I  have  seen  other  works  that  only  cast  them 
five  or  six  inches  in  height,  but  of  course  the  wearing  out 
depends  upon  the  depth. 

Q.  Did  you  state  how  long  they  lasted,  taking  the  aver- 
age between  five  and  ten  inches? 

A.  I  have  run  shoes  and  dies  as  long  as  sixty  days,  that 
is,  the  shoes  without  the  dies;  the  dies  are  much  less,  as 
you  know.  I  have  run  a  set  of  shoes  ninety  days,  but 
they  were  of  very  superior  chilled  iron. 

Q.  How  deep? 

A.  I  think  ten  inches. 

Q.  How  long  does  a  die  usually  last? 

A.  That  depends  .a  great  deal  upon  the  depth.     Some  of 


510 

them  are  deeper  than  others;  but,  take  the  average  of  them, 
I  suppose  they  last  four  weeks,  or  perhaps  five. 

Q.  How  long  does  a  screen  last  ? 

A.  That  is  one  of  those  things  that  is  liable  to  an  acci- 
dent. 

Q.  But  take  the  kind  of  screen  you  use.  You  use  sheet- 
iron  screens,  do  you  not,  altogether? 

A.  £To,  sir;  we  use  wire  screens. 

Q.  How  long  does  one  last,  according  jto  your  experience  ? 

A.  There  can  be  no  rule.  I  have  seen  a  new  screen — 
a  wire  screen — put  in  and  burst  in  two  hours,  and  a  com- 
mon wire  screen  on  the  same  mill  would  run  from  two  to 
three  weeks.  There  is  no  rule  to  guide  it. 

Q.  Do  you  not  look  upon  it  as  something  extraordinary 
if  a  screen  lasts  a  month? 

A.  If  a  punch  or  wire  screen  lasts  a  month  it  is  a  long 
time. 

Q.  But  I  presume  they  do  make  them  last  that  time.  Is 
it  not  your  experience  in  keeping  up  those  mills,  that 
the  wearing  out  of  these  different  parts,  including  the 
amalgamating  machinery,  involves  one  invariable  heavy 
expense? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  use  chemicals  in  amalgamation  ? 

A.  Some. 

Q.  Do  they  not  corrode  your  pans  very  rapidly? 

A.  To  a  certain  extent. 

Q.  Do  you  not  think  a  mill  pretty  generally  wears  out 
every  two  years  on  an  average  ? 

A.  ITo,  sir;  I  would  not  say  two  years;  that  would  be 
rather  a  short  time. 

Q.  I  mean  putting  aside  the  consideration  of  repairs — 
the  expense  of  keeping  it  in  good  condition. 

WITNESS.  You  mean  to  take  a  mill,  build  it  new,  and 
that  at  the  end  of  two  years  it  will  be  pretty  well  worn 
out? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Yes,  sir. 

WITNESS.  I  would  differ  with  you  a  little  there.    I  have 


511 

had  them  to  last  longer  than  two  years.  As  you  say,  the 
expense  of  repairs,  &c.,  is  considerable.  You  are  liable  to 
break  a  new  stamp  before  you  have  run  a  month,  and  then 
I  have  known  them  to  ran  twelve  months  without  break- 
ing. 

Q.  You  cannot  run  a  mill  without  making  repairs? 

A.  If  anything  gives  out,  you  must  repair  it;  and  a  mill 
kept  in  that  condition  and  run  systematically,  with  the 
ne'cessary  repairs,  would  run,  I  should  think,  about  four 
-years,  without  any  very  extended  expenditures  for  repairs. 

Q.  What  is  there  about  a  mill  besides  this  amalgamating 
machinery,  pans,  and  settlers,  that  is  expensive? 

A.  The  pans,  settlers,  and  agitators,  rock-breake'rs, 
power,  belting,  and  wear  and  tear. 

Q.  What  else  is  there  that  will  wear  out  ? 

A.  All  of  these,  when  you  enumerated  them  specially. 

Q.  Take  the  machinery  and  leave  out  the  simple  parts 
which  are  connected  with  it,  such  as  belting  and  all  that — 
take  the  machinery,  take  the  batteries  and  pans,  and  every- 
thing connected  with  them,  the  settlers — and  what  else  is 
there  about  a  mill  that  wilj  wear  out,  including  your  rock- 
breakers? 

A.  The  steam  engine  also,  if  you  have  that? 

Q.  We  are  speaking  of  water  mills.  What  is  there  that 
will  wear  out? 

A.  You  have  enumerated  about  all  that  constitutes  a 
quartz  mill:  Most  of  these  will  wear  out.  The  principal 
parts,  such  as  batteries,  pans,  and  settlers,  will  wear  out 
very  rapidly. 

Q,  What  would  the  buildings  amount  to? 

A.  The  buildings,  as  a  rule,  are  not  of  any  great  value. 

Q.  You  do  not  mean  to  say  that  it  would  be  a  very  great 
loss  to  move  these  mills  if  parties  knew  that  in  three  years 
they  would  have  to  remove  them,  if  they  let  them  run 
down,  only  keeping  up  such  repairs  as  are  absolutely  nec- 
essary? Would  you  consider  it  to  be  much  of  a  loss? 

WITNESS.  You  mean  that  really  no  repairs  whatever  are 


512 

to  be  made?  You  mean  to  let  it  run  until  it  runs  out,  and 
then  get  a  new  one? 

Q.  There  would  not  be  much  loss  resulting  therefrom, 
would  there? 

(No  response.) 

Q.  Now,  in  making  this  estimate  of  §1,980,000,  you  have 
stated  that  you  lately,  since  the  discovery  of  those  great 
bodies  of  ore  in  the  Belcher  mine  and  the  Crown  Point 
mine,  learned  that  the  value  has  risen  to  about  that  sum? 

A.  Not  to  that  sum.  By  no  means.  They  had  a  specific 
value  before. 

Q.  They  had  a  specific  value,  but  it  is  not  up  to  these 
figures? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  the  value  depreciated  in  consequence  of 
the  very  strong  probability  that  there  would  not  be  suffici- 
ent work  for  them. 

Q.  Then  in  this  estimate  you  have  included  the  value  of 
the  water  power  ? 

A.  Of  course.  I  consider  that  a  part  of  the  mill,  if  you 
were  going  to  make  an  offer  for  a  mill ;  for  instance,  the 
Mexican  mill,  the  Morgan  mill,  and  the  Brunswick  mill, 
which  were  recently  purchased  by  the  parties  now  owning 
them — they  have  paid  a  certain  amount  for  repairs  which 
makes  them  come  up  to  every  dollar  for  which  they  are 
set  down.  I  made  that  estimate  as  to  the  entire  value  of 
the  mill  and  water  power. 

Q.  What  portion  of  the  $1,980,000  would  yon  consider 
the  value  of  either  mill-site  or  water  power  to  be? 

A.  The  power  and  the  mill-site — well,  it  would  be  very 
difficult  to  seggregate  them.  The  mill  would  be  worth 
nothing  where  it  stands  without  the  water  power,  and  the 
water  power  would  be  valueless  without  the  mill. 

Q.  But,  in  the  figures  which  you  have  given,  $1,980,000, 
what  portion  would  you  calculate  to  be  the  value  of  the 
water  power? 

A.  I  made  no  calculation,  because  I  did  not  deem  it  nec- 
essary. 

Q.  Just  look  over  them  and  tell  me. 


513 

A.  No,  I  will  not.  I  gave  you  these  figures,  and,  as  I 
stated,  they  are  the  amount  for  which  these  mills  have 
changed  hands,  and  the  amount  of  money  that  has  been 
expended  upon  them;  the  figures  I  gave  making  the  gross 
amount.  As  to  the  cost  of  the  Eureka  mill,  I  know  wliat 
it  will  he  when  completed.  That  is  why  I  gave  it. 

Q.  The  others  are  estimated  in  the  same  manner.  The 
intrinsic  value  of  the  mills  and  mill-sites? 

A.  Precisely*     •  ' 

Q.  If  I  understand  you  correctly,  a  large  portion  of  the 
amount  is  the  value  of  the  power  itself? 

A.  I  state  now,  as  I  stated  before,  that  the  mill  is  value- 
less without  the  water  power,  and  the  water  power  is  value- 
less without  the  mill. 

Q.  In  giving  these  figures  as  you  have  given  them,  I 
want  to  know  whether  the  largest  portion  of  this  sum  does 
not  consist  of  the  value  of  the  water  power  itself? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  think  not.  The  Eureka  mill  alone  will 
cost — building  and  dam,  and  all  the  machinery  connected 
with  it,  without  the  water  power  in  any  shape  or  form — 
not  less  than  $350,000.  With  regard  to  the  Mexican  mill,' 
the  first  amount  paid  for  it  by  its  present  owners,  to- 
gether with  the  sum  laid  out  upon  it  since  that  time,  will 
run  up  to  §250,000.  Hence  the  water  power  is  not  taken 
into  consideration.  The  Morgan  mill  the  same  way,  and 
also  the  Brunswick  mill.  They  paid  so  much  money  for 
the  mills. 

Q.  Would  they  sell  for  any  such  sum? 

A.  Well,  sir,  you  could  not  buy  them  of  the  parties  who 
own  them  for  one  dollar  less. 

Q.  Can  you  now  sell  these  mills  for  the  amounts  you 
have  given  here? 

A.  There  is  no  one  that  wants  them  except  the  parties 
who  now  own  them.  I  would  have  no  use  for  a  mill  unless 
I  had  something  to  do  with  it. 

Q.  They  belong  to  the  Union  Mill  and  Mining  Company, 
do  they  not? 

A.  No,  sir;    the  Morgan  mill    and  the  Mexican   and 
33 


514 

Brunswick  mill  belong  to  the  Nevada  Mill  and  Mining 
Company. 

Q.  What  is  that? 

A.  That  is  a  company  that  has  been  recently  organized 
there. 

Q.  Who  are  the  owners  ? 

A.  I  do  not  know  exactly  who  the  owners  are. 

Q.  Does  not  Mr.  Hayward  own  a  very  large  interest — 
Hayward,  of  Hayward  &  Jones,  (I  presume  Mr.  Jones  is 
interested  with  him?) 

A.  There  are  three  of  the  largest  mills  on  that  list  that 
do  not  belong  to  the  Union  Mill  and  Mining  Company. 

Q.  In  selling  a  mill would  you  in  selling  those  mills 

count  the  water  power  and  the  mill  together  ?  Do  they 
ever  sell  the  water  power  by  itself,  or  the  mill  by  itself? 

A.  I  never  heard  of  such  a  thing.  They  usually  go  to- 
gether. It  is  like  selling  a  steam-mill  and  taking  the  en- 
gine out  to  separate  the  two.  The  mill  is  not  complete 
without  power  to  drive  it. 

Q.   What  loss  would  it  be  to  the  owners  of  those  mills  if 

• 

the  site  was  furnished  them  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  and 
power  for  the  same  capacity,  so  they  may  put  up  either  the 
new  mills  there  or  remove  the  old  mills  ? 

A.  That  I  could  not  say,  because  I  do  not  know  anything 
About  that.  That  is  supposing  things  that  I  cannot  arrive 
at  satisfactorily  to  myself  at  all,  and  hence  could  not  an- 
swer a  question  of  that  character. 

Q.  You  say  those  mills  would  be  of  little  value  to  any- 
body else  but  the  owners  of  the  mills  there  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  they  would  be  of  little  value  lest  some  one 
purchased  them  who  had  a  sufficient  amount  of  ore  to  run 
them  with. 

Q.  Do  you  mean  to  say  by  that,  that  the  men  who  own 
those  mills  still  manage  to  get  ore  sufficient  to  supply 
them? 

A.  There  were  times  when  they  could  not  get  it. 
i  Q.  How  many  companies  are  there  that  own  the  major- 


515 

ity  of  those  mills  along  the  river?  There  is  the  Nevada 
company  you  speak  of,  and  what  other  company  ? 

A.  There  is  the  Nevada,  the  Union  Mill  and  Mining 
Company,  the  Birdsall — the  Woodworth  mill  is  owned  by 
Flood  &  O'Brien. 

Q.  How  many  mills  does  the  Nevada  company  own  ? 

A.  Three. 

Q.  How  many  does  the  Union  Mill  and  Mining  Com- 
pany own  ? 

A.  They  own  altogether  five  mills. 

Q.  How  many  mills  are  there  besides  that? 

A.  The  Vivian — owned  by  outside  parties  mostly — the 
Woodworth,  and  the  Birdsall — three. 

Q.  Do  you  know  who  compose  the  Union  Mill  and 
Mining  Company  ? 

A.  I  do  not  exactly  know.  I  know  who  did — a  portion 
3f  the  parties  who  did  compose  it. 

Q.  Do  you  not  know  who  compose  it  now  principally? 

A.  No,  I  cannot  say  that  I  do. 

<J.  Do  you  know  that  Mr.  Sharon  is  a  large  owner? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Mr.  Ralston  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir ;  he  is  reputed  to  be. 

Q.  Is  not  Mr.  Mills  president  of  the  Bank  of  California? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Are  not  they  the  owners  01  the  whole  property? 

A.  I  think  there  is  no  interest  outside  of  that. 

Q.  Thej-  are  about  the  principal  owners  then  ? 

A.  So  understood. 

Q.  Then  the  main  owners  are  the  president  of  the  Bank 
of  California,  the  cashier  of  the  Bank  of  California,  and 
Mr.  Sharon,  their  agent  at  Virginia  City? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  that  is  my  understanding. 

Q.  And  they  are  able  to  gather  all  the  ore  they  want  to 
supply  those  mills? 

A.  There  have  been  times  when  they  could  not  get  all 
the  ore  they  wanted  by  a  good  deal.  The  mines  were  not 
producing  much  at  one  time.  The  mines  they  owned  a 


516 

controlling  interest  in,  did  not  produce  ranch.     That  oc- 
curred more  times  than  once. 

Q.  What  do  you  mean  by  stating  that  the  fall  of  the  tun- 
nel would  he  one-third  less  than  it  is  now- — the  fall  from 
this  dam  to  the  tunnel  would  be  one-third  less  than  what 
the  fall  is  now? 

A.  I  took  Surveyor  General  Day's  statement  for  that. 
He  says  that  it  is  155  feet  from  the  Mexican  dam  to  the 
Franklin,  and  100  feet  from  the  dam  that  he  surveys  to  a 
point  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel.  I  deduct  50  feet, 
because  there  are  150  feet  in  one  case  and  100  in  the  other. 

Q.  Suppose  the  dam  to  be  constructed  over  150  feet  in 
height 

A.  I  say  that  it  is  a  supposititious  rule,that  I  don't  like 
to  work  by.  I  cannot  answer  a  question  of  that  kind  with 
satisfaction  to  myself. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  have  not  finished  my  question  yet. 

WITNESS.  I  supposed  you  had.     You  halted.  ' 

Q.  I  was  supposing  a  dam  to  be  constructed  150  feet  in 
height,  and  the  water  carried  to  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel: 
we  would  get  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  a  250  feet  fall. 
Would  you  not  consider  that  more  power  than  you  could 
get  from  all  the  mills  now? 

A.  As  I  said  before,  that  is  supposing  a  thing  that  I  can- 
not give  an  intelligent  answer  to.  Anything  connected 
with  facts,  that  I  know  of,  I  am  very  ready  to  answer,  so  far 
as  my  knowledge  extends;  but  working  by  the  rule  of  sup- 
position I  never  do. 

Q.  This  is  the  proposition  we  have  here. 

A.  I  could  not  tell  what  the  result  of  that  would  be.  I 
never  heard  of  a  dam  being  built  155  feet  high.  I  never 
heard  of  such  a  thing. 

Q.  Are  there  any  difficulties  in  the  way  of  building  one 
that  high  in  a  rocky  gorge? 

A.  Yes,  sir.  I  have  built  dams  myself — two  across  the 
north  middle  fork  of  the  American  river,  and  we  had  a 
great  deal  of  difficulty  in  raising  one  20  feet  high.  We 
had  a  rocky  bottom  to  go  upon.  We  had  all  the  water 


517 

turned  out,  and  we  went  to  work  and  put  in  a  dam — such 
as  we  supposed,  if  I  may  so  term  it,  would  be  fire  proof,  or 
in  other  words  water  proof. 

Q.  How  could  you  turn  the  water  when  you  have  got 
rocky  sides,  like  in  the  Carson  river,  which  rises  in  some 
places  one  thousand  feet  high  ? 

WITNESS.  At  what  point? 

Mr.  SUTIIO.  Taking  any  point. 

A.  There  is  no  such  point. 

Q.  Is  there  any  point  between  the  Mexican  mill  and  the 
Franklin  mill  to  turn  that  river  off? 

A.  Yes,  sir,  easily. 

Q.  Will  you  name  the  point? 

A.  The  flumes  that  carry  the  water  from  the  present 
clams  on  to  the  mills.  It  takes  all  the  water  that  runs  in 
the  river  and  more  besides,  so  that  the  bed  of  the  river 
below  the  dam  is  as  dry  as  that. 

Q.  Supposing  the  water  to  be  taken  out  at  that  point  at 
the  Franklin  mill,  taken  out  on  a  level  with  that  present 
mill — the  present  dam  :  you  would  get  100  feet  of  fall  at 
the  mouth  of  the  tunnel.  Supposing  the  water  to  be  taken 
.out  in  the  flume  at  the  Franklin  dam,  it  would  give  us  100 
feet  fall  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  at  a  point  opposite 
the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  50  feet  below  the  mouth.  Would 
not  that  give  an  immense  amount  of  power  there  ? 

A.  I  think  it  would  not  give  as  much  power  as  the  way 
it  is  at  present. 

Q.  How  much  power  do  they  get  from  the  Franklin  dam 
now? 

A.  I  do  not  recollect  of  more  than  2  mills — 3  mills;  the 
Wood  worth,  the  Birdsall,  and  the  Rocky  Point.  They  have 
got  a  power  equal  to  about  280  tons  per  day. 

Q.  You  do  not  consider  the  dam  feasible  at  all — any 
kind  of  dam  ? 

A.  Oh,  yes,  I  do. 

Q.  How  high  a  dam  could  be  made  there  ? 

A.  I  do  not  know.  You  could  make  a  dam  there  almost 
anywhere. 


518 

Q.  I  thought  you  just  stated  you  could  not  make  it? 

A.  I  did  not  say  you  could  not  make  it. 

Q.  Could  you  make  a  dam  100  feet  high  ? 

A.  I  presume  you  could  build  a  dam  100  feet  high. 

Q.  I  suppose  you  could  huild  it  300  feet  high? 

A.  In  fact,  I  know  of  no  limit  to  the  height,1  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  money  to  be  required,  to  build  a  dam  of 
almost  any  height.  I  might  build  one  as  high  as  the 
Pyramids  of  Egypt. 

Q.  You  are  not  an  engineer,  are  you? 

A.  ISTo,  sir. 

Q.  You  could  not  give  us  any  figures  of  the  thickness  of 
a  clam, required  with  a  given  pressure  of  water? 

A.  ^o,  sir;  I  could  build  a  dam  for  myself,  but  could 
not  as  an  engineer.  I  could  build  one  myself,  without 
consulting  any  engineer. 

Q.  By  MEMBER.  How  high  is  the  Mexican  dam? 

A.  I  do  not  know  the  height  of  that.  Ten  or  fifteen 
feet — not  to  exceed  fifteen  feet. 

Q.  What  is  the  distance  down  to  the  mouth  of  the  tun- 
nel from  the  Franklin  dam  ? 

A.  Five  miles  and  a  half. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Now,  suppose  we  can  construct  a  dam  over 
100  feet  high.  Let  us  suppose  that  case.  Take  out  the 
water  at  the  bottom  of  that  dam — that  is,  at  the  present  bed 
of  the  river  at  the  Franklin  mill — we  would  get  a  pressure 
then  of  100  feet.  "We  would  then  get  the  reservoir  100  feet 
high,  would  we  not? 

A. .  To  satisfy  you,  I  shall  make  an  answer,  but  1  would 
like  to  have  it  understood  that  it  is  not  a  direct  answer,  be- 
cause this  rule  of  supposition  I  never  work  upon,  and 
hence  I  do  not  like  to  answer  a  supposititious  case.  If  you 
and  I  were  in  common  conversation  together,  and  you 
should  ask  me  a  question  of  that  character,  I  would  be 
ready  to  reason  the  matter  with  you.  As  I  am  sitting  here 
under  oath,  I  do  not  like  to  answer  a  supposititious  question. 
I  heard  a  man  once  suppose  what  would  be  the  result  of 
two  bodies,  one  immovable  and  the  other  irresistible,  com- 


519 

ing  in  contact.  I  could  give  an  answer  to  that  with  the 
same  case  that  I  could  to  this. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  We  will  drop  this  dam  question,  I  think. 

Q.  What  mills  have  reduced  ore  for  the  Chollar  Potosi 
company  during  the  last  year.  What  does  this  report  call 
for? 

A.  I  do  not  think  they  are  named  there. 

Q.  Did  any  mill  reduce  any  ore  beside  the  Union  Mill 
and  Mining  Company? 

A.  No. 

Q.  It  was  all  reduced  by  the  Union  Mill  and  Mining  Com- 
pany mill? 

A.  No. 

WITNESS.  Do  you  mean  for  the  year  ending  May  31,  at 
the  time  that  report  gives  the  figures? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Yes,  sir;  June  1. 

A.  If  there  were  any,  the  amount  was  so  small  it  would 
be  scarcely  considered — two  or  three  thousand  tons  per- 
haps. 

Q.  How  many  tons  <*f  ore  were  worked  during  that  year? 

A.  If  I  am  not  mistaken,  83,775  tons  is  correct. 

Q.  How  much  did  the  Chollar  Potosi  company  pay  for 
milling  that? 

A.  They  paid  $1,005,300. 

Q.  How  much  was  that  a  ton? 

A.  Twelve  dollars  per  ton. 

Q.  And  $2  paid  for  hauling? 

A.  No,  sir;  tKe  Chollar  Potosi  company  paid  nothing 
for  hauling.  That  includes  that,  so  that  the  real  cost  to 
the  Chollar  Potosi  company  was  $10.  We  had  nothing  to 
do  with  the  hauling. 

Q.  I  suppose  you  would  have  to  pay  for  hauling? 

A.  They  got  $12  for  milling  and  hauling. 

Q.  How  much  do  they  charge  for  hauling? 

A.,  I  do  not  know.  I  have  had  no  hauling  done  in 
years. 

Q.  How  much  do  the  other  companies  pay  for  hauling 
down  to  the  river — any  of  them  ? 


520 

A.  It  is  $2  in  the  commissioners'  report.  I  do  not  state 
that  as  a  fact;  but  let  that  go. 

Q.  That  leaves  ahout  $10  per  ton  for  milling.  I  would 
like  to  ask  you  what  the  price  is  for  transportation  down 
to  the  river? 

A.  I  suppose  for  all  hauling  over  the  various  sections, 
by  railroad  and  by  team,  it  would  not  exceed  $2  25. 

Q.  How  much  is  it  by  railroad— about  ? 

A.  I  really  do  not  know.  I  could  not  tell  you  the  cost. 
I  never  asked  what  they  had  charged  by  railroad.  I  never 
had  any  occasion. 

Q.  Is  it  over  §2? 

A.  Some  mills  make  a  little  over  $2;  these  are  others 
somewhat  under. 

Q.  Would  it  not  be  an  average  of  $2? 

A;  Yes,  sir;  I  should  think  it  would. 

Q.  Then  we  get  83,775  tons  on  which  your  company 
paid  for  milling.  You  say  it  costs  $4  50  to  mill? 

A.  On  the  river,  I  think  so,  at  the  present  rate  of  work- 
ing-. According  to  the  present  modes,  under  the  reorgani- 
zation of  some  of  the  mills,  they  have  increased  their 
capacity  very  materially,,  and  they  can  work  ores  cheaper 
than,  they  could  twelve  months  ago. 

Q.  Will  you  be  kind  enough  to  figure  how  much  it 
would  come  to,  milling  83,775  tons,  at  §4  50  per  ton? 

A.  I  think  the  exact  figuring  about  $376,000— $377,000 
nearly. 

Q.  Taking  the  price  paid  at  §10  a  ton,  how  much  dif- 
ference does  that  make? 

A.  That  would  be  §837,750:  $377,000  deducted  from 
that  leaves  §460,000. 

Q.  Then  the  Chollar  Potosi  company  paid  a  profit  to 
the  Union  Milling  company  of  $460,000  in  one  year? 

A.  No,  I  think  not.  They  did  not  work-it  all  by  water 
power.  There  was  steam  power  used  on  a  great  deal  of 
the  ore.  We  had  worked  out  83,775  tons. 

Q.  What  proportion? 

A.  Over  two-thirds  of  the  work  by  steam  power. 


521 

Q.  What  is  the  actual  cost  of  milling  by  steam  power? 

A.  I  think  they  have  got  it  reduced  now  to  $6,  may  be, 
in  a  good  mill. 

Q.  Now,  will  you  be  kind  enough  to  make  your  figures 
on  two-thirds  by  steam  power  and  one-third  by  water 
power? 

A.  You  make  the  figures,  and  I  will  do  the  calculation. 

Q.  If  you  wMl  state  my  figures  are  correct? 

WITNESS.  You  know  better  what  you  want  to  figure 
than  I  do. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  It  is  very  simple? 

WITNESS.  I  know  it  is  ver}^  simple. 

Q.  By  water  power,  27,125  tons;  by  steam  power,  55,850 
tons.  You  paid  $12  for  all  that  ore? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  They  made  $5  50  per  ton  profit  on  the  water  power, 
did  they  not?  And  you  say  it  costs  $6  by  steam  power. 
They  would  have  made  $4  per  ton  there,  would  they  not? 

A.  If  it  did  not  cost  any  more  than  $6,  they  would. 

Q.  Will  you  be  kind  enough  to  state  how  much  that 
comes  to  at  $5  6^  and  at $4  50?  One-third  at  $5  50  and 
two  at  $4  50. 

A.  The  one,  by  $4  50,  comes  to  $223,392;  by  $5  50, 
$153,598. 

Q.  How  much  would  that  be  altogether? 

A.  $376,990. 

Q.  Then  your  company,  the  Chollar  Potosi,  has  paid  a 
profit  to  the  Union  Mill  and  Mining  Company  of  $376,990  ? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  think  not.  I  think  there  is  a  great  deal 
of  wear  and  tear  connected  with  the  mills. 

Q.  You  did  not  figure  that  in? 

A.  No,  sir;  you  asked  me  what  it  took  to  do  it,  and  I 
gave  it  to  you. 

Q.  In  reducing  the  ore,  must  not  you  include  the  wear 
and  tear  of  your  mills? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  How  much  do  you  think  that  amounts  to  ? 


522 

A.  In  connection  with  that,  they  paid  the  Chollar  Potosi 
company  a  reclamation  of  from  $16,000  to  $17,000. 

Mr.  Sumo.  That  has  nothing  to  do  with  this  matter.  I 
want  to  know  whether  you  are  .going  to  make  any  further 
reductions? 

A.  I  do  not  propose  to  make  any  reduction.  I  am  not 
making  these  figures  myself.  I  say  that  when  the  matter 
of  $4  per  ton  is  considered,  it  is  considered  'that  they  reduce 
the  ore  for  that;  but  when  the  mill  is  worn  out,  they  re- 
build it.  You  know  as  well  as  I  do  that  a  mill  wears  out, 
and  you  know  that  when  you  turn  to  and  work  one.  you 
figure  it,  for  instance,  as  to  what  it  has  cost  per  month. 
You  keep  that  up  for  a  series  of  months,  and  then  you  have 
to  undertake  a  pretty  thorough  overhauling  again,  and  so 
you  keep  going.  Some  mills  wear  more  than  others.  Some 
are  subjected  to  more  accidents  than  others,  and  conse- 
quently it  costs  a  great  deal  more  money  to  run  some  than 
others. 

Q.  How  much  would  that  amount  to.  You  are  an  ex- 
pert at  milling.  Will  you  state,  if  you  please,  how  much 
that  wear  and  tear  would  come  to  besides  the  cost — the 
actual  cost? 

A.  I  am  not  prepared  to  answer  about  that  to-night,  be- 
cause I  want  to  think  it  over. 

Q.  No  time  is  given  me  for  asking  you  any  questions. 
Mr.  Sunderland  has  just  gone  through  with  your  examina- 
tion, and  I  do  not  see  why  you  should  not  be  able,  as  an  ex- 
perienced mill  man— you  say  you  have  been  mining  and 
milling  for  22  years— to  give  me  those  figures.  "What  is 
the  fact  ? 

A.  I  have  not  done  any  milling  for  five  years,  and  a  man, 
as  a  rule,  when  he  is  not  in  actual  practice,  gets  somewhat 
rusty.  That  is  about  the  position  I  occupy  to-night.  I  am 
slightly  rusty  upon  that  proposition  of  figuring  down  ac- 
curately the  wear  and  tear  of  a  mill. 

Q.  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  the  Chollar  Potosi  mine  did 
not  pay  a  profit  in  one  single  year  to  the  Bank  of  Califor- 


523 

nia,  or  parties  owning  the  Union  Mill  and  Mining  Com- 
pany, of  $376,990  ? 

A.  No,  sir.  In  my  opinion,  take  out  the  wear  and  tear, 
it  did  not  pay  that  sum. 

Q.  How  much  profit  do  you  think  they  paid  ? 

A.  Well,  sir,  as  I  stated  before,  I  would  like  to  figure 
that  a  little.  I  am  not  carrying  on  a  casual  conversation 
with  Mr.  Sutro. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  No,  you  are  giving  your  testimony  under 
oath. 

WITNESS.  Consequently  I  want  to  be  as  near  the  truth 
as  possible,  and  I  intend  to  get  there. 

Q.  Do  you  think  it  would  amount  to  10  per  cent,  on  all 
that  money — 10  per  cent,  on  the-  whole  amount  paid  ? 

A.  If  you  give  me  a  little  time  to  think  over  that,  I  can 
figure  it  out  in  the  course  of  the  next  twenty-four  hours, 
arid  then  I  will  give  you  an  answer  which  will  be  satisfac- 
tory to  yourself. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  will  have  to  dismiss  that  point. 

WITNESS.  I  have  done  no  milling  for  five  years.  I  have 
not  been  a  milling  superintendent  for  five  years,  and  I 
have  become  a  little  rusty. 

'Q.  I  want  to  ask  you  who  the  trustees  of  the  Chollar 
Potosi  Mining  Company  are  ? 

A.  A.  K  P.  Harmon,  J.  D.  Fry,  A.  Hayward,  William 
Norris,  II.  C.  Kibby,  James  Freeborn,  Robert  Sherwood, 
trustees.  The  president  is  A.  K.  P.  Harmon;  vice  pres- 
dent,  J.  D.  Fry;  secretary,  W.  E.  Dean;  superintendent, 
Isaac  L.  Requa. 

Q.  Who  is  the  treasurer  of  your  company  ? 

A.  We  have  no  treasurer,  I  think. 

Q.  Who  keeps  your  money  ? 

A.  Well,  sir,  the  company  keep  it.  The  president,  I 
think,  deposits  it. 

Q.  Whom  do  you  draw  on  in  San  Francisco? 

A.  The  president  of  the  company. 

Q.  Where  does  he  keep  his  money? 


524 

A.  My  understanding  is,  it  is  kept  in  the  Bank  of  Cali- 
fornia.    Still  I  do  not  know  that. 
.  Q.  It  is  a  well-known  fact. 

A.  I  do  not  know  it  well  enough  to  swear  to  it. 

Q.  Let  me  ask  you  whether  Mr.  Harmon,  your  pres- 
ident, is  not  closely  connected  with  the  Bank  of  Califor- 
nia ? 

WITNESS.  In  what  sense? 

Q.  Is  he  not  a  stockholder  there? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Is  he  not  connected  with  the  Bank  of  California? 

Mr.  SUNDEHLAND.  I  ohject. 

By  Mr.  KENDALL: 

Q.  Can  you  answer  the1  question  approximately  as  to  the 
wear  and  tear  ? 

A.  I  cannot  exactly  at  the  present  time. 

Q.  State,  if  you  can  approximately,  what  that  deduction 
ought  to  be  for  the  wear  and  tear  of  the  machinery. 

A.  I  cannot  very  well  now.  I  do  not  know  that  I  can 
get  at  it  accurately. 

Q.  Is  it  10  per  cent.  ? 

A.  I  do  not  know. 

Q.  Do  you  think  it  is  15  per  cent.  ? 

A.  I  say,  if  I  can  have  a  little  opportunity  to  think  it 
over  and  refresh  my  memory,  I  will  try  and  give  an  answer. 
I  do  not  want  to  give  a  vague  answer.  I  would  like  very 
much  to  give  answers  that  I  am  satisfied  are  very  nearly  or 
quite  correct.  So  far  as  I  have  gone,  I  have  endeavored 
to  do  so  in  this  matter.  I  stated  before  that  I  have  been 
out  of  practice  for  five  or  six  years,  and  one  naturally 
becomes  a  little  rusty. 

Q.  You  are  a  mill  man  of  some  experience? 

A.  I  have  been. 

Q.  What  generally  is  the  per  centage  of  loss,  by  wear 
and  tear  of  mills  and  machinery  and  buildings,  according  to 
your  experience  and  observation  ?  You  can  tell  that,  of 
course,  pretty  nearly.  That  is  directly  in  your  line  of  busi- 
ness? 


525 

% 
A.  Not  for  five  years.      When  I  was  running  quartz 

mills  I  could  have  answered  that  question  just  as  promptly 
as  any  one  ;  but,  as  I  have  stated  before,  I  have  not  run  a 
mill  and  luive  not  made  any  calculation  about  the  cost  of 
wear  and  tear  for  some  five  years,  and  it  will  take  me  a 
little  time  to  collect  my  thoughts  before  I  could  give  an 
approximate  estimate.  At  present  I  do  not  feel  myself 
able  to  approximate. 

By  Mr.  SUTRO  : 

Q.  You  do  not  know  about  the  connection  of  Mr.  Har- 
mon with  the  Bank  of  California  ? 

A.  In  what  sense? 

Q.  If  Mr.  Harmon  owns  any  stock  in  the  Bank  of  Cali- 
fornia? 

A.  That  is  a  question  I  say  I  cannot  answer.  My  im- 
pression is  that  he  does  not. 

Q.  Do  you  know  who  Mr.  Fry  is? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  What  relation  is  he  to  Mr.  Ralston? 

A.  I  think  Mr.  Ralston's  wife  is  somewhat  connected 
with  Mr.  Fry.  He  belongs  to  the  family. 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  Mr.  William  Nbrris  is  a  di- 
rector in  the  Bank  of  California  or  not? 

A.  I  do  not  know  whether  he  is  or  not.  They  have  a 
number  of  directors. 

Q.  Do  you  not  know  that  he  is  a  director  now;  that  it 
is  well  known  to  everybody,  and  has  been  for  years? 

A.  It  is  not  to  me.  They  change  the  directors  every 
year.  These  directors  are  not  the  same  directors  to-day 
that  were  there  some  time  ago. 

Q.  Do  you  say  that  you  are  not  sufficiently  acquainted 
with  the  Bank  of  California  to  know  its  directors? 

A.  I  have  so  stated.  I  could  not  name  two  directors 
connected  with  the  Bank  of  California  positively. 

Q.  Do  you  know  Mr.  James  Freeborn  ? 

A.  I  do. 

Q.  Is  he  not  a  broker  of  the  Bank  of  California? 

A.  I  don't  know  any  such  thing. 


626 

Q.  Is  it  not  a  well-knowii  fact  that  he  does  the  broker- 
age for  the  Bank  of  California? 

A.  Not  to  my  knowledge.     I  never  heard  of  it. 

Q.  Do  you  know  Mr.  'Freeborn  well  ? 

A.  I  know  him. 

Q.  Do  you  know  he  is  a  broker? 

A.  I  know  he  has  been.  I  do  not  know  what  he  is  to- 
day. He  has  been  a  broker  for  a  good  many  years. 

Q.  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  you  never  heard  of  his  do- 
ing any  stock  transactions  for  the  Bank  of  California? 

A.  I  mean  to  say  I  never  heard  of  his  attending  to  any 
stock  transactions  for  the  Bank  of  California. 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  connection  Mr.  H.  C.  Kibbe  has 
with  the  bank? 

A.  No,  sir ;  I  do  not. 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  Mr.  Hay  ward  used  to  be  a  di- 
rector in  the  Bank  of  California  ? 

A.  I  do  not  know  that,  but  I  presume  so.  I  am  told  that 
he  has  owned  a  great  deal  of  stock. 

Q.  They  have  had  a  little  falling  out  ? 

A.  Not  that  I  am  aware  of. 

Q.  Is  he  still  a  director  in  the  bank  ? 

A.  If  he  ever  was,  I  suppose  he  is  to-day. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  Mr.  Sharon  ?  Tell 
me  whether  he  has  any  connection  with  them? 

A.  Not  any.     I  do  not  know  of  any. 

Q.  Has  not  Mr.  Sharon  a  great  deal  to  say  about  your 
mine  ? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Have  you  ever  consulted  him? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Did  }TOU  ever  communicate  with  him  about  the  state 
of  the  mine  ? 

A.  Sometimes.  He,  like  a  good  many  other  men,  would 
ask  me  how  the  mine  looked,  and  I  would  always  give  him 
all  the  information  I  had. 

Q.  Is  he  a  stockholder  in  the  mine  ? 

A.  I  presume  he  owns  stock.     There  have  been  times, 


527 

though,  when  he  owned  nearly  all  the  stock  that  the  mine 
consisted  of.  At  the  last  annual  election  I  do  not  think 
the  Bank  of  California  owned  a  share,  but  I  think  Mr. 
Sharon  and  others  and  n^self  included  did.  We  voted 
ahout  26,000  out  of  the  28,000  shares. 

Q.  Who  owned  them  ? 

A.  The  mill  company,  Mr.  Sharon  individually,  the 
president,  and  myself. 

Q.  At  that  time  the  mine  was  in  a  very  fine  condition, 
was  it  not  ? 

A.  Not  as  fine  as  it  had  been. 

Q.  How  much  do  they  own  now  ? 

A.  I  am  not  able  to  state. 

Q.  Do  they  own  as  much  now  as  then? 

A.  They  may  and  may  not.    I  do  not  know. 

Q.  Did  they  not  sell  out  before  the  stock  went  down? 

A.  That  I  have  no  knowledge  of.  I  do  not  think  they 
did.  I  am  sure  they  did  not. 

Q.  How  much  stock  do  you  own  in  the  Potosi  mine  ? 

A.  That  is  a  question  I  do  not  think  it  is  necessary  to 
answer  here.  That  is  my  private  business.  I  am  not  ex- 
amined upon  that. 

Q.  How  much  salary  do  you  get  as  superintendent? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  submit  that  there  is  no  sense  in  that 
or  similar  questions. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  will  state  that  it  is  of \thehighest  importance 
to  ascertain  the  position  of  these  gentlemen.  They  come  here 
to  testify  against  the  tunnel — at  least  they  are  opposed  to  the 
tunnel — they  are  opposed  to  the  construction  of  the  tunnel,  as 
far  as  they  or  the  parties  who  send  them  here  are  concerned. 
If  I  understand  it  correctly,  it  is  very  diesrable  to  ascer- 
tain who  these  gentlemen  are,  and  what  interest  they  have 
in  opposing  it;  whether  the  construction  of  that  tunnel 
will  bring  about  a  new  state  of  affairs;  a  new  manner  of 
reducing  ores,  the  establishment  of  new  mills,  the  con- 
sequent effect  of  which  will  be  to  put  these  men  out, 
Such  being  the  case,  it  is  natural  that  they  should  seek  to 
uphold  the  most  expensive  system  of  mining  and  milling, 


528 

inasmuch  as  they  make  hundreds  of  thousands  and  millions 
of  dollars  out  of  it.  They  are  opposed  to  the  tunnel  be- 
cause they  derive  all  the  profits  from  the  work  of  these 
mines;  and  I  have  already  shown  hy  the  other  witnesses, 
that  those  mines  are  worked  in  the  interest  of  the  rin^s — 

•  O 

men  who  own  the  mills.  They  are  making  the  money,  and 
the  stockholders  are  not,  and  it  is  essential  to  find  out 
these  facts.  I  want  to  ask  the  witness  a  few  questions  in 
regard  to  his  position,  and  I  would  like  to  know  how  much 
salary  he  gets  as  superintendent  of  that  mine. 

WITNESS.  I  would  like  to  state  that  Mr.  Sutro  makes  a 
pretty  broad  assertion  when  he  says  that  the  stockholders 
get  nothing  out  of  this.  We  divided  up  $2,000,000  last  year. 
I  \yould  like  to  say  that  the  Chollar  Potosi  company  were 
declaring  $10  in  dividends  per  share  per  month.  The 
stock  was  selling  not  to  exceed  $90  per  share,  and  for  the 
whole  }rear  we  declared  $70  per  share  in  dividends,  and 
the  .parties  who  owned  it  got  the  benefit,  to  my  certain 
knowledge.  I  wish  to  say  further,  that  the  Chollar  Potosi 
company  has  declared  forty-seven  consecutive  dividends, 
and  the  stockholders  got  them — who  they  were  I  am  not 
prepared  to  say — and  that  the  stock  has  paid  in  dividends, 
since  I  have  managed  the  mines,  nearly  $100  per  share,  and 
during  that  time  it  has  never  reached  the  price  of  $100  .per 
share. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  You  are  jnaking  a  statement  here 

WITNESS.  Which  I  am  prepared  to  substantiate  by  rny 
oath. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  do  not  dispute  any  of  your  statements  now. 
I  take  all  that  you  give;  but  I  want  your  figures  and  returns 
in  regard  to  it. 

WITNESS.  As  far  as  I  can,  I  propose  to  give  them  to  you. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  You  stated  that  the  stock  never  went  over 
§90,  and  yet  you  paid  $10  per  share  per  month  in  dividends  ? 

WITNESS.  Yes,  sir;  for  five  consecutive  mouths. 

Q.  How  much  per  cent,  is  that  a  month? 

&.  That  would  be  10  per  cent,  on  $100— -11  per  cent. 


529 

Q.  What  is  the  reason  the  public  did  not  pay  more  than 
$90? 

A.  Because  the  public  had  no  faith  in  the  mine. 

Mr.  Sumo.  Because  it  was  managed  by  a  ring  and  be- 
cause the  public  had  no  confidence,  or  they  would  not  have 
shut  down  upon  it. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  protest  against  this  abuse  by  Mr. 
Sutro  of  everybody  but  himself.  I  propose  to  attack  Mr. 
Sutro  to  show  who  and  what  he  is. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  You  are  welcome  to  do  that. 

Mr.  KENDALL.  I  do  not  think  there  need  be  any  such 
feeling  in  this  examination  as  is  exhibited  sometimes. 

WITNESS.  I  have  not  exhibited  any  feeling. 

Mr.  KENDALL.  I  did  not  say  who. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  cannot  sit  here,  Mr.  Chairman,  and 
hear  my  friends  abused,  when  I  know  the  insinuations 
against  them  are  false. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  These  things  will  not  weigh  with  the 
committee. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  suppose  they  will  be  reported,  how- 
ever, by  the  committee  with  the  testimony  in  the  case? 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  question  has  been  asked,  and,  if  the 
gentleman  objects,  we  will  decide  it? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  have  been  objecting  until  I  thought 
I  was  wearying  the  committee.  I  certainly  have  wearied 
myself  by  objecting  to  all  this  illegal  evidence. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  want  to  ask  the  witness  this  question :  Why 
has  this  stock  never  gone  beyond  $90  per  share,  when 
it  was  paying  $10  dividends  per  month  or  11  per  centum 
per  month? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  object. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Why,  he  has  already  answered  that 
question. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  do  not  see  any  objection  to  that,  Mr.  Sun- 
derland. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  He  has  answered  the  question  by  say- 
ing that  the  public  had  no  confidence  in  the  lode  at  that 
time. 

34 


530 

.  I  will  state,  Mr.  Chairman,  that  the  lode  had 
run  down  and  looked  very  bad  from  one  end  of  it  to  the 
other.  The  production  was  very  limited  indeed,  but  we 
had  the  good  fortune  in  the  ChollarPotosi  to  strike  a  very 
fine  deposit.  The  public  at  large,  I  think,  almost  univer- 
sally had  failed  to  give  the  mines  much  attention.  They 
thought,  there  was  no  value  left  in  them,  and  hence,  when 
we  struck  this  fine  deposit  in  the  Chollar  Potosi  mine, 
although  we  shipped  so  much  bullion  and  made  it  public, 
and  every  shipment  was  seen  and  known  by  those  who 
chose  to  know  it,  yet  they  regarded  it  as  a  surface  deposit. 
Yes,  they  regarded  it  as  nothing  but  a  surface  deposit  and 
as  not  amounting  to  anything.  The  stock  was  not  selling 
for  much,  and  they  did  not  care  to  purchase  it.  I  will  say 
to  Mr.  Sutro  that,  if  he  was  in  California,  he  would  not  be 
obliged  to  buy  an  inch  of  stock  unless  he  chose  to  do  so, 
arid  I  undertake  to  say  that  the  stockholders  of  the  Chol- 
lar Potosi— I  only  speak  for  that  mine — will  say  that  they 
have  been  as  well  treated  upon  the  coast,  and  as  well 
suited  with  their  investment,  as  any  they  have  made,  un- 
less I  am  very  much  mistaken.  I  wish  he  (the  chairman) 
would  come  there.  I  would  like  to  have  him  investigate 
the  thing  in  person. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Proceed,  Mr.  Sutro. 

Q.  What  is  the  usual  interest  on  the  Pacific  coast? 

A.  They  calculate  that  mines  ought  to  pay  5  per  cent, 
per  month 

Q.  What  is  the  usual  interest  in  San  Francisco? 

A.  I  see  it  stated  in  the  papers  that  large  loans  upon  real 
estate  have  been  made  at  1  per  cent,  per  month,  or  10 
per  cent,  a  year;  but  the  rule  in  regard  to  mining  stock  is, 
that  most  people  who  talk  about  dividends  think  they 
ought  to  have  about  5  per  cent,  per  month  on  such. 

Q.  The  Chollar  Potosi  mine,  you  say,  paid  interest  dur- 
ing the  whole  year  at  the  rate  of  11  per  cent,  per  month? 

A.  Not  for  the  whole  year.  I  say  five  consecutive 
months. 


531 

Q.  I  want  now  to  repeat  the  question  that  I  put  to  you 
before  the  interruption :  How  much  salary  do  you  get? 

A.  As  that  is  a  private  matter,  not.  connected  with  this 
investigation  in  any  manner,  shape,  or  form,  I  would  like 
if  the  Chairman 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  suppose  the  object  is  to  show  the  in- 
terest of  the  company — the  relation  of  the  company. 

WITNESS.  I  would  like  to  state  that  whatever  it  costs  for 
operating  the  mine  can  be  found  here  in  detail  in  this  re- 
port. 

Q.  Does  that  state  the  salary  of  the  superintendent  ? 

A.  ISTo,  sir;  not  alone. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  You  refuse  to  answer  that  question  ? 

A.  IsTo,  sir ;  I  do  not  refuse  to  answer.  I  say  to  the 
chairman  it  is  a  matter  of  private  business  of  my  own ; 
that  I  do  not  understand  I  am  being  examined  as  to  my 
private  affairs. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  This  has  a  close  connection,  and  you  appear 
here  as  a  witness. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  You  object  to  th,e  question,  Mr.  Sun- 
derland? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.    I  suppose  that  objection  still  stands. 

Mr.  RICE.  I  wish  to  say  simply  that  the  committee  will 
bear  in  mind  that  this  is  a  cross-examination.  This  is  a 
different  examination  from  what  we  have  had  from  these 
government  officers  who  come  here.  This  is  a  witness  who 
has  come  here  thousands  of  miles,  in  the  midst  of  winter, 
voluntarily,  to  give  his  testimony  against  us,  and  we  have 
a  right  to  assume  that  he  is  an  interested  witness,  and  we 
wish  to  show  these  facts.  We  wish  to  show  what  his  in- 
terest is.  This  is  a  cross-examination,  and  all  of  you  gentle- 
men know  that  great  latitude  is  allowed  in  cross-examina- 
tion. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Certainly. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  admit  it  is  true  that  Mr.  Requa  is  a 
stockholder  in  the  Chollar  Potosi  company.  If  that  is  all, 
we  admit  that;  but  I  propose  to  object  to  any  question  as 
regards  the  amount  of  salary  that  he  is  receiving. 


532 

t» 

The  CHAIRMAN.  This  is  for  the  purpose  of  showing 
whether  the  witness  is  biased  or  not. 

Mr.  KENDALL.  I  am  clearly  of  opinion  that  this  line  of 
cross-examination  would  he  permissible  in  any  court,  to 
show  the  interest  of  a  party  in  a  matter. 

The  WITNESS.  Mr.  Kendall,  I  do  not  object  to  answering 
it:  I  simply  say  that  if  I  answer  one,  that  will  lead  to 
another.  I  do  not  propose  to  make  an  exhibit  of  my  pri- 
vate affairs  here. 

Mr.  KENDALL.  Of  course  there  is  a  limit  to  it.  I  think 
Mr.  Sunderland  will  admit  himself  that  it  is  a  line  of  ex- 
amination admissible  under  the  law. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  It  is  admitted  that  he  has  an  interest. 
They  want  to  show  how  far — what  degree  of  interest  he  has. 

Mr.  KENDALL.  I  confess  that  I  want  to  know  myself,  as 
a  member  of  the  committee.  I  frankly  say  that.  I  make 
no  concealment  of  it.  I  want  to  know  to  what  degree  the 
witness  is  interested  in  matters  he  is  testifying  to,  not  by 
any  means  doubting  his  truthfulness. 

The  WITNESS.  The  objection  that  has  been  made  will 
be  for  the  committee  to  decide,  of  course;  but  I  have  no 
objection  to  telling  the  committee  what  I  get  as  a  salary, 
with  the  one  exception,  that  I  do  not  think  I  am  compelled 
to  make  an  exhibit  of  my  private  affairs  here.  That  is  all. 
I  cannot  see  that  I  am.  But  if  the  committee  decide  that  I 
must  answer  the  question,  of  course  I  will  answer  them  up 
to  the  point  where  it  gets  down  to  my  own  pocket,  and 
then  the  committee  will  not  insist  upon  that. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  On  that  subject  it  is  stated  by  the  committee 
that  they  desire  an  answer  to  the  question. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  No,  they  have  riot  so  decided  yet. 

Mr.  SIIOBER.  My  view  of  this  examination  is,  that  it  is  a 
cross-examination,  for  the  purpose  of  showing  any  interest 
of  the  party  hi  the  matter  being  investigated.  I  agree  with 
Mr.  Kendall  that  such  a  question  would  be  pertinent  as  to 
the  extent  of  interest  that  Mr.  Hequa  may  have  in  the  mine. 
Of  course  I  think  it  might  be  limited,  though.  I  do  not 
think  we  should  go  into  all  of  Mr.  Requa's  private  affairs, 


533 

by  any  means.  I  think  the  question  is  proper,  under  the 
circumstances,  although  I  do  not  consider  it  has  a  very 
great  bearing  one  way  or  the  other,  in  my  mind. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Well,  you  have  heard  what  the  members 
of  the  committee  have  said;  you  must  answer  the  question. 

The  WITNESS.  My  salary  is  §500  per  month. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  What  are  your  other  perquisites? 

A.  I  am  not  aware  that  I  have  any. 

Q.  Does  not  the  company  furnish  you  a  house  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Furnish  any  servants? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Furnish  any  horses? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  furnish  my  own  horses. 

Q.  Who  takes  care  of  your  horses? 

A.  The  company  pays  for  that. 

Q.  Have  you  speculated  in  stocks  since  you  have  been 
superintendent  in  that  company? 

A.  That  is  another  question  that  I  conceive  is  connected 
with  my  private  affairs,  and  I  do  not  think  I  ought  to 
answer. 

Q.  How  much  stock  do  you  own  in  the  company? 

A.*I  cannot  understand  why  I  should  answer  that  ques- 
tion. 

Mr,  SUTRO.  I  wish  to  state  that  this  is  one  of  the  most 
significant  questions  that  has  been  asked  in  this  whole  ex- 
amination. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Mr.  Reqoa  has  already  stated  that  he 
owns  stock  in  the  company,  but  has  not  stated  how  much 
he  owns. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Suppose  he  wants  to  telegraph  to- 
morrow to  sell  his  stock,  or  to  buy, 'is  it  proper  that  the 
amount  of  his  stock  and  all  this  should  be  exposed  here? 
I  do  not  know  whether  Mr.  Requa  wants  to  sell  the  stock 
he  has  or  wants  to  buy  more,  but  under  what  rule,  in 
God's  name,  can  you  call  on  a  man  to  know  how  much 
stock  he  has?  Suppose  he  has  500  shares  of  stock,  or  sup- 
>ose  he  has  5,000  shares,  the  only  question  is  whether  he 


634 

is  telling  the  truth— whether  he  has  an  interest  to  tell  the 
truth  or  to  swear  to  a  lie.  Now,  he  admits  that  he  is  inter- 
ested. Is  not  that  all  they  can  ask?  The  question  Tof  the 
amount  of  interest  never  was  asked  in  any  court  of  justice 
in  the  world. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  desire  to  state  that  the  interest  which  this 
gentleman  owns  in  that  mine  is  a  matter  very  necessary  to 
understand  and  know,  "Without  questioning  the  statement 
of  Mr.  Requa  at  all,  it  is  important  to  know  to  what  ex- 
tent he  is  interested,  and  to  what  extent  he  is  operating 
in  this  stock.  That  is  a  fair  question  to  ask,  and  it  is  a- 
very  important  one  to  know. 

The  WITNESS.  I  have  stated,  Mr.  Sutro,  that  I  was  not 
opposed  to  your  tunnel.  You  may  run  it,  as  far  as  I  am  con- 
cerned. I  have  no  opposition  to  make  to  the  tunnel  at  all. 
My  answers  were  direct  answers  to  the  questions  of  Mr.  Sun- 
derland.  There  is  nothing  in  those  questions  conveying  the 
impression  that  I  am  opposed  to  the  running  of  the  Sutro 
tunnel. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Mr.  Requa  may  not  personally  he  opposed 
to  the  tunnel,  but  the  persons  who  employ  him  may  be. 
It  may  be  that  they  are  deriving,  as  they  are,  large  profits 
annually  out  of  the  working  and  milling  of  the  ore^,  and 
it  is  very  important  to  understand  in  what  position  Mr. 
Requa  himself  is. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  think  it  is  (proper  for  him  to  state  the 
amount  of  his  interest  aside  from  his  salary,  which  I  sup- 
pose will  be  the  amount  of  his  stock. 

The  WITNESS.  Does  the  chair  decide  I  must  answer  as 
to  the  number  of  shares  of  stock  I  own. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Yes,  sir. 

The  WITNESS.  As  I  stated,  I  was  not  opposed  to  the  run- 
ning of  the  tunnel,  if  Mr,  Sutro  will  only  run  this  tunnel 
with  his  own  money.  I  have  not  the  slightest  objection  in 
the  world  to  it,  but  I  do  object  to  being  taxed  myself,  by 
wa}^  of  having  the  United  States  Government  aid  in  this 
enterprise,  and  thus  throwing  money-  away. 

Mr.  RICE.  Is  that  an  answer  to  the  question? 


535 

WITNESS.  No;  I  am  talking  to  the  chairman  about  it. 
I  am  not  opposed  to  the  tunnel,  but  I  am  opposed  to  giv- 
ing answers  as  to  my  private  affairs. 

Q.  What  is  the  amount  of  the  capital  stock  of  the  com- 
pany ? 

A.  There  are  28,000  shares  of  §100  per  share,  making 
§2,800,000.  If  it  is  positively  necessary — if  the  chairman 
decides  I  must  answer  the  question — I  will  do  so. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  It  is  a  proper  question. 

The  WITNESS.  I  may  own  stock  to-day  and  may  not  own 
it  to-morrow. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  My  question  is  how  much  you  owned  when 
you  left  Virginia  City  ? 

A.  That  would  not  exceed  250  shares. 

Q.  How  many  shares  in  the  Chollar  Potosi  mine  have 
you  bought  and  sold  since  you  became  superintendent? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.    I  object. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  May  it  please  the  committee,  it  is  absolutely 
necessary  to  arrive  at  that  fact.  If  the  superintendent 
speculates  in  stock,  it  is  very  important  to  show  the  fact. 

WITNESS.  Mr.  Chairman  I  have  bought  a  great  deal  of 
other  stock  besides  that. 

Mr.ySuTRO.  I  am  only  asking  how  many  shares  of  stock 
you  bought  and  sold. 

WITNESS.  I  could  not  tell.  I  could  not  make  an  approxi- 
mation. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  How  much  money  have  you  made  out  of  the 
stock  since  you  became  superintendent? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  object. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  It  is  very  important.. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Mr.  Chairman,  it  is  perfectly  ridiculous 
that  Mr.  Sutro  should  say  to  everything  that^he  wants  to 
ask,  no  matter  what  it  is,  that  it  is  very  important,  and  urge 
its  reception  on  that  ground.  Is  everything  to  be  received 
simply  because  he  says  it  is  important? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Mr.  Chairman,  it  is  reputed  out  there  that 
Mr.  Rcqna,  since  he  has  been  superintendent,  has  made 
),000  or  $500,000  by  speculation  in  stocks.  I  would 


536 

like  to  ascertain  whether  the  superintendent  in  that  mine, 
who  is  acting  for  all  parties,  has  speculated  largely  in  that 
stock,  and  made  any  such  sum  of  money. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  It  would  be  just  as  pertinent  to  know 
what  speculation  Mr.  Sutro  has  made  in  the  stock,  and 
how  much  stock  he  has  got  for  nothing  in  the  Sutro  Tun- 
nel Company. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  What  do  you  claim  its  bearing  to  be  on 
this  question? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  It  is  this:  that  the  present  mode  of  working 
the  mines  is  such,  that  only  one  portion  of  the  mine  is  open 
at  a  time,  and  consequently  the  condition  of  the  mine  is 
kept  in  the  dark,  and  the  result  is  there  is  a  stock-jobbing 
operation  going  on  constantly.  When  ores  are  discovered, 
of  course  the  superintendent  has  the  first  knowledge,  and 
he  can  telegraph  and  buy  the  stock  from  the  stockholders, 
whom  he  represents  as  superintendent.  He  buys  their  stock 
at  a  low  figure.  The  stock  goes  up,  and  he  derives  the 
benefit  which  ought  to  belong  to  alt  the  stockholders  alike. 
And  if  this  tunnel  laid  all  these  affairs  of  the  mine  open, 
as  a  consequence,  none  of  the  stock-jobbing  could  go  on — 
at  least  not  to  any  such  extent  as  is  done  now — and  conse- 
quently I  would  like  to  know  how  much  money  he  has  made 
during  the  time  that  he  has  been  superintendent  of  the 
Chollar  Potosi  mine. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Would  strangers  have  any  right  to  go 
in  and  examine  the  mine  if  connected  with  the  tunnel? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  It  has  been  a  rule  when  a  strike  is  made  to 
keep  outsiders  out. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  That  would  be  a  privilege  of  the  com- 
pany? 

WITNESS.  It  has  never  been  practiced  at  the  Chollar 
Potosi  mine.  A  man  is  at  liberty  to  go  into  the  mine  when- 
ever he  asks  to.  At  the  time  we  were  working  this  large 
body  of  ore  we  invited  people  to  go  there. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Why  do  you  object  to  answering  this  ques- 
tion? 

A.  Because  it  is  my  private  business. 


537 
i 

Mr.  SuxornLAND.  On  Friday  evening  there  was  an  effort 
mado  by  me  to  try  to  get  up  something  about  the  Sutro 
Tunnel  Company — something  as  to  its  origin;  its  stock; 
the  disposition  of  the  stock.  The  amount  of  more  than 
one-half  of  the  stock  has  been  placed  in  the  hands  of  par- 
ties to  be  floated  all  over  this  city,  and  all  over  the  country, 
to  manufacture  public  opinion  in  favor  of  it,  and  I,  perhaps, 
ought  to  say  that 

Mr.  SUTRO.  That  is  not  correct. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  But  yet  Mr.  Sutro  and  his  attorneys 
have  successfully  resisted  that  inquiry,  and  the  committee 
would  not  let  us  show  what  was  done  with  the  stock. 
Here  is  the  report  made  by  the  superintendent  of  the 
Sutro  Tunnel  Company.  That  up  to  July  1  they  had 
spent  $42,800.  They  have  been  running  that  tunnel  for 
the«last  six  years.  It  has  been  published  in  the  newspa- 
pers from  that  time  to  this  that  the  tunnel  had  got  on  so 
far.  Mr.  Sutro  published  over  his  own  signature,  in  a 
pamphlet,  two  years  ago,  that  at  that  time  1,100  feet  of  that 
tunnel  were  completed,  and  yet,  up  to  the  1st  of  last  July 
$42,800  had  been  expended,  and  yet  $7,000,000  of  this 
stock,  unassessable,  full  paid,  without  consideration,  has 
been  issued  by  that  company.  ~Now,  when  this  company 
refuses  to  allow  me  to  inquire  into  that,  it  is  proposed  to 
inquire  of  the  witness  that  we  place  upon  the  stand  what 
stocks  he  has  bought,  and  what  he  has  sold,  and  whether 
he  has  lost  or  made  by  the  transaction ;  and  it  is  called 
a  stock-jobbing  operation  on  the  part  of  the  superintend- 
ent of  the  mine,  who  is  a  witness  on  the  stand.  If  ever 
any  stock-jobbing  operation  was  made  that  was  disgrace- 
ful, it  is  this  stock-jobbing  in  connection  with  the  Sutro 
Tunnel  Company. 

Mr.  RICE.  I  would  like  to  say  one  word  in  regard  to  this. 
I  do  not  like  to  have  any  misunderstanding  or  misrepre- 
sentation about  this,  so  far  as  I  am  concerned.  The  facts  in 
regard  to  ruling  out  certain  testimony  last  evening  were 
simply  these  :  that  we  had  a  Government  witness  here  not 


538 

called  by  us,  but  called  by  the  committee  through  the  Sec- 
retary of  War.  He  came  here  as  a  Government  witness. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  At  your  request. 

Mr.  RICE.  And  testified  in  full  on  one  side  and  the 
other.  He  was  dismissed  without  any  intimation  that  he 
was  to  be  again  called.  He  was  brought  back  here  by  Mr. 
Sundeiiand  to  correct  his  testimony,  as  he  said,  and  then, 
when  we  objected  in  the  commencement  that  he  should 
not  go  into  new  matter — that,  he  having  been  fully  exam- 
ined on  the  one  side  and  the  other,  and  his  testimony  closed, 
it  was  contrary  to  all  rules  to  go  into  new  evidence,  and 
upon  that  ground  the  paper  which  he  proposed  to  submit 
was  ruled  out  by  the  committee,  General  Foster  refusing 
to  let  us  examine  it,  and  see  what  it  was,  contrary  to  all 
rule.  Now,  we  say  there  is  nothing  in  that  paper  that  we 
object  to,  and  we  desire  the  committee  to  bring  it  here,  and 
put  it  into  the  case. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  We  have  agreed  it  should  be  put  in,  though 
it  has  no  sort  of  relevancy  to  this  case  at  all. 

Mr.  RICE.  It  is  now  proposed  to  ask  of  an  interested 
witness  what  interest  he  has  in  these  mines  and  mills  and 
in  these  operations,  and  we  are  at  once  met  with  anger  and 
with  objections.  I  say  it  is  entirely  a  different  case,  be- 
ca,use  the  other  was  a  Government  witness,  and  this  an 
interested  witness  who  comes  here. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  If  these  stock  transactions  can  afford  to  see 
daylight,  I  do  not  see  why  so  much  feeling  should  be  ex- 
hibited every  time  any  allusion  is  made  to  the  Bank  of 
California.  Whenever  a  question  is  asked  in  regard  to  it, 
an  unusual  feeling  is  exhibited  here — when  we  ask  such  a 
a  simple  question  as  will  be  allowed  in  any  court- of  law. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  think  we  understand  the  question  now, 
Mr.  Sutro.  The  committee,  I  believe,  decided  the  other 
evening,  all  in  consultation,  that  they  would  receive  the 
statement  the  next  day,  if  it  was  desired  to  have  it. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  That  was  rejected,  I  know,  by  the  com- 
mittee once. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  do  not  know  that  we  ruled  against  it; 


539 

but  it  was  not  decided  one  way  or  the  other — it  was  a  new 
question. 

Mr.  RICE.  It  was  distinctly  left  open. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  It  was  understood  that,  if  we  concluded 
to  receive  it  on  sending  such  information  to  General  Foster, 
he  would  return  it.  I  think  that  was  the  way  it  was  left. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Does  the  witness  refuse  to  answer? 

The  CHAIRMAN.  We  have  not  decided  that  point  yet. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  will  state  my  question  again.  It  is  this : 
How  many  shares  of  stock  Mr.  Requa  has  bought  and 
sold  since  he  has  been  superintendent? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  desire  to  have  an  objection  noted  to 
that  question. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  He  has  stated  here  that  he  cannot  tell 
how  many  shares  of  stock  he  bought  and  sold. 

The  WITNESS.  Nor  how  much  money  I  made  out  of  it. 
I  bought  stock  of  all  kinds.    Sometimes  I  would  make 
some  money,  and  sometimes  I  would  lose.    It  is  simply  out 
of  the  question  for  one  to  tell  what  and  how. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Let  me  ask  you,  then,  have  you  been  in  the 
habit  of  dealing  in  stock  in  the  Chollar  Potosi  mine  ? 

A.  No  more  in  the  habit  in  that  than  in  any  other. 
Often  the  stock  goes  down  and  goes  up  again,  and  I  neither 
buy  nor  sell. 

Q.  It  is  reported  out  there  that  you  have  made  a  very 
large  amount  of  money  in  these  stock  operations,  in  buy- 
ing and  selling  stock  in  the  Chollar  Potosi  mine.  Do  you 
mean  to  say  }7ou  have  not  ? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  object. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  think  it  will  be  proper  for  you  to  state 
whether  you  have  dealt  largely,  or  generally,  in  that  stock 
connected  with  the  stock  of  your  mine.  ,, 

The  WITNESS.  Generally,  I  have  not  dealt  in  that  any 
more  than  I  have  in  others ;  largely,  no  more  in  that  than 
in  others. 

Q.  You  cannot  state  the  whole  extent  ? 
.     A.  No,  sir;  that  would  simply  be  out  of  the  question. 
I  could  not  tell  by  any  way  on  earth.     I  kept  a  record  for  a 


540 

season,  and  then  I  destroyed  it.  I  am  a  fortunate  possessor 
of  a  small  sum  of  money;  that  I  do  not  deny,  but  I  have 
not  made  it  all  in  the  Comstock.  I  have  bought  stock  in 
San  Francisco,  and  some  in  New  York.  I  have,  as  I 
stated  before,  been  a  little  fortunate,  and  got  a  small  sum 
of  money  together,  but  it  has  not  been  confined  to  buying 
the  Comstock  stocks.  It  has  not  been  confined  to  the 
Chollar  Potosi  stocks.  I  have  loaned  some  money,  and 
got  a  good  rate  of  interest,  with  good  security. 

Q.  I  want  to  ask  you  now,  whether  you  bought  any  stock 
in  the  Chollar  Potosi  mine  before  that  great  rise  in  the 
value  of  stock  ? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Is  there  to  be  any  end  to  this  examina- 
tion ? 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  hope  we  shall  reach  an  end  by  and 

by. 

Q.  I  want  to  ask  you  whether  you  consider  it  fair  ibr  a 
superintendent,  with  his  superior  knowledge  of  the  condi- 
tion of  the  mine,  to  buy  stock  at  a  time  when  he  knows  he 
is  bound  to  gain  by  it,  and  thus  get  the  stock  away  from 
the  stockholders  whom  he  represents,  and  deprive  them 
of  the  benefits  which  they  ought  to  get  from  the  rise  of 
stock  ? 

A.  A  man  managing  any  enterprise,  I  do 'not  care  what 
it  is,  who  sees  an  opportunity  to  make  money  honestly, 
has  a  perfect  right  to  do  it,  in  my  opinion. 
Q.  What  year  was  that  railroad  constructed? 
A.  It  has  been  completed  about  two  years.     I  guess 
somewhere  about  1869.     I  am  not  positive  as  to  the  exact 
date.     I  did  not  have  any  interest  in  the  railroad,  and  did 
not  keep  any  run  of  that  any  more  than  I  did  of  a  great 
many  other  affairs. 

Q.  Do  you  know  when  these  contracts  were  made  with 
the  tunnel  company  by  the  mining  companies? 

A.  Yes,  sir ;  I  know  when  they  were  made,  and  I  posi- 
tively refused  to  sign  myself.  I  was  a  trustee  of  the  Bel- 
cher company.  If  Mr.  Sutro  can  find  my  name  in  that 
book,  I  would  like  to  see  it. 


541 

Q.  The  signature  of  the  president  of  the  Chollar  Potosi 
company  to  that  contract  was  acknowledged  on  the  20th 
of  April,  1866. 

A.  I  was  not  superintendent  of  the  Chollar  Potosi  at 
that  time. 

Q.  I  ask  you  if  you  know  when  that  was  signed? 

A.  I  told  you  I  did.  I  was  trustee  of  the  Belcher  com- 
pany, and  was  solicited  to  sign  the  document  for  the  run- 
ning of  that  tunnel,  which  I  positively  refused  to  do. 

Q.  Did  not  the  Chollar  Potosi  company  make  a  contract 
to  suit  the  tunnel  company  ? 

A.  I  do  not  know  anything  about  that.  I  was  not  super- 
intendent. 

Q.  Do  you  know  at  what  time  this  law  passed  Congress, 
authorizing  the  construction  of  this  tunnel  ? 

A.  "No,  sir. 

' 

Q.  It  is  on  record  here;  it  was  on  the  25th  July,  1866. 

A.  I  have  not  examined  it  very  closely. 

Q.  Consequently  that  railroad  was  started  some  four 
years  after  the  tunnel  had  been  authorized  to  beconstructe^ 
was  it  not? 

A.  If  there  was  everything  correct — if  my  ideas  are  cor- 
rect about  the  time  it  started — it  would  be  about  three  or 
four  years  difference. 

Q.  Was  not  that  railroad  company  started  with  the  full 
knowledge  of  the  existence  of  this  law  authorizing  the  con- 
struction of  that  tunnel  ? 

A.  I  could  not  tell  you  that;  I  presume  so. 

Q.  Did  the  Union  Mill  and  Mining  Company  own  any 
mills  on  the  Carson  river  on  the  25th  July,  1866  ? 

A.  That  is  a  question  I  cannot  answer,  for  I  do   not 
, 
know. 

Q.  Did  it  exist  at  all — the  Union  Mill  and  Mining  Com- 
pany—in 1866? 

A.  That  I  cannot  answer.  I  do  not  know  now  when  it 
did  first  start. 

Q.  When  do  you  think  it  started?     About  what  year? 

A.  I  should  guess  they  had  what  was  called  the  Union 


542 

v 

Mill  and  Mining  Company ;  that  they  had  some  property, 
especially  of  mills,  on  the  river  in  1866.  That  is  my  recol- 
lection. I  may  be  at  fault  there. 

Q.  Did  it  have  more  than  one  mill? 

A.  I  could  not  say.  I  have  only  a  vague  idea.  I  do  not 
know  whether  they  acquired  these  mills  pretty  much  after 
the  construction  of  this  tunnel  was  authorized  by  Congress 
or  not.  I  do  not  know  how  long  they  have  owned  them. 
That  is  the  real  fact  about  it. 

Q.  You  say  the  mills  properly  on  Jhe  Carson  river  would 
be  destroyed' entirely  by  the  construction  of  that  large  dam? 

A.  If  the  dam  was  constructed,  and  was  made  tight,  and 
held  the  water  to  the  very  top,  it  would  destroy  about  all 
that  mill  power. 

Q.  Would  it  destroy  their  mill  power,  provided  they  were 
furnished  with  mill  power  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  ? 

A.  I  do  not  see  how  they  would  get  mill  power  at  the 
mouth  of  the  tunnel — that  is,  any  number  of  mills  ;  any 
great  amount  of  power — because  of  the  construction  of  the 
(Mm. 

Q.  If  the  dam  were  constructed,  and  were  full  of  water, 
and  there  was  water  enough  to  run  over  the  top  of  it,  you 
would  get  254  feet  fall  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  then, 
would  you  not?  Suppose  you  get  that  fall,  how  much 
horse  power  would  that  be? 

A.  I  am  not  prepared  to  answer  that. 

Q.  Do  you  doubt  the  statement  of  Surveyor  General 
Day  made  here? 

A.  I  have  not  looked  at  it. 

Q.  Please  look  at  it. 

A.  I  have  no  reason  to  doubt  Surveyor  General  Day. 

Q.  Do  you  know  how  to  figure  horse  power? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  You  have  stated  that  the  railroad  would  not  pay  if 
the  tunnel  is  constructed  ? 

A.  If  the  tunnel  was  constructed  upon  the  place  talked 
of,  and  the  town  moved  away,  I  do  not  see  what  the  rail- 
road would  have  to  do. 


543 

Q.  Should  they  complain  if  the  railroad  beparae  value- 
less, when  it  is  known  they  built  it  right  in  the  face  of  the 
law  authorizing  the  construction  of  the  tunnel  ?  State 
whether  these  people  can  make  any  just  complaint. 

The  WITNESS.  What  people  ? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  The  people  of  this  railroad. 

The  WITNESS.  Can  they  do  what  ? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Whether  they  can  make  any  just  complaint 
if  their  railroad  becomes  valueless,  when  it  is  known  that 
they  built  it  after  this  law  passed  authorizing  the  construc- 
tion of  the  tunnel  ? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  'I  object  to  the  question,  Mr.  Chair- 
man. That  is  not  a  fact.  The  witness  is  brought  here  to 
prove  facts. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  The  witness  has  stated  the  railroad  was  con- 
structed long  after  the  tunnel  was  authorized  to  be. 

Mr.  KENDALL.  I  think  the  objection  is  tenable;  it  is 
merely  calling  for  the  opinion  of  the  witness.  The  fact  is 
brought  out  as  to  the  relative  points  of  time  that  these 
works  were  commenced. 

Mr.  SHOBER.  The  facts  leading  to  that  deduction  have 
been  brought  out,  and  the  witness  is  made  to  make  an 
argument  upon  it.  I  do  not  think  that  is  proper. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  withdraw  that  question. 

Q.  You  have  stated  that  if  that  dam  be  constructed,  it 
would  destroy  Carson  City? 

A.  That  would  be  my  opinion. 

Q.  Do  you  know  how  far  it  would  dam  up  the  water? 

A.  According  to  Surveyor  General  Day,  if  the  dam  be 
constructed,  it  must  be  carried  up  to  the  Mexican  dam  or 
beyond  it. 

Q.  How  high  does  the  water  stand  there  at  the  foot  of 
the  Mexican  dam  ? 

A.  I  suppose  it  would  be  very  deep  at  that  point. 

Q.  How  deep  would  it  be  ? 

A.  I  can  not  tell. 

Q.  Suppose  the  water  should  rise  2  or  3  feet,  or  15  feet, 
or  10  feet  higher  than  the  level  of  that  bank,  do  you  say 


544 

there  would  be  any  difficulty  in  making  a  levee  there  to 
keep  the  wat3r  off? 

A.  That  is  a  supposititious  rule,  and  I  decline  to  answer 
these  questions;  hut  I  cannot  tell.  If  I  was  on  the  ground 
to  look  at  it,  I  would  form  some  opinion. 

Q.  Have  you  not  stated  the  tunnel  would  be  of  no  use? 
Is  not  that  a  supposititious  question? 

A.  No,  sir;  because  I  have  mined  at  1,250  feet  in  depth. 
I  gave  you  the  figures  there— the  positive  things  that  do 
exist;  the  others  I  know  nothing  about.  I  claim  no 
knowledge  of  those  other  things,  and  I  say  it  is  a  supposi- 
tion. , 

Q.  You  have  stated  that  the  health  is  very  bad  on  Car- 
son river,  and  fever  and  ague  prevail  there,  and  some  of 
the  families  have  had  to  leave  the  mills  there  in  conse- 
quence. 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Are  you  aware  of  the  fact  that  they  have  been  work- 
ing at  the  tunnel  two  years  and  half,  and  have  not  had  a 
single  case  of  sickness  amongst  all  the  men  or  their  fami- 
lies there? 

A.  I  am  not  aware  of  that  fact. 

Q.  Have  you  ever  been  to  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel? 

A.  I  never  was  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel.  I  was  down 
once  at  the  point  where  it  was  said  to  start  from,  but  have 
never  been  there  since. 

Q.  Do  you  know  that  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  is  154 
feet  above  Carson  River  and  a  mile  and  a  half  away  from 
it? 

A.  I  know  it  from  what  Surveyor  General  Day  says;  I 
know  no  more.  I  should  guess  it  to  be  a  mile,  fully,  away 
from  it,  as  my  recollection  is  of  the  point  that  it  is  said  to 
start  from.  The  height  would,  I  suppose,  be  necessarily  at 
least  that.  The  height  to  dump  the  debris — without  that 
you  could  not  very  well  dump  it.  So  I  believe  that  my 
conclusions  are  that  you  are  perfectly  correct  in  this  state- 
ment. At  least  I  would  think  so. 

Q.  Is  not  there  a  slope  from  there  down  to  the  river? 


545 

A.  Yes,  sir;  a  gradual  descent. 

Q.  You  have  stated  that  some  of  tho  people  of  the 
Franklin  mill  had  to  leave? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Is  not  the  Franklin  mill  built  right  in  the  river 
almost? 

A.  No,  sir;  it  would  not  do  to  build  it  in  the  river.  It 
is  built  along  the  side  of  the  river,  more  than  10  or  12 
feet  above  the  river,  high  enough  to  avoid  all  the  deiuge. 

Q.  If  there  be  any  fever  there,  would  there  likely  be 
any  fever  on  the  elevated  place  a  mile  and  a  half  away  from 
the  river  ? 

A.  I  have  heard  of  rivers  of  that  kin<J  creating  fever  and 
ague  for  more  than  a  mile  and  a  half  from  it,  from  persons 
living  in  the  vicinity,  and  within  two  or  three  miles. 

Q.  Is  it  not  well  known  that  one  of  the  healthiest  sp9ts 
in  Nevada  is  right  there  ? 

A.  I  do  not  "know  it..  I  am  not  prepared  to  dispute  it, 
however. 

Q.  You  have  stated  here  that  90  per  cent,  is  saved  out 
of  the  ore  that  is  worked. 

A.  That  is  my  belief. 

Q.  How  much  of  that  do  the  companies  get? 

Mr.  SUNDBRLAND.  I  object  to  that.  It  does  not  make 
any  difference.  If  there  is  any  object  in  running  this  tun- 
nel at  all,  it  would  not  make  any  difference  what  the  min- 
ing companies  get,  so  far  as  the  Government  at  large  is 
concerned  in  saving  as  much  as  possible  from  the  ore. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  cannot  see,  perhaps  at  first,  the  exact 
bearing  of  all  these  questions. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  The  bearing  is,  instead  of  the  present 
parties  who  run  the  mills  and  save  the  tailings,  and  get  the 
profits  resulting  from  that,  that  Mr.  Sutro  wants  the  profits. 
That  is  the  idea. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  We  have  spent  hours  on  that  very  question, 
and  I  want  to  ask  Mr.  Requa  how  much  that  company  has 
received  from  the  mills. 

WITNESS.  About  72  per  cent. 
35 


546 

Q.  How  much  do  you  exact  from  the  mills? 

A.  We  exact  65  per  cent. 

Q.  And  you  mean  to  say  that  they  have  paid  you  7  per 
cent,  extra  on  all  that  was  milled  by  the  Union  Mill  and 
Mining  Company? 

A.  I  mean  to  say  that,  when  we  give  the  ore,  they  re- 
turned to  us  all  they  got  out  of  it,  and,  in  making  out  that 
return,  it  was  72  per  cent,  of  the  assayed  value  of  the  ore. 

Q.  You  mean  the  whole  average  for  the  last  year? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  what  it  figured  up. 

Q.  Who  made  those  assays  ? 

A.  The  Chollar  Potosi  company,  in  their  assay  office, 
make  them.  They  have  an  assay  office  of  their  own. 

Q.  And  the  management  of  the  Chollar  Potosi  company 
and  mill  company  are  about  one,  are  they  not? 

A.  The  same  parties  that  manage  the  one  do  not  manage 
the  other.  I  am  not  a  trustee.  The  trustees  say  no  more 
to  me  in  regard  to  the  management  of  that  mine  than  Mr. 
Sutro  does. 

Q.  You  have  already  stated  that. 

A.  Yes,  sir ;  and  I  state  it  again  and  am  ready  to  swear 
to  it. 

Q.  Do  you  know  who  the  owners  of  the  Union  Mill  and 
Mining  Company  and  the  trustees  of  the  Chollar  Potosi 
company  are  ? 

Mr,  SUNDERLAND.  I  object  again,  and  protest  against  any 
insinuations  against  gentlemen  who  are  not  here  prepared 
to  defend  themselves. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  am  not  making  any  insinuations  at  all. 
The  gentlemen  of  the  committee  will  draw  their  own  con- 
clusions from  this  testimony. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Those  are  statements  made  to  this  com- 
mittee. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Yes,  but  it  is  all  put  on  the  record, 
and  is  reported  with  the  testimony  in  this  case,  with  all 
these  insinuations.  And  I  will  remark  here,  that  they  are 
so  far  above  Mr.  Sutro  that  there  is  no  comparison  between 
them. 


547 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  do  not  see  why  Mr.  Sunderland  should  ex- 
hibit so  much  feeling  every  time  I  touch  upon  the  Bank  of 
California,  its  mining  ring  out  there,  &c.  The  moment  I 
ask  a  question  where  the  Bank  of  California  is  concerned — 
where  the  profits  are  concerned — with  regard  to  milling 
and  mining,  Mr.  Suiiderland  objects  every  time;  and  that 
is  the  very  thing  we  want  to  get  at. 

The  WITNESS.  I  think  that  gentleman  owns  no  more 
stock  than  you  do  in  the  Bank  of  California.  They  have 
not  anything  more  to  do  with  it,  as  a  bank,  than  you 
have. 

Q.  I  want  to  ask  you  who  gets  the  tailings  of  these  river 
mills  that  are  left  from  the  ore — who  gets  that  25  or  28 
per  cent. ,  whatever  it  may  be  ? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  object  to  that  as  totally  irrelevant. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Are  they  not  mill  perquisites? 

Mr.  SHOBER.  We  have  heard  something  in  regard  to 
that. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  We  have  gone  out  of  the  record  so 
far,  and  if  this  kind  of  evidence  is  to  be  received  here,  I 
being  limited  to  four  nights,  I  am  afraid  I  will  not  get  any 
thing  in. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  If  an  objection  be  made,  of  course  we 
will  entertain  it.  Is  there  any  dispute  about  this  question  ? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  do  not  think  there  is.  It  has  been  admitted 
by  the  commissioners,  but  here  is  a  gentleman  in  charge 
of  a  mine. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  If  there  is  no  dispute  about  it,  why  waste 
time  in  asking  such  questions  ? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Mr.  Sunderland  has  stated  and  Professor 
!N"ewcomb  has  stated  that  these  tailings  in  the  canons  have 
been  floated  down  frequently.  Are  you  aware  of  that  fact  ? 

A.  Some  years  ago  some  of  them  were  carried  away ; 
not  recently,  though. 

Q.  Don't  you  know  that  the  whole  reserves — that  thou- 
sands and  tens  of  thousands  of  tons — have  been  carried  off 
by  the  flood? 

WITNESS.  How  long  since? 


548 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Within  the  last  ten  years. 

A.  ISTo,  I  do  not  know  any  such  thing. 

Q.  Did  not  Mr.  Janin's  cany  off? 

A. 'No,  sir;  whatever  went  out  of  that  went  down  the 
reservoir  of  the  river. 

Q.  Is  it  not  a  fact  that  it  was  carried  off? 

A.  !N"o,  sir;  not  a  fact  that  any  very  great  amount  was 
carried  off,  and  that  was  saved  in  the  reservoir  below. 

Q.  And  you  mean  to  say  that  they  have  never  lost  any 
large  amount  of  tailings  in  these  floods  ? 

A.  I  say  of  recent  years  they  have  not;  there  was  con- 
siderable some  years  ago,  because  they  did  not  then  have 
a  knowledge  of  the  floods  and  the  size  of  the  river. 

Q.  Have  you  not  seen  the  canons  flooded  to  such  an  ex- 
tent that  a  horse  could  not  cross  for  four  or  five  days? 

A.  I  have  seen  it.  They  might,  at  Dayton,  have  been 
prevented  from  getting  across,  but  nowhere  else  in  the 
vicinity  of  Devil's  Gap.  I  went  round  there  in  about  ten 
hours  myself,  after  a  big  flood;  but  jthey  do  not  occur  these 
days. . 

Q.  Will  you  please  state  why  you  came  here  ?  What 
made  you  come  from  California? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  object.  Is  that  an  important  ques- 
tion ? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  It^is  certainly  a  most  important  question. 
This  gentleman  has  come  here  all  the  way  from  Nevada. 

The  WITNESS.  I  was  told  that  the-  report  that  I  had 
made  to  the  commissioners  had  been  disputed — alleged  not 
to  be  true.  I  was  telegraphed  to  that  effect.  I  never  like 
to  have  my  veracity  called  in  question,  and  I  was  asked  if 
I  would  come  on  and  substantiate  it.  I  did  very  willingly, 
'because  I  do  not  like  to  be  charged,  during  my  absence, 
with  having  told  something  that  was  not  true. 

Q.  Did  you  know  that  you  were  ? 

A.  I  did  not  know.  I  was  informed  that  the  matter 
was  called  in  dispute.  A  gentleman  the  other  evening 
said  that  the  testimony  or  the  statements  had  been  im- 
peached. I  thought  at  the  time  that  I  should  like  to  have 


^corrected  that.  I  have  not  seen  any  impeachment.  They 
have  been  disputed,  though,  I  believe.  I  think  Mr.  Sutro 
disputed  them.  The  impeachment  I  have  not  seen,  but  I 
would  infer  from  what  the  gentleman  has  said  that  they 
had  been  impeached. 

Q.  Who  telegraphed  to  you? 

A.  It  was  said  to  have  come  from  Mr.  Stewart. 

Q.  Senator  Stewart? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Was  Mr.  Stewart's  name  signed  to  it? 

A.  That  is  the  way  it  was  stated  to  me. 

Q.  Did  you  get  the  telegram  ? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Who  got  it? 

A.  I  think  the  telegram  was  sent  to  Mr.  Sharon. 

Q.  You  did  not  see  the  telegram  at  all  ? 

A.  I  saw  it  after  it  was  translated. 

Q.  Mr.  Sharon  is  'an  agent  of  the  Bank  of  California? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Did  he  send  for  you. 

-  A.  No,  he  asked  me;  he  showed  me  the  telegram,  and 
asked  me  if  I  would  go  on. 

Q.  What  did  it  stafc  in  the  telegram? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  object. 

Mr.  SUTHO.  It  has  a  direct  bearing  upon  the  question  as 
to  how  this  gentleman  was  called  here. 

Q.  Who  was  that  telegram  signed  by? 

A.  Signed  by  Leese  and  Waller. 

Q.  They  are  agents  of  the  Bank  of  California  at  New 
York? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  object. 

The  CHAIRMAN.    If  you  know  the  fact  that  they  are 
agents,  state  it. 

A.  I  do  not  know  that  they  are  agents.     They  drew,  I 
think,  for  exchange. 

Q.  What  did  you  tell  about  Mr.  Stewart  sending  that 
telegram  ? 

A.  I  did  not  say  he  sent  it.. 


550. 

Q.  In  what  connection  did  you  bring  Mr.  Stewart's 
name  in  here  ? 

A.  Well,  I  do  not  remember  exactly,  but  I  think  that 
the  question  was  asked  me  who  the  telegram  came  from, 
and  I  said  it  purported  to  come  from  Mr.  Stewart. 

Q.  Now,  you  state  it  is  from  Leese  and  Waller  ? 

A,  You  asked  who  signed  it,  and  I  said  Leese  and  Wal- 
ler. 

Q.  How  did  the  dispatch  happen  to  come  from  Mr.  Stew- 
art, if  signed  by  Leese  and  Waller  ? 

A.  Very  easily. 

Q.  Was  not  Mr.  Stewart  at  Salt  Lake  at  that  time? 

A.  I  do  not  know.     I  do  not  know  where  he  was. 

Q.  How  did  you  come  to  understand  that  Mr.  Stewart 
had  anything  to  do  with  this  investigation? 

A.  I  was  told  so. 

Q.  Who  told  you  ? 

A.  The  party  who  received  the  telegram — Mr.  Sharon. 

Q.  Did  Mr.  Sharon  ask  you  to  proceed  to  Washington 
at  once? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  object. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  State  if  this  gentleman  requested  you  to 
come  to  Washington. 

A.  Not  specially.  He  told  me  that  my  report  was  called 
into  question — this  meant  the  answers  to  the  questions 
propounded  by  the  commission — and  if  I  deemed  it  neces- 
sary to  go  on,  I  had  better  do  so.  I  desired  very  much  to 
come,  and  I  disliked  very  much  to  have  my  word  doubted. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  How  long  after  that  telegram  came  did  you 
start? 

A.  Three  or  four  days — four  or  five  days — I  do  not  know 
exactly  the  time. 

Q.  Did  you  go  to  San  Francisco  first? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Who  pays  the  expenses  of  your  journey  on  here  ? 

A.  I  am  not  aware  as  to  who  will  pay  them  as  /et.  I 
have  paid  them  myself,  up  to  date,  out  of  rny  own  pocket. 

Q.  Do  you  expect  to  be  reimbursed  ? 


551 

A.  I  will  get  some  of  the  money  back. 
Q.  From  whom  ? 

A.  I  expect  the  parties  along  the  Comstock  lode  to  di- 
vide the  matter  with  me.  Not  the  Union  Mill  and  Mining 

o 

Company  by  any  means,  but  the  entire  lode.     There  are 
diverse  interests  there. 

Q.  Do  you  draw  your  salary  while  you  are  here  ? 

A.  That  I  cannot  say.  I  have  no  understanding  to  that 
effect. 

Q.  Will  you  claim  your  salary  during  the  time  you  are 
here  ? 

A.  I  will  tell  you  that  when  I  get  to  that  point. 

Q.  Did  Mr.  Sharon  exhibit  any  feeling  about  this  matter 
when  he  spoke  to  you,  urging  you  to  come  right  on  ? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  object. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  think  it  is  a  very  proper  question  to  be 
asked. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  think  you  have  gone  far  enough  on  that 
point.  He  stated  that  he  requested  him  to  come  on,  and 
asked  him  if  he  could  come,  and  told  him  his  report  was 
called  in  question. 

Q.  Who  did  you  report  to,  as  superintendent  of  the  mine, 
in  San  Francisco  ? 

A.  To  the  president  of  the  company. 

Q.  To  whom  did  you  address  your  telegrams  ? 

A.  To  the  president  of  the  company. 

Q.  Have  you  got  any  cipher  with  the  president  ? 

A.  I  have. 

Q.  Do  you  send  all  your  telegrams  in  cipher  about  the 
condition  of  the  mine  ? 

A.  That  is  written  in  a  letter.  There  is  a  daily  letter 
written. 

Q.  What  did  you  have  cipher  communication  with  the 
president  for? 

A.  That  is  my  own  business.  I  have  business  of  my 
own  with  the  president. 

Q.  Does  not  the  president  act  for  all  the  stockholders? 


552 

Is  he  not  placed  there  as  trustee  to  take  care  of  their  prop- 
erty and  manage  it  for  them  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  and  I  think  he  does  it  well,  too. 

Q.  What  was  the  object  in  having  any  secresy  about  it? 

A.  I  have  some  business  myself,  individually,  with  the 
president. 

Q.  Stock  operations? 

A.  That  is  my  individual  affair. 

Q.  What  did  you  telegraph  about? 

JVlr.  SUNDERDAND.  I  object.  I  do  not  know  what  all  this 
has  to  do  with  the  matter  we  are  investiffatiiiff. 

o  o   , 

Mr.  KENDALL.  I  do  not  think  that  is  proper. 

WITNESS.  I  am  not  aware  that  I  am  a  criminal  here. 

Mr.- KENDALL.  It  has  no 'bearing  on  the  question  at  all, 
in  my  opinion. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  It  has  a  very  great  bearing  on  it.  I  want  to 
arrive  at  the  management  of  these  mines.  I  want  to  as- 
certain whether  there  is  any  secresy  in  the  management  of 
them,  and  whether  the  superintendent  telegraphed  the 
president  secretly.  This  is  very  material.  The  business 
ought  to  be  carried  on  for  the  benefit  of  all  concerned. 

Mr.  KENDALL.  That  is  a  matter  of  argument. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  It  is  very  proper,  may  be,  for  him 
to  send  his  telegrams  in  cipher,  so  that  the  telegraph  opera- 
tors should  not  know  what  were  the  contents  of  the  dis- 
patches; but  when  they  reached  the  place  of  their  destina- 
tion, the  telegrams  are  deciphered  and  spread  out  on  the 
counter. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  What  is  the  object  of  the  secresy? 

WITNESS.  That  is  a  pretty  broad  question.  Is  it  neces- 
sary to  answer  that,  Mr.  Chairman? 

Mr.  KENDALL.  I  think  that  would  be  a  proper  question. 

By  Mr.  SUTRO: 

You  have  a  cipher — that  implies  secresy? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  This  is  the  object  of  the  question: 
to  sfyow  that*no  man  on  the  Comstock  lode,  connected  with 
the  mine,  who  has  a  cipher  with  anybody  in  the  world,  can 
be  an  honest  man. 


553 

Mr.  KENDALL.  We  are  now  examining  the  witness.  Ho 
has  stated  that  he  sent  his  telegrams  in  cipher.  I  think 
an  obvious  question  that  would  follow  would  be,  Why  does 
he  telegraph  in  cipher?  That  is  a  legitimate  inquiry, as 
showing  the  motive.  But  when  you  ask  what  the  contents 
of  those  cipher  telegrams  are,  I  do  not  think  that  is  a  legit- 
imate source  of  inquiry.  Of  course,  as  Mr.  Sunderland 
and  every  lawyer  knows,  cross-examination  has  a  very  wide 
circuit,  especially  with  an  unwilling  witness. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Your  object  in  telegraphing  in  cipher 
was  to  keep  secret  the  operations  of  the  company? 

WITNESS.  Yes,  sir.  We  gave  the  office  the  first  intima- 
tion in  cipher.  As  a  rule  with  those  telegrams  relating  to 
the  company,  the  ciphers  were  deciphered  and  the  dis- 
patches thrown  upon  the  counter. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  If  they  chose? 

WITNESS.  As  a  rule. 

They  concluded  the  cross-examination  of  the  witness,  and 
the  committee  adjourned  to  meet  to-morrow  (Tuesday) 
evening,  March  19, 1872,  at  7  o'clock  p.  m. 


HEARING  TUESDAY,  MARCH  19iH. 

The  committee  met  pursuant  to  adjournment.  Present: 
The  Chairman,  Mr.  Sessions,  Mr.  Kendall,  and  Mr.  Sho- 
ber. 

The  cross-examination  of  the  witness,  Mr.  I.  L,  Eequa, 
was  resumed  as  follows,  viz : 

Mr.  SUTRO.  You  have  stated  that  the  tunnel  would  be 
of  no  advantage  to  the  Chollar  Potosi  mine,  as  regards  ven- 
tilation and  transportation.  Do  you  mean  to  say  that,  if 
the  Chollar  Potosi  mine,  or  rather  the  shaft,  be  connected 
with  the  lateral  branch  of  the  tunnel,  it  would  not  drain 
your  mine  ? 

A.  There  is  nothing  to  drain. 

Q.  Is  there  no  water  in  your  shaft  ? 

A.  Well,  I  do  not  think  that  there  is  any  water  in  our 
shaft.  I  have  not  sounded  it  for  a  long  time,  but  I  think 
the  water  all  runs  off  in  the  Hale  and  ISTorcross. 

Q.  You  say  it  is  drained  off  into  the  Hale  and  N orcross  ? 

A.  That  is  my  opinion.  There  was  no  water  when  we 
left  the  bottom  of  the  shaft. 

Q.  How  deep  was  your  shaft? 

A.  1,250  feet  from  the  surface. 
.Q.  Have  you  got  any  machinery  on  that  shaft? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  How  large  is  the  engine  on  that  shaft? 

A.  We  have  only  one  in  use  now;  that  is  a  hoisting 
engine.  We  had  three :  one  pump  engine,  twenty  inches, 
and  two  hoisting  engines  of  eighteen  inches.  At  the  upper 
head,  since  the  fire,  when  the  works  were  destroyed,  we 
have  used  only  one  hoisting  engine  of  eighteen  inches  in 
diameter. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  That  is  the  cylinder? 

A.  Yes;  sir;  the  cylinder. 

Q.  Mr.  SUTRO.  When  was  that  fire  at  your  works? 

554 


555 

A.  It  took  place  two  years  ago  last  July.  That  is  my 
recollection. 

Q.  You  have  jiever  rebuilt  your  hoisting  and  pumping 
machinery  there: 

A.  No,  sir;  never  the  pumping;  have  the  hoisting. 

Q.  About  that  time  you  found  the  rich  deposit? 

A.  No,  sir;  not  at  that  time.  "We  were  prospecting  in 
the  upper  works,  and,  in  accordance  with  my  suggestions 
to  the  company  and  trustees,  rather  determined  to  abandon, 
deep  working  for  the  time  being.  There  was  nothing 
there  to  justify  it. 

Q.  You  had  a  good  thing  on  top,  at  that  time,  I  infer? 

A.  Not  extraordinarily  good  at  that  time. 

Q.  It  became  so  afterwards? 

A.  Yes,  sir,  afterwards.  v  It  was  six  months  after  that. 

Q.  Do  you  expect  to  prospect  to  any  greater  depth  again  ? 

A.  I  do  not  know  what  they  may  expect.  I  have  not 
seen  anything  in  the  Chollar  Potosi  mine,  at  the  lowest 
level,  that  would  justify  deeper  prospecting  than  has  been 
done. 

Q.  You  have  stated  that  there  are  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  tons  of  low  grades  of  ore  in  that  mine  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir,  about  three  hundred  thousand  tons.  That 
is  about  the  estimate. 

Q.  Then  you  have  stated  that  in  three  or  four  years  all 
would  be  exhausted? 

A.  The  question  was  asked  and  answered  in  your  own 
way — at  present  rate  of  work. 

Q.  That  was  taking  last  years  work  out  there,  about 
eighty-five  thousand  tons,  as  the  standard  ? 

A.  The  question  was  asked  at  the  present  rate  of  work, 
and  the  answer  was  that  I  estimated  that  the  three  hundred 
thousand  tons  in  three  years  would  be  about  exhausted. 

Q.  Would  you  have  to  pay  anything,  if  you  took  out  no> 
ore,  under  the  contract  between  the  Sutro  Tunnel  Com- 
pany and  the  Chollar  Potosi  Mining  Company? 

WITNESS.  What  do  you  mean  ? 


556 

Q.  If  you  took  out  no  ore  under  the  contract,  would  you 
have  to  pay  anything  ? 

A.  I  think  not. 

Q.  Why,  then,  do  you  object  to  having  itaat  tunnel  come 
in? 

A.  It  is  a  point  you  and  I  differ  upon.  I  say  I  do  not 
ohject  to  running  the  tunnel;  not  for  one  moment.  You 
may  run  a  dozen  of  them,  as  far  as  I  am  concerned. 

Q.  You  say  you  would  not  consider  that  of  any  benefit 
to  the  Chollar  Potosi  mine  ? 

A.  I  say  so,  most  emphatically. 

Q.  Would  you  state  that  it  would  not  drain  the  water,  if 
you  connected  with  it? 

A.  In  the  first  place,  we  have  no  water.  That  is  stated 
in  my  report.  The  deeper  we  went,  the  dryer  it  became. 

Q.  You  have  just  stated  that  it  ran  over  into  the  Hale 
and  Ebrcross  mine. 

A.  I  say  whatever  water  that  comes  from  the  upper 
works,  where  we  opened  the  earth,  the  ground  has  caved 
in  and  the  snows  gather,  and  that  the  water  percolates  and 
must  find  a  way  out;  and  that  the  small  amount  of  water 
that  is  drained  from  there  now  goes  through  the  shaft  and 
earth,  and  does  not  accumulate.  It  may,  but  I  doubt  it. 
This  is  all  surface  water:  I  want  you  to  understand  that. 
This  is  my  answer  to  these  questions :  that,  so  far  as  I  have 
mined  upon  the  Comstock  lode,  the  water  comes  from  the 
surface;  and  that  is  the  history  of  every  mine  there. 

Q.  I  did  not  suppose  that  anybody  disputed  that  the 
water  comes  from  the  surface.  It  all  comes  from  the  rain 
and  snow,  does  it  not? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Here  is  a  contract  executed  upon  parchment  between 
the  Sutro  Tunnel  Company  and  the  Chollar  Potosi  Min- 
ing Company.  You  have  stated  that,  when  that  tunnel 
goes  in,  it  would  cause  litigation  again,  if  the  tunnel  com- 
pany should  claim  any  body  of  ore  to  the  eastward. 

A.  I  do  not  think  I  made  that  statement. 

Q.  I  think  you  did.     Was  it  contemplated  at  the  time 


557 

this  contract  was  made  that  mill  sites  should  be  provided 
for  this  company  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  ? 

A.  I  have  no  recollection  of  that.  You  will  bear  in 
mind  that,  at  the  time  that  the  contract  was  signed,  I  was 
not  superintendent  of  the  Chollar  Potosi  mine. 

Q.  Tn  order  to  settle  that  point,  I  will  read  from  the  con- 
tract between  the  Sutro  Tunnel  Company,  and  the  Chollar 
Potosi  mine.  It  is  article  20. 

Mr.  SUTRO  then  read  as  follows,  viz: 

"  The  parties  of  the  first  part  further  agree  that  they  will  sell  to  the  party 
of  Mie  second  part,  the  Chollar  Potosi  Mining  Company,  within  three  months 
thereafter,  such  parts  of  the  land  as  hereinbefore  provided.  Any  portion 
of  a  tract  of  land  not  exceeding  ten  acres,  in  a  square\ody,  situated  within 
two  miles  of  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  to  be  designated  by  the  parties  of  the 
first  part,  at  some  convenient  and  accessible  point.  The  party  of  the  second 
part  hereby  agree  to  pay  therefor  at  the  rate  of  five  thousand  dollars  per  acre, 
and  the  said  party  of  the  second  part  shall  have  the  right  of  way  through 
any  lands  belonging  to  the  said  tunnel  company,  and  through  the  said  tract 
of  land  which  may  be  so  conveyed.  And  the  parties  of  the  first  part  further 
agree  to  transport  any  ore  belonging  to  the  said  party  of  the  second  part, 
from  a  point  ane  thousand  feet  from  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  to  the  land 
which  may  have  been  so  purchased  by  the  said  party  of  the  second  part,  at  ' 
the  rate  of  twenty-five  cents  per  mile  for  every  ton  so  transported." 

Q.  Will  you  please  look  at  that — article  20. 

A.  Well,  sir,  that  is  the  signature  of  the  president  and 
secretary  of  the  company,  I  guess,  without  any  doubt. 

Q.  Do  you  see  the  seal  of  the  company  on  there? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  It  is  properly  acknowledged  by  the  notary,  &c.  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Will  you  please  read  that  acknowledgment? 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  see  no  necessity  for  that.  It  is  admit- 
ted to  be  duly  executed. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Yes,  I  do  not  see  myself  any  necessity  for 
it.  , 

Q.  You  have  spoken  of  Mr.  Carlyle,  and  have  stated 
that  he  was  a  pretty  good  figurer,  but  that  he  was  very  im- 
practicable ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  You  say  that  he  has  put  an  engine  under  ground. 
»At  whose  instance  was  that  put  there? 

A.  I  think  it  was  his  suggestion. 


558 

Q.  "^as  not  Mr.  Strong  superintendent  at  that  time  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Was  he  not  the  chief? 

A.  He  was  chief,  but  Mr.  Carlylc  made  the  suggestions 
as  to  everything  that  should  be  done. 

Q.  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  it  would  be  done? 

A.  N"o,  sir;  I  do  not  mean  to  say  so,  simply  because  they 
did  it. 

Q.  You  rather  depreciated  Mr.  Carlyle  in  your  testimony 
here.  Are  you  aware  that  Mr.  Cartyle  is  a  very  superior 
mechanic  ? 

A.  I  s/iy  theoretically  that  Mr.  Carlyle  is  a  very  good 
mechanic,  as  far  as  I  know.  Practically,  he  is  an  experi- 
menter, and  rather  an  expensive  one  at  that. 

Q.  Nothing  more  than  that? 

A.  I  do  not  mean  to  detract  anything  from  Mr.  Carlyle's 
ability. 

Q.  Do  you  know  that  the  Gould  and  Curry  mill  was 
built  entirely  under  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  Strong — 
under  his  direction  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  If  any  mistakes  were  made,  to  whom  would  they  have 
been  attributed  ? 

A.  Mr.  Carlyle  made  the  figures  for  the  practical  and 
successful  working  of  it.  He  got  up  the  engine,  and  spent 
his  time  in  superintending  and  getting  them  all  up.  Every- 
thing was  gotten  up  according  the  plans  and  specifications 
of  Mr.  Carlyle. 

Q.  Had  he  any  knowledge  of  the  kind  of  amalgamating 
process  that  was  to  be  used  there  ? 

A.  The  presumption  is  that  he  ought  to  have  known. 

Q.  It  was  a  new  idea,  was  it  not? 

A.  No,  sir,  not  entirely  new.  Other  operations  of  that 
kind  had  been  started  in  other  sections  of  the  globe. 

Q.  You  stated  that  there  was  no  want  of  capital.  How 
do  they  raise  money  when  the  mine  runs  behind? 

A.  They  usually  pay  their  debts  by  assessments. 

Q.  Make  the  stockholders  come  up? 


559 

A.  That's  right. 

Q.  Or  sell  them  out? 

A.  That  is  according  to  law.  They  do  nothing  except 
what  is  according  to  law.  If  they  do,  they  are  generally 
made  to  suffer  for  it. 

Q.  That  is  the  way  they  raise  their  money? 

A.  That  is  the  way  they  raise  their  money — by  assefes- 
ments — and  it  is  a  very  fair  way,  too. 

Q.  You  say  you  did  not  hear  of  a  certain  man  named, 
;  who  built  a  mill  there? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Would  it  be  anything  extraordinary  if  you  did  not 
know  of  every  man  connected  with  a  mill  company? 

A.  It  would  be  somewhat  extraordinary,  because  I  have 
been  there  a  long  time,  and  know  about  every  mill  in  the 
country. 

Q.  About  every  mill  man,  too  ? 

A.  I  am  pretty  well  posted.     I  claim  to  be,  at  least. 

Q.  You  think  you  know  all  that  is  going  on  ? 

A.  I  do  not  know  that  I  know  all  that  is  going  on. 
That  is  more  than  I  claim.  I  am  speaking  about  the 
mills.  I  have  taken  some  interest  in  them,  as  far  as 
working  them  is  concerned,  and  the  men  that  manage 
them. 

Q.  How  deep  is  the  Chollar  Potosi  mine  shaft  ? 

A.  Twelve  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  a  vertical  line. 

Q.  How  far  would  it  have  to  be  extended  to  reach  the 
tunnel  level  ? 

A.  I  would  have  to  refer  to  that  book,  I  guess.  I  do 
not  know  exactly  now.  What  is  the  depth  of  the  Sutro 
tunnel  at  the  point  marked  "A"? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  About  1,900  feet.  ; 

WITNESS.  It  would  be  1,470  feet  from  the  point  marked 
"  A,"  and  the  difference  between  1,470  and  1,900  is  where 
the  Sutro  tunnel  level  would  come — 430  feet. 

Q.  In  your  report  here  you  say  that  it  costs  about  §45 
per  foot  to  sink  a  shaft? 

A.  To  sink  an  incline. 


560 

Q.  How  much  would  it  epst  to  sink  430  feet  at  §35  per 
foot? 

A.  It  would  be  about  §15,000,  would  it  not? 

Q.  How  much  money  did  you — your  company — take  out 
last  year? 

A.  For  the  company's  year,  three  million  four  hundred 
and  sixty-nine  thousand  six  hundred  and  forty-nine  dollars 
and  thirty-five  cents,  ($3,469,649  35.) 

Q.  You  must  have  had  very  little  curiosity  to  find  out 
what  is  below  there  not  to  spend  §15,000  to  get  down  to 
the  tunnel  level? 

A.  Well,  sir,  I  do  not  think  it  is  a  matter  of  curiosity. 
It  is  simply  a  matter  of  judgment. 

Q.  You  never  expect  to  go  down  there? 

A.  Well,  sir,  I  never  expect  to,  I  think,  because  the  in- 
dications were  decidedly  against  any  ore  making  in  that 
section  of  the  country. 

Q.  Then  you  will  not  oppose  the  Sutro  tunnel  at  all? 

A.  Not  by  any  means.  If  Mr.  Sutro  takes  his  money 
and  contracts  to  construct  the  tunnel  without  Government 
aid,  and  runs  it  in  that  way,  I  will  not  oppose  him,  but  am 
rather  disposed  to  give  him  a  helping  hand. 

Q.  Then  you  are  rather  a  patriotic  gentleman,  and  are 
desirous  of  taking  care  of  the  interests  of  the  country? 

A.  I  do  not  know  whether  I  am  a  patriotic  gentleman 
or  not.  I  am  desirous,  however,  of  seeing  everything  done 
that  is  proper. 

Q.  You  came  all  the  way  from  Nevada  at  your  own  ex- 
pense to  protect  the  interests  of  the  Government? 

A.  I  think,  sir,  I  would  do  that  if  I  could,  at  any  rate. 

Q.  You  are  a  pretty  good  citizen  ? 

A.  I  claim  to  be  just  that  citizen — a  full-blooded,  native- 
born  American. 

By  Mr.  SUNDERLAND  : 

Q.  Did  you  find  anywhere  in  Mr.  King's  report  any  cor- 
roborating testimony  of  your  crvvn  experience,  that  the 
walls  of  the  ledge  gave  out  at  1,250  feet  level  in  the  Chollar 
mine  ? 


561 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Mr.  Raymond  has  made  several  reports  upon  the 
mines,  and  among  others  upon  the  Cornstock  lode.  I  will 
ask  you  to  state  if  Mr.  Raymond  was  ever  upon  the  Corn- 
stock  lode  ? 

A.  I  do  not  know. 

Q.  Mr.  Raymond  states  in  his  last  reports  that  there  are 
forty  companies  operating  on  the  Comstock.  I  will  ask 
you  to  state  if  this  is  correct  or  not  I 

A.  There  is  not  that  number. 

Q.  What  is  the  number  ? 

A.  I  can  count  them  on  my  fingers.  On  the  north,  there 
is  the  Sierra  Nevada,  the  Ophir,  and  the  Consolidated. 
How  many  are  in  operation  now,  do  you  mean  ? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.    Yes,  SIT. 

WITNTESS.  Gould  and  Curry,  Savage,  Hale  and  Nbrcross, 
Chollar  Potosi,  Bullion,  Imperial,  Empire,  Gold  Hill,  Con- 
solidated, Crown  Point,  Belcher,  Overman,  Caledonia,  and 
the  Kentuck.  Those  are  all,  I  believe.  That  makes  about 
sixteen,  as  I  counted  thern^  King's  "  Mining  Industry," 
Volume  3,  page  60,  figure  2,  atlas  plate  12,  shows  the  as- 
pect chamber  on  the  present -level.  In  the  Chollar  Potosi 
mine  the  vein  is  entirely  wanting,  the  walls  of  the  propylite 
and  syenite  being  simply  parted  by  an  almost  impercepti- 
ble sheet  of  clay. 

Q.  There  is  another  question.  What  is  the  proportion- 
ate value  of  the  gold  to  the  silver  and  buHion  yielded  by 
the  Comstock  lode  ? 

A.  The  value  is  over  one-half  gold. 

By  Mr.  SUTRO  : 

Q.  Please  look  at  this  list  of  mining  claims,  given  in 
King's  report,  page  99,  and  count  how  many  there  are. 

A.  The  question  asked  me  was,  how  many  were  in  ope- 
ration. 

Q.  Please  count  how  many  mines  are  given  there. 

A.  They  would  make,  according  to  that,  about  46. 

Mr.  RICE.  That  is  King,  is  it  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 
86 


562 

> 

Q.  You  say  16  only  were  worked? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  The  balance  had  to  give  up,  I  suppose  you  mean  to 
say? 

A.  Some  of  the  mines  are  worked  out.  For  instance, 
the  Bacon  mine  is  totally  exhausted.  The  Eclipse  mine, 
the  Plato  mine,  and  others. 

Q.  That  is  your  own  opinion  about  it,  is  it  not?  You 
have  never  seen  any  mines  except  those  on  the  Comstock, 
have  you  ? 

A.  I  have  no  opinion  about  it.  They  have  deserted  them, 
in  consequence  of  their  not  paying.  They  say  they  are 
worked  out.  There  are  others  in  a  similar  fix. 

General  C.  C.  Batterman  sworn. 

Examined  by  Mr.  SUNDERLAND: 

Q.  How  long  have  you  been  engaged  in  mining  ? 

A.  About  thirteen  years  altogether. 

Q.  Where  have  you  been  engaged  in  mining? 

A.  In  California  and  NevadA. 

Q.  How  long  have  you  been  engaged  in  mining  upon  the 
Com  stock  lode? 

A.  I  went  there  in  1865. 

Q.  What  position  or  positions  have  you  occupied  upon 
the  Comstock  mine? 

A.  Superintendent  of  the  Crown  Point  and  of  the  Gould 
and  Curry. 

Q.  Have  you  had  any  experience  in  milling? 

A.  Some. 

Q.  Now,  I  will  ask  you  if  you  know  Mr.  George  At- 
wood? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  While  you  were  superintendent  of  the  Crown  Point 
mine,  was  Mr.  Atwood  connected  with  that  mine  in  any 
mariner? 

A.  ISTo,  sir. 

Q.  Did  he  have  any  contract  with  the  company?  If  so, 
state  what  that  contract  was. 


563 

A.  He  had  a  contract  with  the  company  to  take  out  the 
low  grades  of  ore  above  the  160-foot  level,  I  believe,  up  to 
the  surface. 

Q.  How  long  did  he  work  under  that  contract? 

A.  My  impression  now  is  about  four  or  five  months.  I 
would  not  be  positive  about  that.  It  was  only  a  little 
while.  It  may  have  been  six  months. 

Q.  What  did  he  agree  to  pay  the  company  for  the  ore 
he  took  out. 

A.  As  to  that  I  am  not  positive.  I  have  forgotten  the 
amount  he  was  to  pay,  but  it  was  a  very  small  sum.  My 
impression  is  that  it  ^  as  $1  per  ton. 

Q.  Wtis  there  any  failure  on  the  part  of  the  company  or 
Mr.  Atwood  to  comply  with  that  contract  ? 

A.  Mr.  Atwood  tried  it  awhile,  and  then  abandoned  it. 
He  could  not  make  it  pay. 

Q.  Do  you  know  Mr.  Carlyle  ? 

A.  No,  sir.  ^ 

Q.  You  had  no  personal  acquaintance  with  him? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Did  you  know  anything  about  his  operations  with 
the  Gould  and  Curry  company? 

A.  He  has  a  general  reputation  of  making  a  botch  of 
the  Gould  and  Curry  mill,  and  a  failure  of  it. 

Q.  You  know  something  about  that  Gould  and  Curry 
mill,  do  you  not? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  What  were  the  results  of  running  that  mill  by  the 
company? 

A.  Debt. 

Q.  Do  you  know  about  what  it  cost? 

A.  Simply  from  the  statements.  I  have  been  told  about 
§800,000  dollars. 

Q.  Do  you  know  how  far  the  power  or  engine  was  from 
the  batteries? 

A.  Not  exactly,  but  it  was  a  very  long  distance;  JOO 
feet  or  over,  I  should  judge. 


564 

Q.  How  far  were  the  pans  and  settlers  from  tlie  power 
that  run  them? 

A.  The  main  driving  shaft  for  the  pans  was  about  30  feet. 

Q.  How  far  from  the  engine  were  the  pans? 

A.  That  is  what  I  mean.  The  driving  shaft  was  about 
30  feet  from  the  engine. 

Q.  I  will  ask  you  whether  that  mill  had  to  be  abandoned, 
»nd,  if  so,  why? 

Q.  It  was  abandoned  because  it  could  not  be  made  to 
work  economically.  They  could  have  the  ore  crushed 
cheaper  than  the  mill  could  work  it. 

Q.  I  will  ask  you  now,  without  going  into  the  items, 
whether  the  facts  stated  in  your  report  to  tbe  Sutro  tunnel 
commissioners  are  true?  Did  you  take  from  your  books 
the  expense  of  pumping,  drifting,  and  sinking? 

A.  Yes,  sir.  Of  all  but  one  drift,  I  believe.  One  drift 
was  run  by  contract.  I  took  it  at  the  contract  price. 

Q.  You  are  well  acquainted  with  the  Carson  river,  are 
you  not? 

A.  Yes;  sir. 

Q.  What  do  you  say  of  *the  conformation  on  either  side 
of  the  river,  with  respect  to  its  holding  water  under  a  pres- 
sure of  150  feet  ? 

A.  I  should  think  it  would  be  a  very  difficult  matter  for 
it  to  hold  water.  The  rocks  have  been  very  much  dis- 
turbed by  upheavals,  set  up  on  edge,  and  very  much  broken. 

Q.  What  is  the  quality  of  the  soil  on  the  north  side  of 
the  river,  above  the  hills,  where  the  water  by  this  dam 
would  overflow  the  country  above  the  Morgan  mill? 

A.  It  is  very  dry — dry  sand. 

Q.  Is  it  not  debris  washed  down  from  the  mountains — 
decomposed  granite,  is  it  not  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Does  or  does  not  the  water  percolate  freely  through 
that  soil  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir,  it  does. 

Q.  With  that  material  to  raise  embankments,  would  it 


565 

be  possible  to  prevent  tbe  water  from  running  through  it 
as  tli rough  a  sieve? 

A.  In  my  opinion,  it  would  not. 

Q.  1  will  then  ask  you  whether,  in  your  opinion,  the 
rocks  of  this  soil  would  hold  water  at  a  pressure  of  155  feet, 
as  it  is  proposed  to  raise  this  dam  at  the  Franklin  dam  ? 

A.  Very  doubtful,  in  my  opinion,  whether  they  would. 

Q.**If  a  dam  is  erected  for  the  purpose  of  a  reservoir, 
where  do  you  take  the  water  from? 

A.  From  the  bottom. 

Q.  Then,  taking  the  fall  in  the  river,  as  stated  by  General 
Day  in  his  report,  what  would  be  the  fall  acquired  in  the 
Carson  river,  taking  the  water  to  a  point  opposite  the 
mouth  of  the  Sutro  tunnel  ? 

WITNESS.  Taking  it  in  the  flume? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.   In  the  flume,  ditch,  or  anything. 

WITNESS.  About  94  feet;  that  is,  assuming  the  distance 
from  the  dam  to  the  point  of  discharge  at  six  miles. 

Q.  Supposing  the  fall  in  the  river,  as  stated  by  General 
Day,  should  be  100  feet  from  the  dam  to  a  point  opposite 
the  mouth  of  Jhe  Sutro  tunnel,  would  not  the  fall,  for  the 
use  of  milling  power,'  be  much  less  than  the  fall  on  the 
river  on  account  of  the  height  of  the  banks? 

A.  I  think  it  would. 

Q.  Would  it  not  be  less — the  available  fall  be  less*  than 
94  feet,  as  you  have  stated  ? 

A.  What  I  mean  is,  that  the  point  of  discharge  at  the 
end  of  the  flume  would  be  about  94  feet  above  the  bed  of 
the  river — above  the  surface  of  the  water,  as  it  now  runs. 

Q.  How  far,  then,  is  the  surface  of  the  water  in  the  river 
at  that  point  below  the  embankment,  where  mills  could  be 
erected  ? 

WITNESS.  Right  opposite  the  tunnel  r 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Yes,  sir. 

A.  Well,  I  could  hardly  say ;  not  very  much.  Probably 
pomewhere  from  3  to  6  feet.  I  cannot  be  definite  about 
that. 

Q.  I  will  ask  you,  in  your  opinion,  taking  this  fall  of  94 


566 

feet,  or  whatever  the  fall  is  from  the  dam  to  a  point  oppo- 
site the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  how  many  tons  of  ore  could 
be  reduced  by  the  water  in  the  Carson  river  ? 

A.  That  would  depend  somewhat  upon  how  many  mills 
you  could  get  in  there  between  the  mouth  of  the  ditch  and 
the  river. 

Q.  How  much  power  would  there  be  of  that  fall  from 
90- odd  feet? 

A.  It  could  not  work  more  than  600  tons;  that  is,  with 
the  present  mode  of  working. 

By  the  CHAIRMAN  : 

Q.  For  what  length  of  time  ? 

A.  For  a  day. 

Q.  Do  you  know  about  the  capacity  of  the  present  mills 
upon  the  Carson  ? 

A.  JSTot  exactly,  but  in  the  neighborhood  of  1,000  or 
1,200  tons. 

Q.  Thfcn  the  power  at  the  point  of  the  mouth  of  the 
tunnel  would  be  much  less  than  the  present  power  as  used 
on  the  Carson  river  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  If  additional  power  were  required  at  the  mouth  of 
the  tunnel  to  compress  air  for  use  in  the  Comstock,  and 
also  for  running  the  machinery  for  concentration  of  ores, 
would  that  still  detract  from  the -quantity  of  ore  worked 
at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  the  water  could  not  be  used  for  both  pur- 
poses. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  the  healthfulness  of  this 
Carson  valley  ? 

A.  It  is  not  very  healthy  in  the  summer.  There  are 
ague,  fever,  and  chills  there. 

Q.  What  would  be  the  effect  upon  the  health  of  the 

neighbors  of  a  river,  if  a  reservoir  of  the  size  of  that  con- 
&  * 

templated — 1,480  acres — should  be  made  ? 

A.  I  should  think  it  would  be  unfavorable;  that  is,  in 
that  climate. 


567 

Q.  Have  you  an  opinion  as  to  what  effect  that  would 
have  upon  the  citizens  of  Carson  City  ? 

A.  Well,  I  don't  know  as  it  would  make  much  differ- 
ence there  as  to  the  healtty. 

Q.  Would  not  the  water  hack  up  on  the  city  there  ? 

A.  If  the  water  was  allowed  to  back  up  over  the  flats  it 
would. 

Q.  Would  or  would  not  the  water  of  this  reservoir  over- 
flow all  the  mill  property  above  the  dam  now  on  the  river? 

A.  I  think  it  would. 

Q.  Would  it  not  overflow  Empire  City  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  How  many  people  live  in  Empire  City? 

A.  About  four  hundred. 

Q.  Do  you  think  it  possible,  with  the  soil  at  Empire 
City,  to  throw  up  an  embankment  there  that  would  pre- 
vent water  from  seeping  through  and  overflowing  the 
town  ? 

A.  Not  with  the  soil  alone.     I  do  not  think  you  could. 

Q.  Then  you  think  that  the  reservoir,  as  contemplated 
in  the  report  of  the  commissioners,  would  destroy  Empire 
City,  do  you  not? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  length  of  the  railroad  would  be 
overflown  by  that  reservoir? 

A.  Between  two  and  three  miles. 

Q.  I  will  get  you  to  state  now,  on  the  north  side  of  the 
present  track  of  the  railroad  what  kind  of  a  hill  there  is, 
and  give  your  opinion  as  to  whether  the  road  could  be 
raised  above  the  water? 

A.  It  could  be  raised,  but  it  would  be  a  very  expensive 
job. 

Q.  What  is  the  incline  of  that  hill — what  degree  of  in- 
cline on  the  surface  ? 

A.  I  should  think  it  was  between  40  and  50°,  a  good 
part  of  the  way.  Of  course  I  could  not  say  positively  as 
to  that. 


568 

Q.  "What  is  the  conformation  there,  where  this  hill  is 'so 
steep  ? 

A.  Rocky. 

Q  "What  would  he  the  effept  of  the  business  upon  the 
railroad,  if  the  tunnel  was  completed  and  the  ores  reduced 
at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  ? 

A.  Well,  it  would  reduce  it  very  much;  make  it  pretty 
near  worthless. 

Q.  What  is  the  sentiment  amongst  the  property  owners 
of  Gold  Hill  and  Virginia  City  as  to  the  construction  of 
this  tunnel  ? 

A.  I  think  they  are  opposed  to  it. 

Q.  How  are  the  merchants  and  mechanics  an<J  traders 
generally? 

A.  Opposed  to  it. 

Q.  I  will  ask  you  what  the  sentiment  is  now  amongst 
all  the  tax-payers  of  those  two  towns? 

A.  There  may  be  some  who  probably  favor  it,  but  the 
great  majority  of  the  tax-payers  are  opposed  to  it. 

By  the  CHAIRMAN  : 

Q.  What  is  the  population  of  those  two  places? 

A.  About  12,000 — they  are  one  place  really — somewhere 
between  10,000  and  12,000. 

Q.  What  will  be  the  effect  of  taking  the  business  away 
from  the  railroad  upon  Carson  City? 

A.  To  use  a  Nevada  expression,  it  would  "burst  it." 

Q.  What  is  the  population  of  that  town  ? 

A.  My  impression  is  it  is  about  12,000,  but  I  am  not 
positive. 

Q.  That  is  the  capital  of  the  State,  is  it  not  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

By  the  CHAIRMAN: 

Q.  Is  that  up  this  valley^  Carson  river? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  What  is  the  distance  from  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel 
to  Carson  City? 

A.  About  14  miles. 

Q.  And  the  railroad  runs  up  to  Carson  City  ? 


569       • 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  State,  if  you  know,  what  the  cost  of  milling  upon 
Carson1  river  is — the  cost  to  the  mills? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  do  not  know. 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  per  centage  of  the  gold  and  silver 
in  the  ores  of  the  Comstock  is  saved  by  the  present  mode 
of  working  it,  including  the  return  to  the  mining  company 
by  the  mill,  and  all  that  is  saved  from  the  slimes  and  tail- 
ings being  worked? 

A.  About  90  per  cent — from  90  to  92  per  cent. 

Q.  Has  there  been  for  four  or  five  years  any  loss  of  tail- 
ings by  flood,  or  otherwise  ? 

A.  E"p,  sir. 

Q.  What  preparation  is  made  there  for  the  saving  of  the 
Blime  and  tailing? 

A.  A  series  of  reservoirs. 

Q.  And  what  escapes  from  one  is  caught  in  another? 

A.  Yes',  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  the  assayed  value  of  the  slimes 
and  tailings  is,  when  they  are  caught  at  what  is  known  as 
the  "Wood  worth  mill,  on  the  Carson  river  ? 

A.  I  do  not. 

Q.  Do  you  know  any  means  of  working  slimes,  so  as  to 
save  the  metals,  without  drying  them? 

A.  No. 

Q.  Has  it  been  tried? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  I  tried  myself  about  a  year. 

Q.  I  will  ask  you  if  everybody  there  tried  it? 

A.  A  great  many  persons. 

Q.  Was  it  or  not  a  failure? 

A.  A  perfect  failure. 

Q.  Have  you  ever  been  at  this  tunnel  since  it  was  com- 
menced ? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  shortly  after  it  was  commenced,  but  I  could 
not  say  how  long. 

Q.  About  what  time  was  it  commenced  ? 

A.  I  could  not  say  positively.  I  kept  no  run  of  the 
time.  It  might  have  been  three  years  ago,  but  I  cannot 


570 

say  positively.     I  was  there  about  the  time  Dr.  Hazlett 
took  charge  of  it. 

Q.  Mr.  Sutro  has  said  a  great  deal  before  this  committee 
about  the  expense  of  having  machinery,  to  be  placed  upon 
these  shafts  on  the  line  of  the  tunnel,  and  has  introduced 
telegrams  in  reference  to  them.  Have  you  seen  any  of  that 
machinery? 

A.  I  have  seen  some  on  the  road. 

Q.  What  kind  of  machinery  was  it? 

A.  I  saw  some  heavy  machinery  there,  I  think,  sir.  The 
machinery  that  is  at  present  in  operation  on  the  tunnel  is 
what  we  call  "donkey  engines." 

Q.  Explain  to  the  committee  what  you  mean  by  donkey 
engines  ? 

A.  A  little  engine  and  boiler  connected,  such  as  is  used 
on  the  wharves  here  for  hoisting  freight  out  of  a  vessel. 

Q.  Did  you  see  any  pumps  in  transit? 

A.  I  saw  one  on  a  team  said  to  be  going  there. 

Q.  What  kind  of  a  pump  was  it? 

A.  One  of  those  little  Stoddard  pumps. 

Q.  Was  it  a  force  pump? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  they  are  force  pumps;  we  call  them  plun- 
gers. 

Q.  Stoddard  pumps — what  do  you  use  them  for? 

A.  We  put  them  in  wells — pump  where  there  is  not  a 
great  deal  of  water.  We  do  not  use  them  in  the  mines  at 
all — not  in  Nevada. 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  was  charged  for  milling  ores 
when  you  first  went  upon  the  Comstock? 

A.  $18  per  ton.  * 

Q.  What  is  the  present  price? 

A.  The  last  we  had  milled  we  paid  $12  for. 
•    Q.  Do  you  know  of  any  ores  being  milled  for  less  than 
that? 

A,  No,  sir,  not  positively,  that  ores  have  been  milled 
for  less  than  that.  I  do  not  know  whether  they  are  now 
or  not.  Ores  have  been  milled  for  $9  and  some  for  $8. 

Q.  That  is  the  cost  of  the  milling? 


571 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  What  has  been  the  effect  of  the  railroad  upon  the 
cost  of  supplies  for  the  mines? 

A.  Reduced  it  very  materially. 

Q.  Is  the  cost  of  mining  now  at  a  great  depth  more  or 
less  than  it  was  six  or  eight  years  ago,  when  you  knew  the 
Comstock  *t  a  point  200  feet  below  the  surface. 

A.  Less,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  the  cost  of  the  removal 
of  mills?  Have  you  had  any  experience  of  that  kind? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  never  removed  aiiy. 

Q.  Would  it  take  one  or  two  removals  to  be  equal  to  a 
fire? 

A.  Two  certainly  would.     I  think  one  would. 

Q.  What  is  there  in  the  mills  now  that  could  be  used  in 
the  construction  of  new  mills  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel? 

WITNESS.  I  said  awhile  ago  that  I  never  removed  a 
mill;  had  no  experience  of  that  kind.  I  will  state  that  I 
did  remove  the  amalgamating  machinery  from  a  mill  at 
Dayton ;  that  is,  I  removed  the  pans  and  the.  frames.  I 
moved  it  to  the  De  Lande  mill  in  the  Seven  Mile  canon. 
It  cost  a  great  deal  mo^e  than  it  would  to  have  gone  to 
work  and  bought  the  pans  and  set  them  up. 

Q.  Then  you  had  an  old  mill  when  you  had  it  built? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Of  what  use  would  the  engines  and  boilers  in  the 
steam  mills  be,  if  the  other  machinery  in  those  mills  should 
be  removed  to  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  ? 

A.  Be  of  no  use  there.  You  might  use  some  of  the 
boilers  to  generate  steam  to  heat  the  pans  with,  but  that 
is  all. 

Q.  Did  the  Sutro  tunnel  commissioners  ever  ask  you  to 
make  an  argument  against  the  construction  of  the  Sutro  ' 
tunnel? 

A.  No,  sir.  The  only,  request  ever  made  of  me  was  from 
the  printed  form  of  questions,  except  such  questions  as  they 
asked  me  when  visiting  the  mines. 

Q.  I  will  ask  you  whether  the  completion  of  the  tunnel 


572 

would  be  of  any  advantage  to  your  mine  in  drainage  or 
ventilation,  or  in  any  respect;  and,  if  so,  what  advantage  it 
would  be? 

A.  It  would  be  of  no  advantage  in  ventilation.  I  do  not 
think  it  would  be  any  in  drainage. 

Q.  How  many  hours  a  day  do  you  run  your  pumping 
engine?  * 

A.  "We  run  the  upper  pumps  about  sixteen  hours  per 
day  now.  The  lower  pumps  we  run  about  five  or  six  hours 
a  week. 

Q.  What  is  the  condition  in  reference  to  the  water  at 
the  bottom  of  the  shaft  ? 

A.  We  started  an  incline.  The  shaft  is  down.  There  is 
no  water  in  it  at  all,  except  such  as  leaks  over  from  the 
tank  above. 

Q.  What  is  the  deepest  level  at  which  you  have  found 
any  water  in  the  Gould  and  Curry? 

A.  I  think  800  feet. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  the  Savage,  as  to  the 
water  in  that  in  the  lower  level? 

A.  They  have  none.     They  did  not  when  I  left  there. 

Q.  Has  there  been  any  more  water  in  the  lower  levels 
of  the  mines  this  winter,  being  a  wet  winter,  than  there 
has  been  for  the  last  year  ? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Does  the  water  in  ,the  Comstock  increase  or  decrease 
as  you  go  down  ? 

A.  It  decreases. 

Q.  I  would  like  to  have  you  explain  to  the  committee 
why  it  is  that  the  tunnel  could  not  ventilate  the  different 
mines  of  the  Comstock? 

A.  The  air  would  simply  pass  through  the  mine  in 
the  most  direct  way  to  the  shaft;  that  is,  it  would  pass 
up  through  the  tunnel  connecting  the  shaft,  wherever 
it  was.  On  either  side  of  that  line  it  would  have  no  effect 
whatever.  The  air  would  have  to  be  placed  there  by  arti- 
ficial means. 

Q.  How  far  from  the  current  of  air  passing  from  one 


573 

shaft  to  another,  or  from  the  tunnel  to  a  shaft,  would  the 
atmosphere  bo  affected  in  a  drift  at  right  angles  say  with 
the  tunnel? 

A.  A  very  few  feet.     Perhaps  15  or  20. 

Q.  In  prospecting  drifts  on  the  Comstock  and  in  the 
stopes  after  you  discover  ore,  is  it  possible  to  get  fresh  air, 
except  by  artificial  means? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  I  will  get  you  to  state  if  you  know  any  place  on  the 
Comstock,  where  different  shafts  are  connected,  where  the 
air  is  so  strong  that  you  cannot  burn  a  candle? 

A.  Oh,  yes,  sir.  One  in  the  Yellow  Jacket,  between  the 
Yellow  Jacket  and  Crown  Point,  and  between  the  Savage 
and  Hale  and  Norcross. 

Mr.  RICE.  You  mean  the  circulation  of  air? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  This  current  passing  from  one  point 
to  another.  Where  you  find  that  current  of'air  between 
two  shafts,  is  there  any  ventilation  outside  of  the  mere 
drifts  between  the  two? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  What  means  are  then  necessary  to  be  used  to  get 
fresh  air  in  the  prospecting  drifts,  the  headings,  and  stopes? 

A.  We  pump  it  in — force  it  in. 

Cross-examination  by  Mr.  Sutro. 

Q.  How  long  have  you  been  superintendent  of  the  Gould 
and  Curry  mine? 

A.  About  two  years,  I  think,  now. 

Q.  When  you  were  appointed  superintendent  of  that 
mine,  did  you  have  any  consultation  with  Mr.  Sharon  in 
regard  to  it? 

A.  ISTo,  sir.  I  did  with  Mr.  Sharon  and  other  parties — 
Mr.  Sharon  and  Mr.  Hay  ward. 

Q.  Mr.  Sharon  consented  that  you  should  become  super- 
intendent? 

A.  ISTo,  sir;  he  did  not  consent  to  anything  of  .the  kind. 

Q.  Who  placed  you  there? 

A.  The  board  of  trustees. 


574 

Q.  At  whose  particular  instance  where  yon  placed  there? 

A.  That  is  more  than  I  can  tell  you.  They  asked  me 
to  come  there  officially. 

Q.  Did  you  have  any  consultation  with  Mr.  Sharon  in 
regard  to  it? 

A.  N"o,  sir;  not  previous  to  the  appointment,  any  more 
than  he  sent  me  a  note  and  asked  if  I  would  accept  the 
position  ? 

Q.  And  you  consented? 

A.  Yes,,  sir. 

Q.  "Will  you  please  state  who  the  trustees  of  the  Gould 
and  Curry  mine  are  at  present? 

A.  I  hardly  know. 

Q.  Here  is  your  report.  Please  read  them  from  that 
report. 

A.  Messrs.  Bull,  Weller,  Harmon,  JSTorris,  Fry,  Sher- 
wood, and  Morrow. 

Q.  Who  is  treasurer? 

A.  I  do  not  know,  unless  it  states  there.  I  have  no 
knowledge  of  my  own. 

Q.  Have  you  ever  heard? 

A.  I  do  not  know  that  I  ever  have.     I  could  not  say. 

Q.  I  have  asked  you  if  you  ever  heard  who  the  treasurer 
of  your  company  is? 

A.  I  do  not  know  that  I  ever  did. 

Q.  You  do  not  know? 

A.  No,  sir.    * 

Q.  The  treasurer  keeps  the  money  of  the  company? 

A.  I  presume  so,  whenever  they  have  any  money. 

Q.  Y%u  do  not  know  who  the  treasurer  is? 

A.  If  it  states  there 1  have  never  been  told  who  the 

treasurer  was. 

Q.  Do  you  not  know  it  is  the  Bank  of  California? 

A.  I  do  not  know  that  it  is  the  Bank  of  California. 

Q.  Do  you  know  who  Mr.  Fry  is — one  of  your  trustees — • 
whether  he  is  any  connection  of  Ralston,  cashier  of  the 
Bank  of  California? 

A.  I  do  not  know. 
\ 


srs 

Q.  Do  you  not  know  who  Mr.  Norris  is,  and  whether 
Le  is  a  director  of  the  Bank  of  California? 

A.  I  do  not  know.  Only  Mr.  ISTorris  was  a  steamboat 
man  some  years  ago:  that  is  the  only  knowledge  I  have. 

Q.  You  do  not  know  whether  Mr.  Bull  had  any  con- 
nection with  the  Bank  of  California? 

A.  I  do  not. 

Q.  How  did  you  happen  to  come  here? 

Q.  I  came  on  the  railroad. 

Q.  What  made  you  come? 

A.  I  was  requested  to  come.  I  was  asked  if  I  would 
come. 

Q.  Who  asked  you? 

A.  Mr.  Sharon. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  That  is  all. 

Adjourned  to  meet  on  Friday  evening,  March  22,  at  7 
p.  m. 


HEARING  FRIDAY,  MARCH  22o. 

F.  T.  LALLY,  called  and  examined. 

By  Mr.  SUNDERLAND  : 

Q.  Iluve  you  been  educated,  and  have  you  had  any  prac- 
tical experience  as  an  engineer? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  In  what  part  of  the  country  have  }-ou  been  engaged  in 
engineering,  if  in  any  ?  State  what  part  or  parts,  and  what 
kind  of  engineering? 

£?  o 

A.  In  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  Vermont, 
Georgia,  Alabama,  Florida,  Arizona,  and  Illinois.  It 
would  be  very  hard  for  me  to  say  where  I  have  not  been 
an  engineer  in  my  former  days. 

Q.  Have  you  had  any  experience  in  the  erection  or  build- 
ing of  dams  on  water  courses? 

A.  A  good  deal  of  experience,  in  my  younger  days,  on 
rivers  in  the  East — on  the  Kermebec,  the  Androscoggin,  and 
other  streams  there. 

Q.  What  is  the  highest  dam  that  you  know  anything 
about,  either  having  seen  it  or  read  about  it  ? 

A.  The  highest  dam  that  I  have  seen,  I  think,  is  at 
Lewiston,  Maine.  It  was  about  32  feet.  What  I  have  read 
about  is  a  dam  on  the  Pyrenees,  about  SO^netres.  That 
is  the  highest  one  I  ever  heard  of. 

Q.  Of  what  is  that  dam  constructed  ? 

A.  It  is  composed  of  masonry,  reinforced  on  both  sides 
witliNrock  and  other  material. 

Q.  Do  you  think  it  possible  to  make  a  dam  155  feet  of 
any  material  to  stand,  unless  it  is  made  of  masonry  ? 

A.  Not  to  hold  water. 

Q.  Have  you  been  in  the  Territory,  now  State,  of  Ne- 
vada? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  I  visited  the  country,  for  the  purpose  of 
observation,  in  1861. 

Q.  Having  seen  the  country  there,  the  rocky  formation 

676 


577 

there,  and  the  soil,  or  rather  gravel  and  sand,  what  is  your 
opinion  as  to  its  holding  water  with  a  pressure  of  155  feet 
in  the  Carson  river?* 

A.  Well,  my  opinion  is  that  it  won't  hold  it. 

Q.  Why  not? 

A.  Because,  where  you  find  it  rocky,  it  is  seamy;  and 
even  when  the  seams  do  not  appear,  with  any  considerable 
pressure  of  water  the  water  goes  through.  This  I  infer 
from  my  own  experience  further  south  in  Arizona. 

Q.  State  that  experience? 

A.  Then  I  found  that,  in  making  a  reservoi^  for  water, 
everything  seemed  to  be  perfectly  sound  in  the  rock. 

Q.  It  stood  blasting? 

A.  I  made  a  reservoir  of  15  feet,  I  think,  to  hold  my 
water  that  I  took  out  of  the  shaft,  and  it  went  through  it 

like  a  seive,  and  I  had  to indeed  the  only  remedy  I  had 

was  to  cement  it. 

Q.  You  saw  this  conformation  on  or  near  the  Carson 
river  when  you  were  there,  did  you  not? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  How  would  the  rock  there  compare  with  that  in 
Arizona,  where  you  had  this  practical  experience? 

A.  It  seemed  to  me  to  be  very  much  of  the  same  forma- 
tion. 

Q.  N"ow,  I  will  ask  you  whether  pine  wood— and  I  be- 
lieve that  is  the  only  kind  of  wood  found  on  the  eastern 
slope  of  the  Sierra  Nevadas— would  hold  water  with  that 
pressure? 

WITNESS.  155  feet? 

COUNSEL.  Yes,  sir. 

WITNESS.  ISTo,  sir. 

Q.  Have  you  ever  observed  or  had  any  experience  with 
wood  holding  water?  If  so,  state  what. 

A.  I  have  tried  to  use  wood,  with  about  70  feet  head — 
logs  about  a  foot  thick,  white  pine  2|-inch  bore.  When 
the  water  was  put  on,  it  went  through  in  a  perfect  mist. 

A.  About  what  will  be  the  pressure  per  square  foot  on 

37  * 


578 

the  bottom  of  a  basin,  if  the  dam  should  *be  filled — the 
reservoir  filled  to  the  height  of  155  feet? 

A.  It  would  be  155  feet  by  62. 

Q.  If  that  is  your  calculation,  just  give  the  pressure  per 
square  foot  ? 

A.  Well,  the  pressure  per  foot  on  the  bottom  of  such  a 
basin  would  be  160  by  6z — 9,920  pounds.  No  wood  used 
in  the  arts  could  hold  water  under  such  a  pressure. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  How  many  pounds  ? 

A.  One  hundred  feet,  I  call  it,  by  62  pounds— 9,920 
pounds.  f- 

Q.  If  you  have  arrived  at  any  conclusion,  what  is  the 
comparative  evaporation  in  the  Carson  valley  with  other 
countries — the  coast — the  Atlantic  coast? 

A.  I  cannot  help  thinking  that  the  evaporation  is  much 
greater  there  than  it  is  on  our  rainy  coast  here.  We  have 
never  had  any  observations  that  have  come  to  my  knowl- 
edge to  determine  that. 

Q.  What  reason  or  reasons  have  you  for  thinking  so  ? 

A.  There  is  a  long  season  without  rain.  It  is  an  exceed- 
ingly arid  country,  and  everything  seems  to  be  thirsty  for 
water.  We  have  no  dews.  Now  I  am  speaking  of  a  coun- 
try south  of  that. 

Q.  Just  confine  yourself  to  the  Carson  valley;  you  spent 
some  little  time  there. 

A.  I  spent  some  little  time  there.  There  was  no  dew 
when  I  was  there;  it  was  in  the  summer  season. 

Q.  Is  there  any  wind  there? 

A.  Plenty  of  it,  and  very  strong. 

Q.  How  is  the  heat  of  the  sun? 

A.  Very  hot — parching. 

.  Q.  Do  you  think  it  possible,  after  a  dam  is  erected  to  the 
height  spoken  of,  that  it  could  ever  be  filled  with  water  ? 

A.  My  impression  is,  from  conversation  and  observation, 
that  no  such  basin  could  be  filled  in  that  region. 

Q.  On  the  account  of  what? 

A.  The  filtration  and  evaporation;  particularly  filtra- 
tion. 


579 

Q.  "What  kind  of  a  dam  would  it  be  necessary  to  build 
there  to  hold  water — the  dam  itself — in  your  opinion? 

A.  I  think  a  dam  of  masonry  would  be  most  economi- 
cal, and  be  the  best  dam,  and  the  only  dam  that  would 
hold  water, 

Q.  To  build  a  dam  of  that  kind,  it  would  be  necessary 
to  go  down  far  enough  to  reach  solid  rock,  would  it  not? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  very  solid  rock — have  to  go  down  below 
the  bed  to  very  firm  rock. 

Q.  About  what  would  be  the  expense  of  building  a  dam 
of  that  kind,  taking  into  consideration  the  cost  of  supplies 
there  and  the  cost  of  labor? 

A.  I  have  not  been  able  to  make  up  my  mind  what  it 
would  cost.  It  would  certainly  cost  over  $1,000,000. 

Q.  If  you  had  the  dam  erected  and  the  reservoir  full, 
how  would  you  drain  the  water  off  from  the  dam  ? 

WITNESS.  For  use? 

COUNSEL.  For  use. 

A.  Well,  take  it  o-ff  by  a  flume. 

Q.  Well,  from  the  upper  to  the  lower  side  or  end  of  the 
dam.  What  kind  of  a  conduit  would  it  be  necessary  to 
construct,  suppose  you  build  a  dam  of  timbers  or  rubble, 
or  anything  else  ? 

A.  I  do  not  allude  to  dam  of  timbers,  because  timbers 
won't  hold  water  under  that  pressure.  At  the  bottom  we 
should  have  to  have  a  flume  built  of  masonry. 

Q.  If  it  were  possible  to  put  in  a  dam  or  loose  stone, 
how  coulcj  you  conduct  water  through  that  dam>  so  as  to 
take  it  from  the  head  of  a  flume  or  race  below  the  dam? 

A.  We  would  have  to  make  it  of  masonry — very  firm. 

Q.  Under  that  pressure  of  water,  would  it  be  possible 
to  have  a  gate,  that  you  could  raise  or  lower,  so  as  to  let 
off  the  water? 

A.  I  suppose  it  would  be  possible,  but  very  difficult,  at 
the  bottom  of  the  dam. 

Q.  What  kind  of  machinery  could  you  construct  to  make 
a  gate  stand  there ;  or,  if  it  stood,  to  raise  and  lower  it  ? 

A.  Machinery  might  be  constructed  to  meet  the  object; 


'580 

that  would  not  raise  the  gate  perpendicularly,  but  would 
raise  it  on  an  angle  with  machinery. 

Q.  Then  how  would  you  close  it  ? 

A.  By  the  same  power  that  raised  it.  I  cannot  conceive 
of  an  opening  of  that  kind.  It  is  a  matter  that  I  do  not 
know  anything  about  practically,  nor  do  I  suppose  any 
body  else  does. 

Q.  Do  you  think  it  practicable  as  a  business  proposition 
to  build  the  dam  at  all  ? 

A.  No,  I  do  not.  I  think  it  would  cost  more  than  it  is 
worth. 

Cross-examined  by  Mr.  Sutro. 

Q.  You  state  you  have  been  an  engineer.  Have  you  been 
engaged  in  engineering  works  of  late? 

A.  Not  lately. 

Q.  How  long  since  ? 

A.  About  eighteen  years  ago,  except  as  a  miner.  As  a 
civil  engineer  I  have  not  been  engaged  in  any  works  for 
eighteen  years. 

Q.  You  say  you  have  built  dams  in  the  eastern  States. 
"What  is  the  character  of  the  country  where  you  built  those 
dams?  Was  it  a  mountainous  country  ? 

A.  Not  particularly,  where  the  dams  are  built. 

Q.  You  say  the  highest  dam  that  you  know  of,  or  that 
you  have  seen,  is  in  Lewiston,  Maine.  You  have  read  about 
a  dam  in  the  Pyrenees  39  metres  high :  How  many  feet  is 
that?  That  is  39  by  39  inches— 112  feet  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  any  dam  in  the  United  States  higher 
than  the  one  at  Lewiston  ? 

A.  No,  sir,  not  of  my  own  knowledge;  but  I  know  there 
is  a  dam  of  71  feet  on  the  Croton,  to  the  best  of  my  belief. 

Q.  You  have  said  here, it  is  impossible  to  build  a  dam 
155  feet  high  that  will  hold  water? 

A.  No,  I  have  not. 

Q.  I  so  understood  you  ? 


681  _  ! 

A.  I  said  that  I  did  not  think  a  dam  150  feet  high  there 
would  fill  the  basin. 

Q.  You  say  you  have  been  in  Nevada :  How  long  did  you 
stay  in  Nevada?  • 

A.  About  two  months.  I  went  there  for  observation — to 
see  the  country. 

Q.  Did  you  pass  along  Carson  river,  between  Carson 
City  and  the  town  of  Dayton — did  you  follow  the  river  ? 

A.  I  did  not  follow  the  river  particularly.       / 

Q.  Did  you  follow  the  river  at  all,  or  was  it  possible  for 
you  to  follow  the  river  ? 

A.  No,  sir ;  I  do  not  think  I  did.  I  was  up  there  several 
times  and  in  several  places. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  the  rock  formation 
there  ? 

A.  Nothing  more  than  general  observation  of  the  rock 
of  Virginia,  and  as  you  go  on  the  road  up. 

Q.  Do  you  know  that  there  is  a  difference  in  the  rocks 
as  far  as  the  absorption  of  water  is  concerned? 

A.  Yes,  sir,  a  vast  difference  in  the  character  of  rock 
about  there. 

Q.  There  are  some  kinds  of  rock  that  will  not  allow 
water  to  permeate  them  at  all? 

A.  Permeate  very  little. 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  kind  of  rock  there  is  at  that  par- 
ticular point  where  this  dam  is  proposed  to  be  made  ? 

A.  I  suppose  it  was  a  perforated  rock,  like  the  rock  on 
the  whole  basin  all  the  way  down  through  the  country. 
No,  sir;  it  is  not  perforated  rock  at  that  point,  it  is  a 
trachyte. 

Q.  Have  you  seen  the  trachyte  anywhere  in  your  own 
experience  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  In  what  parts  of  the  country? 

A.  I  have  seen  it  in  that  part  of  the  country. 

Q.  At  what  particular  point.  Will  you  name  the  point 
where  you  have  seen  trachyte  rock  in  Nevada? 

A.  Not  in  Nevada.     I  have  seen  it  in  Arizona. 


582 

Q.  At  what  point  ? 

A.  Colorado,  fifty-four  miles  south  of  Tucson. 
i   Q.  Do  you  know  what  that  is  composed  of? 

A.  Not  particularly.  The  geologists  and  mining  engi- 
neers spoke  of  the  rock  as  being  there,  and  I  took  it  for 
granted  that  that  was  the  rock. 

Q.  Do  you  know  that  trachyte  is  a  rock  that,  when  it 
has  once  been  penetrated  by  the  water,  will  not  allow  a 
drop  of  water  to  go  through  it  ? 

A.  No,  I  did  not. 

Q.  That  it  is  one  of  the  closest  rocks  we  know  of;  that 
it  is  a  volcanic  rock,  no  seams  in  it ;  and  when  there  are 
any  signs  of  seams,  it  is  very  close  indeed.  Do  you  know 
that? 

A.  That  may  be  so. 

Q.  You  did  not  visit  that  particular  point  where  we  pro- 
pose to  build  that  dam  ? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Are  you  aware  that  there  is  a  belt  of  trachyte  which 
comes  through  there  about  two  miles  in  width  and  15  miles 
in  length,  that  crosses  the  river  at  that  point? 

A.  I  do  not  know  anything  about  it. 

Q.  Suppose  you  would  find  that  rock :  then  you  would 
change  your  opinion  somewhat,  would  you  not  ? 
•  A.  No ;  but  the  difficulty  is,  that  this  water  is  thrown 
back  on  1,400  acres  of  ground.     It  is  riot  the  face  of  the 
rock  we  have  passed  at  the  gorge. 

Q.  You  say  you  have  not  been  at  the  gorge,  and  you  do 
not  know  what  the  formations  there  are  ? 

A.  I  simply  heard  the  description  of  these  commission- 
ers. 

Q.  They  have  given  no  description  whatever  of  the  rock 
on  Carson  river — not  referred  to  it  even  ? 

The  WITNESS.  This  seems  to  be  a  conversation.  I  will 
say  I 'know  nothing  further  than  that  this  dam  would 
cover  say  1,400  acres,  and  my  impression,  as  I  stated  that 
impression  in  the  first  instance,  is,  that  you  would  hardly 
find  1,400  acres  there  that  would  hold  water. 


583 

Q.  Who  told  yon  that  ? 

A.  The  report;  1,400  it  is  stated. 

Q.  Where  is  that  stated  in  the  report  ? 

A.  In  General  Day's  report. 

Mr.  SUTIIO.  Oh,  General  Day's  statement.  Then  you 
say  you  have  never  been  down  there,  and  you  do  not  know 
anything  of  the  formation  of  the.  rock  along  the  river  of 
your  own  knowledge? 

A.  Not  particularly. 

Q.  How  can  you  form  any  idea  that  the  rock  would  not 
hold  water  ? 

A.  Simply  in  the  principle  that  none  of  these  rocks  will 
hold  water  on  that  coast;  that  is,  between  that  low  belt 
of  country. 

Q.  Are  you  aware  that  there  are,  within  four  miles  of 
where  our  tunnel  goes,  three  or  four  distinct  formations  of 
rock  of  different  geologic  ages,  entirely  different  and  dis- 
tinct? 

A.  I  see  that  from  the  reports;  and  yet  I  believe  all 
those  rocks  are  permeated  by  water. 

Q.  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  trachyte  rock  is  easily  per- 
meated by  water  ? 

A.  No;  I  do  not  mean  to  say  so.  I  do  not  know  of  any 
special  formations  anywhere  of  that  rock. 

Q.  You  do  not  know  that  there  is  any? 

A.  No;  not  to  a  large  extent  there,  judging  from  the 
reports  and  books  I  have  read. 

Q.  Do  you  .know  that  there  is  a  species  of  volcanic  tufa 
along  that  whole  bed — along  that  range — that  forms  a  clay 
that  is  almost  water-tight  ? 

A.  I  know  we  find  a  clay  almost  everywhere  in  streams 
and  in  connection  with  our  lodes. 

Q.  How  long  did  you  stay  in  that  section  of  Nevada, 
where  this  dam  is  proposed  to  be  built? 

A.  I  stayed  no  time  of  any  consequence  at  all.  I  do  not 
know  exactly  where  your  darn  is  proposed  to  be  built. 

-Q.  How  can  you  state,  then,  the  rock  won't  hold  water, 
when  you  do  not  know  where  the  dam  is  to  be  built  ? 


584 

A.  I  stated  on  general  principles  that  none  of  that  rock 
will  hold  water. 

Q.  You  do  not  know  what  kind  of  rock  there  is  ? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  do  not  know  what  the  rock  is  there  at 
that  particular  place. 

Q.  You  say  that  a  dam  constructed  out  of  pine  wood 
would  not  hold  water  there;  that  it  would  go  through  it 
like  a  mist.     Was  that  your  statement  ? 
"  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  anybody  proposes  to  build  a 
wooden  dam  there  ? 

A.  No,  I  do  not  know;  but  I  think  General  Wright  sug- 
gested that  it  was  the  intention  to  build  such  a  dam. 

Q.  When  did  you  see  General  Wright  ? 

A.  Oh,  I  saw  him  some  time  since. 

Q.  He  told  you  they  were  going  to  build  a  wooden 
dam? 

A.  Face  it  with  wood  or  something  of  that  kind. 

Q.  Suppose  you  build  a  very  strong  stone  dam,  and 
build  up  your  stone  like  mason  work  and  face  that  with 
wood:  would  that  hold  water? 

A.  The  masonry  would  hold  water;  the  wood  would 
not. 

Q.  Would  it  assist  any  if  it  was  lined  with  wood  on  the 
inside.  Suppose  that  wood  be  put  in  reasonably  day, 
then  the  water  will  run1  on  to  it,  will  it  not,  and  make  it 
pretty  tight? 

The  WITNESS.  155  feet? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Provided  there  was  a  dam  of  500  feet  at  the 
base,  made  of  stone  work  ? 

A.  At  the  base  of  155  head  it  would  be  penetrated  with 
water. 

Q.  Suppose  it  was  put  right  across  the  stone  dam — solid 
stone  work. 

A.  That  would  not  affect  it, 

Q.  Then  that  would  be  water-tight? 

A.  It  would  be  pretty  tight;  the  masonry  would  save  it. 


585 

Q.  You  have  stated  that  the  evaporation  in  Carson  valley 
is  very  great,  and  that  they  have  no  rain  there  ? 

A.  I  stated  my  opinion  was,  that  it  would  he  otherwise 
greater  than  it  would  be  on  the  coast. 

Q.  What  has  that  got  to  do  with  the  evaporation  ?  If 
you  have  a  lake  or  basin  that  is  full,  would  the  evaporation 
be  any  greater,  rain  or  no  rain — would  that  assist  in  the 
evaporation,  if  there  is  no  rain  ? 

A.  Why,  during  the  falling  of  the  water  there  is  no  evap- 
oration. 

Q.  At  the  time  the  water  is  coming  down,  there  is  no 
evaporation  at  all  ? 

A.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  there  is  no  evaporation  at  all, 
.because  we  sometimes  have  it  come  in  the  shape  of  mist. 

Q.  You  say  that  the  masonry  would  have  to  go  down  to 
the  solid  rock.  Supposing  the  bed  of  the  river  is  solid 
rock,  would  there  be  any  difficulty  in  getting  down  to  the 
solid  rock  ? 

A.  Not  if  the  bed  is  of  solid  rock. 

Q.  You  say  that  a  dam  like  that  would  cost  $1,000,000? 

A.  I  think  so. 

Q.  Upon  what  basis  do  you  make  that  estimate  ? 

A.  Upon  the  quantity  of  the  material  used. 

Q.  How  long  was  the  dam  proposed  to  be  ? 

A.  The  average  length  of  the  dam,  according  to  the  re- 
port of  the  commissioners  there — Mr.  Day's  report — I  es- 
timated about  600  feet.  It  would  be  more  than  that  With 
his  diagram,  but  I  took  the  length  at  600  feet. 

Q.  Would  it  not  depend  a  great  deal  upon  the  facility 
with  which  you  can  obtain  the  rock;  the  character  of  the 
rock;  its  adaptability  for  masonry;  and  would  not  the  cost 
of  the  darn  depend  somewhat  upon  the  facility  with  which 
you  could  obtain  rock  there? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  labor  and  material  are  the  two  elements  in 
the  cost. 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  the  angles  of  the  hills  are  at  the 
dam  that  is  proposed  to  be  constructed  ? 


586 

A.  I  took  Mr.  Day's  diagram  there;  it  will  be  an  average 
angle  of  something  more  than  45  degrees. 

Q.  Mr.  Day  does  not  give  the  sides  of  the  canon  here  ? 

A.  He  gives  the  top  of  the  dam. 

Q.  He  gives  the  top  of  the  dam;  hut  suppose  the  moun- 
tains rise  500  feet  higher,  and  go  up  perpendicularly  upon 
each  side  :  you  do  not  know  anything  about  that? 

A.  That  don't  effect  the  sections  of  the  dam. 

Q.  Would  not  that  have  a  bearing  on  the  cost  of  the 
construction  of  the  dam,  in  blasting  the  rocks  for  the 
dam? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Would  not  that  be  a  very  material  point  in  making 
an  estimate  for  the  construction  of  a  dam  ? 

A.  Of  course  it  would  be  a  material  point,  but  I  make 
the  estimate  upon  the  lowest  figures  that  I  can  think  of. 

Q.  How  far  do  you  claim  that  that  rock  would  have  to 
be  hauled  to  make  it  cost  $1,000,000  ? 

A.  That  it  would  have  to  be  hauled  600  feet  at  least. 

Q.  What  size  do  you  give  for  the  dam  ? 

A.  I  give  330  feet  bottom,  cross  section. 

Q.  And  how  many  feet  across  the  river  ? 

A.  Six  hundred. 

Q.  How  much  did  you  count  for  labor  per  day  ? 

A.  I  counted  about  $4. 

Q.  How  much  powder  did  you  calculate  to  be  used  for 
blasting? 

A.  I  did  not  count  the  powder.  I  made  a  general  esti- 
mate what  the  600,000  yards  of  rock  would  cost. 

Q.  And  all  the  data  you  have  was  this  diagram  by  Cap- 
tain Day  ? 

A.  That  is  all  I  went  by. 

Q.  And  you  figured  the  cost  of  that  dam  to  be  $1,000,000? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Take  600,000  cubic  yards  of  rock :  wont  the  cost  of 
the  dam  depend  a  great  deal  on  the  hardness  of  the  rock 
you  find  there? 

A.  Not  particularly,  if  you  blasted  the  rocks. 


587 
• 
Q.  Cost  no  more  to  blast  very  hard  rock  than  it  does 

reasonably  soft  rock,  does  it? 

A.  No ;  soft  rocks  are  not  particularly  good  rocks  to 
x  blast. 

Q.  How  is  it  about  drilling  those  rocks  ? 

A.  Oh,  there  is  a  vast  difference  in  drilling  them.  There 
is  a  vast  difference  in  that;  but  that  is  a  simple  element  in 
the  calculation,  I  think. 

Q.  Would  you  like  to  make  a  contract  to  build  a  dam 
in  a  country  where  you  have  not  seen  the  rock;  where 
you  do  not  know  anything  about  the  size  of  the  dam; 
where  you  do  not  know  anything  about  the  bottom  of  the 
river;  where  you  do  not  know  anything  about  the  cost  of 
material — would  you  like  to  make  a  contract  to  build  a 
dam  of  that  kind,  where  you  did  not  know  anything  about 
it,  except  a  little  pen  drawing  that  is  attached  to  that  re- 
port? 

A.  I  would  want  to  have  a  very  good  margin  when  I 
made  it. 

Q.  Did  you  submit  this  cost  to  Mr.  Sunderland. 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Did  you  submit  the  statement  to  him .' 

A.  I  submitted  to  him  this  pa'per. 

Q.  You  say  a  dam  like  this  will  cost  $1,000,000  do  you? 

A.  Yes,  sirj  I  think  it  would  to  hold  water.  It  is  an 
unheard  of  dam,  in  the  first  instance. 

Q.  Are  you  employed  as  an  attorney  in  this  case  by  Mr. 
Sunderland? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  have  no  interest  in  the  case  whatever. 
Mr.  Sunderland  is  a  friend  of  mine,  and  we  had  conversa- 
tions on  the  subject. 

Q.  You  thought  you  would  give  him  some  figures  on 
building  dams  out  there. 

A.  Yes,  sir ;  he  requested  me  to  do  so. 

Q.  You  have  stated  here  that,  as  a  business  proposition, 
this  dam  would  cost  more  than  it  is  worth.  Upon  what 
facts  do  you  base  that  statement  ? 


588 

i 

A.  On  the  fact  that  the  water  is  already  used  profitably 
with  other  mills. 

Q.  How  do  you  know  that  ? 

A.  From  the  report,  which  is  received  as  official  evidence. 

Q.  What  has  that  to  do  with  the  profitableness  of  the 
water  of  this  dam,  as  a  business  proposition  ?  You  have 
stated  here  that  it  would  cost  more  than  it  would  be 
worth. 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Now,  what  do  you  know  about  the  revenue  that 
would  be  derived  from  that  water  power  ? 

A.  I  do  not  think  that  a  revenue  could  be  derived  that 
would  justify  the  building  of  the  dam  and  the  destruction 
of  the  mills  that  are  now  in  existence. 

Q.  What  do  you  know  about  that  from  you  own  knowl- 
edge? 

A.  Of  my  own  knowledge,  nothing,  except  the  report 
which  every  gentleman  here  must  be  guided  by. 

Q.  We  do  not  want  your  opinion  here  about  this  report. 
This  report  is  made  by  the  commissioners.  I  want  your 
opinion  as  an  engineer.  You  say  you  are  an  engineer,  and 
you  have  stated  here  that,  as  a  business  proposition,  it  would 
cost  more  than  it  is  worth  to  build  this  dam,  and  I  want  to 
know  upon  what  figures  you  based  that  opinion. 

A.  I  base  it  upon  the  report. 

Q.  Why,  there  is  nothing  stated  in  the  report  about  the 
revenue  that  would  be  derived  from  this  water. 

A.  Nobody  knows  what  revenue  would  be  derived  from 
it.  v 

Q.  How  can  you  make  that  statement  then,  that  it  would 
cost  more  than  it  is  worth  ? 

A.  Why,  on  general  principles,  that  the  water  is  already 
used,  and  it  would  not  justify  such  an  expenditure,  even  if 
the  dam  would  hold  the  water. 

-.;•  Q.  You  are  taking  the  opinion  given  in  the  report,  but 
I  want  to  know  what  you  know  about  this  ? 

A.  I  know  very  little  about  the  river,  except  as  I  saw  it 
out  there  at  different  points.  I  have  stated  before,  that  I 


589 

did  not  examine  this  river  particularly.  The  report  I  take 
to  be  true.  Those  gentlemen  made  it  without  having  any 
favor  or  fear  of  any  body.  What  they  stated  I  take  to  be 
true,  and  on  that  I  based  my  opinion. 

Q.  What  did  you  go  to  Nevada  for? 

A.  To  see  how  they  were  working  the  mines. 

Q.  You  just  passed  by  that  river,  and  you  saw  the  rocks 
there  at  some  places? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  that  is  all.     I  went  there  for  observation. 

Q.  You  have  never  studied  geology,  have  you?  Can 
you  tell  syenite  from  trachyte  ? 

A.  I  have  studied  geology,  perhaps,  as  much  as  most 
gentlemen  have  in  early  days. 

Q.  Can  you  tell  syenite  from  trachyte  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Will  you  please  state  of  what  syenite  is  composed, 
and  of  what  trachyte  is  composed? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  How  can  you  tell  the  difference? 

A.  I  know  the  rocks  when  I  see  them. 

Q.  Do  they  not  look  very  much  alike  ? 

A.  No,  sir;  not  particularly  alike. 

Q.  What  is  the  color  of  trachyte  ? 

A.  The  trachyte  is  a  reddish  gray  color. 

Q.  Is  it  not  green  sometimes,  too? 

A.  Sometimes. 

Q.  Is  it  not  yellow  sometimes? 

A.  I  do  not  know  as  I  ever  saw  it  yellow. 

Q.  You  never  saw  any  yellow  trachyte? 

A.  I  do  not  know  as  I  ever  did. 

Q.  What  color  is  syenite  ? 

A.  Syenite  may  have  several  colors ;  it  depends  upon 
what  the  oxides  are  that  affect  it. 

Q.  Supposing  that  water  power  would  pay  $1,000,000  a 
year,  would  you  consider  that  it  would  pay  to  construct  a 
dam  that  cost  $1,000,000? 

A.  Certainly  I  would.  9 

Q.  How  can  you  make  a  statement  here,  that  it  will  not 


590 

pay  to  make  that  dam — that  it  would  cost  more  than  it  is 
worth — and  you  do  not  know  how  much  revenue  will  be 
derived  from  it? 

A.  Simply  because,  in  former  days,  as  an  engineer,  I  have 
been  consulted  about  building  dams,  and  the  .question  of 
revenue  has  arisen  and  the  expense;  and  my  old  chief, 
Colonel  Baldwin,  was  the  most  distinguished  man  as  a  hy- 
draulic engineer  in  the  country,  and  he  invariably  would 
say  how  much  the  water  was  worth,  and  how  much  the 
dams  would  cost,  and  determine  whether  it  was  proper  and 
practicable  to  build  the  dam. 

Q.  But  you  say  you  did  not  do  that,  you  did  not  do 
this — you 'only  did  a  part  of  it.  You  say  you  estimated 
the  cost  of  the  dam,  and  did  not  estimate  the  amount  of 
the  revenue? 

A.  Ko,  I  did  not  estimate  the  revenue. 

Q.  How  can  you  tell,  then,  that  it  would  cost  more  than 
it  is  worth? 

A.  Because  I  cannot  conceive  of  its  being  worth  very 
much. 

Q.  How  can  you  tell  ? 

A.  I  think  that  the  water,  as  it  is  now  used,  is  quite  as 
beneficial  to  the  reduction  of  ores  as  it  would  put  into 
one  tunnel. 

Q.  How  do  you  know  that ;  there  was  no  mill  on  that 
river  when  you  went  there  ? 

A.  N"o,  sir;  that  is  my  opinion. 

Q.  Your  opinion,  formed  without  knowing  anything 
about  it? 

A.  Oh,  yes;  perhaps  I  do  not  know  as  much  about  it  as 
you  do. 

Q.  Did  not  you  form  your  opinion  upon  the  statement 
of  Mr.  Sunderland  to  you  ? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Did  you  not  talk  matters  over  with  him,  and  arrive 
at  your  conclusions  from  the  statement  of  Mr.  Sunderland  ? 

A.  I  have  talktd  a  great  deal  with  Mr.  Sunderland,  and 
talked  with  other  gentlemen  from  the  country  there.  The 


591 

very  first  conversation  I  had  with  Mv.  Sunderl and,  I  stated 
that  this  thing  was  impracticable,  and  I  did  not  think  it 
could  he  built  with  profit. 

Q.  Did  you  have  any  conversation  with  Mr.  Requa  about 
this  subject.? 

A.  Yes,  sir.    Certainly  I  had. 

Q.  Did  you  with  Mr.  Batterman  ? 

A.  I  do  not  know.  I  think  Mr.  Requa  and  Mr.  Batter- 
man both  spoke  of  the  dam,  and  I  spoke  of  the  dam  to 
them ;  but  I  can  tell  you  that  neither  of  them  made  any 
new  suggestions  to  me. 

Q.  Did  they  not  tell  you  the  dam  was  not  practicable? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  do  not  know  but  Mr.  Requa  said  so,  but  I 
think  I  said  to  him  first  that  I  did  not  think  it  was  so. 

Q.  You  based  your  opinion  somewhat  on  the  statement 
of  others  in  regard  to  the  water  power? 

A.  No,  not  at  all. 

Q.  Whose  statement  did  you  take  about  the  water  power 
on  the  river  ? 

A.  I  took  the  statement  of  the  commissioners  and  Gene- 
ral Foster. 

Q.  They  made  no  statement  about  it.  "Will  you  please 
point  out  where  General  Foster  states  anything  about  the 
water  power  now  obtained  on  the  river  ? 

A.  He  makes  a  report  here ;  he  says  the  water  power 
of  the  river  there,  when  he  saw  it,  was  25  square  feet — • 
passing  through  some  flume — the  whole  river  basin. 

Q.  You  thought  that  that  might  leak  at  25  feet? 

A.  Very  easily. 

Q.  You  did  not  take  that  as  the  average,  did  you  ? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  took  Mr.  Day's  statement. 

Q.  You  mean  to  say  now  that  it  won't  pay  to  make  that 
dam,  and  you  do  not  know  anything  about  the  revenue 
that  would  be  derived  from  it  ? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  know  nothing  about  the  revenue. 

Q.  Do  you  mean  to  state  that  it  won't  pay  to  make  that 
dam? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  I  do  not  think  it  will  pay. 


592 

Q.  And  you  do  not  know  anything  about  the  revenue 
to  be  derived  from  it? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  suppose  that  there  is  a  reasonable  sum  to 
be  charged  for  water. 

s  Q.  Steam  could  be  used;  suppose  that  steam  would  be 
used  as  a  power.  Do  you  know  how  much  they  pay  for 
reducing  a  thousand  tons  of  rock  a  day  ? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  know  that  they  pay  $12  a  ton  for  reducing 
rock? 

A.  I  have  heard  that  statement,  and  some  different  state* 
merits,  about,  the  price  that  is  charged  for  reducing  the 
rock.  I  could  not  say  what  it  is.  The  commissioners 
stated  it  at  $10  and  you  deduct  the  hauling. 

Q.  How  much  would  that  be  a  day — 1,000  tons,  at  $10? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  The  commissioners  don't  state  that. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  They  do  state  it. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  No,  I  beg  your  pardon,  they  do  not. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  They  state  $10  50. 

Q.  Suppose  that  is  correct,  without  going  into  these  fig- 
ures any  furthA;  that  is  $10,000  a  day,  is  it  not?  If  365,000 
tons  are  reduced,  how  much  would  that  be  in  a  year,  at  $10. 
$3,650,000-? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Suppose  one  half  of  that  amount  could  be  saved  by 
carrying  that  water  to  the  tunnel;  that  would  be  a  saving 
of  $1,825,000,  a  year,  would  it  not  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir,  on  that  basis. 

Q.  Do  you  think  it  would  pay  to  make  a  dam,  then 
at  a  cost  of  $1,000,000,  if  a  saving  of  $1,825,000  a  year 
could  be  made  ? 

A.  I  do  not  see  the  saving. 

Mr.  RICE.  Supposing  that  the  saving  be  made  of  one  half 
the  cost  of  milling.  If  one  half  the  cost  o'f  milling  could 
be  saved,  and  if  the  milling  now  cost  $10,  and  that  milling 
could  be  done  for  $5,  do  you  think  it  would  pay  to  make 
that  dam  in  that  case  ? 

A.  If  there  would  be  that  difference,  Mr.  Bice 


593 

Q.  Suppose  that  in  the  Carson  river  you  would  wish  to 
utilize  the  water,  and  u$e  it  at  a  point  below,  where  the 
fall  would  be  100  feet.  Could  that  be  done,  could  you 
utilize  it? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  The  Colonel  has  never  been  on  the  ground — 
is  not  acquainted  with  the  topography  there. 

Mr.  RICE.  My  question  was,  whether  it  could  be  utilized ; 
whether  the  water  could  be  utilized  at  that  point  in  any 
way. 

A.  You  would  have  100  feet  to  use  of  it. 

Q.  Then  how  would'you  accomplish  it  ? 

A.  By  taking  it  out  of  the  water  of  the  dam,  and  run- 
ning it  down  through  the  canal. 

Q.  If  you  have  to  use  water,  what  water  would  you  l^ave 
to  use  at  the  end,  that  would  give  you  100  feet? 

A.  There  would  be  no  difficulty  in  utilizing  the  water  at 
any  reasonable  point  below,  if  there  was  that  fall.  Oh  no, 
you  could  utilize  the  water  there  at  100  feet. 

Q.  Only  in  your  opinion  it  could  not  be  utilized  in'this 
particular  manner  spoken  of? 

A.  No,  my  impression  is  that  you  do  not  get  the  basin 
filled  with  water. 

Q.  Well,  supposing  you  built  it  lower  down,  could  not 
you  fill  your  basin  with  water.  As  long  as  you  keep  along-, 
side  the  rocks  that  are  impregnated — filled  with  water? 

A.  Very  well? 

Q.  Then  as  long  as  you  "keep  that  dam  filled  with  water 
and  had  that  fall,  it  could  be  utilized  for  use,  could  it  not — 
below  ? 

A.  300  feet,  yes.   Use  all  your  fill,  whatever  you  had. 

By  the  CHAIRMAN,  (Mr.  NEGLEY  :) 

Q.  What  is  your  occupation  at  the  present  time? 

A.  Farming. 

Q.  Where  do  you  reside  ? 

A.  In  Howard  county,  and  in  Washington. 

Q.  In  Maryland  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  I  still  hold  my  citizenship  in  Maine. 

Q.  How  long  since  you  visited  the  mining  regions? 
38 


594 

A.  I  have  not  been  there  since  1863. 

Q.  At  that  time  was  the  quartz  mining  carried  on  there 
very  extensively  ? 

A.  They  were  quartz  mining  all  through  the  country, 
then  1863;  in  1861  they  were  mining  all  this  Territory. 

Q.  Did  you  form  any  opinion  as  to  the  richness  and  ex- 
tent of  the  auriferous  deposits  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Sutro 
tunnel  ? 

A.  JSTo,  sir.  No  Sutro  tunnel  was  spoken  of  when  I 
was  in  the  vicinity.  I  was  there  in  1861.  I  visited  that 
country,  and  believed  it  to  be  very  rich.  They  had  opened 
their  mine  then,  particularly  the  Ophir ;  I  went  more  par- 
ticularly to  see  the  machinery  they  introduced  there  than 
anything  else.  The  time  I  spent  there  was  simply  for  ob- 
servation. 

Q.  As  an  experimental  work,  demonstrating  the  extent 
and  richness  of  these  lodes,  would  it  justify  the  Govern- 
ment to  expend  any  considerable  sum  of  money? 

A.  That  is  a  question  I  would  not  like  to  answer.  It  is 
not  a  scientific  question.  The  fact  that  the  miners  are  de- 
veloping that  region  more  rapidly  than  any  mining  region 
that  has  ever  been  developed,  would  induce  me  to  say  that 
no  other  effort  was  necessary. 

Q.  Has  it  not  been  found  to  be  a  wise  policy  on  the  part 
of  the  Government  to  expend  considerable  sums  of  money 
in  pioneer  investigations  ? 

A.  No  doubt. 

Q.  Have  not  such  expenditures  been  very  profitable  to 
the  whole  country,  and  especially  to  those  who  follow  the 
mining  industries  ? 

A.  I  do  not  think  that  anything  the  Government  has 
done  has  aided  much  in  the  development  of  mines.  Usu- 
ally all  mining  regulations  are  made  by  the  people  who 
first  make  the  discoveries. 

Q.  Have  not  the  geological  reports,  published  from  time 
to  time  under  the  auspicies  of  the  Government,  attracted 
capital  and  enterprise  to  those  regions  of  country  ? 

A.  Well,  I  have  doubts  about  that.     Starting  in  with 


695 

Ross  Browne,  a  people  who  know  no  more  about  the  min- 
ing region  and  mining  than  children,  they  made  the  whole 
thing  ridiculous  from  their  descriptions.  I  do  not  think 
any  of  the  publications,  except  this  last  publication,  which 
I  have  seen  hero,  and  which  I  do  not  own — by  the  way,  I 
am  sorry  to  say — is  of  any  real  use. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Are  you  speaking  of  Mr.  King's  re- 
port? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  of  Mr.  King's  report. 

By  Mr.  SUNDERLAND  : 

Q.  Did  you  ever  know  anybody  to  invest  in  a  mine  any- 
where on  the  Pacific  coast,  on  account  of  a  report  from 
any  expert  who  has  published  works  on  his  own  account, 
or  any  geologist  employed  by  the  States  or  by  the  Gov- 
ernment ? 

A.  Not  from  any  printed  books. 

Q.  What  opinion  is  entertained  amongst  miners  on  the 
Pacific  coast  of  these  Government  geologists? 

A.  "Well,  the  opinion  is  not  as  good  as  it  ought  to  be, 
I  think;  but  they  have  no  great  confidence  in  them — none 
at  all.  My  opinion  is  that  a  good  many  of  them  are  valu- 
able. 

Q.  Have  you  ever  known  the  Government  to  expend 
an}'  money  for  the  development  of  mines  anywhere? 

A.  No,  sir ;  not  to  my  knowledge, 

Q.  Or  funning  a  tunnel  ? 

A.  Not  to  my  knowledge. 

Q.  Or  assisting  in  any  mining  enterprise  on  the  Pacific 
coast? 

A.  I  never  knew  of  any. 

Q.  Is  the  Government  assisting  mining  in  Arizona  now? 

A.  Not  much,  unless  Crook  is  doing  it. 

Q.  Has  there  ever  been  any  protection  to  miners  there 
by  the  Government? 

A.  No,  sir ;  except  the  general  protection  :  they  claim  to 
have  put  in  soldiers  there  to  clean  out  the  Apaches,  but 
they  have  done  very  little  about  it.  We  have  had  legisla- 


596 

tions  and  commissions  there,  that  have  interfered  with  the 
mill  men  in  the  performance  of  their  duties. 

By  the  CHAIRMAN  : 

Q.  Would  not  the  construction  of  railroads  into  the 
mining  districts,  through  the  aid  of  the  Government,  be  a 
contribution  to  the  development  of  those  mining  interests? 

A.  ISTo  question  about  it. 

Q.  Would  not  that  be  a  direct  aid  on  the  part  of  the 
Government  of  a  very  beneficial  nature  ? 

A.  Of  course  it  would. 

Q.  Would  not  the  chief  object  of  constructing  those 
roads  in  those  regions  be  to  reach  the  mineral  wealth  ? 

A.  It  would  be  to  develop  the  mineral  wealth. 

Q.  Would  not  it  be  a  judicious  expenditure  ? 

A.  I  think  so,  inasmuch  as  it  develops  the  public  do- 
main. 


HEARING  SATURDAY,  MARCH  23D. 

On  the  assembling  of  the  committee, 

Prof.  R.  W.  Raymond,  United  States  Commissioner  of 
Mines,  appeared  before  the  committee,  and  stated  that  he 
came  there  under  orders  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Treas- 
ury, issued  in  accordance  with  request  contained  in  the  fol- 
lowing letter  from  the  chairman,  General  NEGLEY. 

"  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES, 

"WASHINGTON,  D.  0.,  March  19,  1872. 
"Hon.  GEO.  S.  BOUTWELL. 

"SiR:  The  Sub-Committee  of  Mines  and  Mining,  investigating  the  Sutro 
'tunnel  project,  desire  the  testimony  of  R.  W.  Raymond,  United  States  Com- 
'missioner  Mines  and  Mining. 

"  Will  you  please  request  him  to  report  to  me? 

"Yours,  very  truly, 

"  JAS.  S.  NEGLET, 

"  Chairman" 

"  TREASURY  DEPARTMENT,  March  21,  1872. 

"Respectfully  referred  to  R.  W.  Raymond,  Esq.,  United  States  Commis- 
'sioner,  etc.  "  J.  H.  SAVILLE, 

"  Chief  Clerk," 

R.  W.  Raymond,  called  and  examined. 

By  Mr.  SUTRO  : 

Q.  You  are  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Mining, 
I  believe? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Are  you  by  profession  a  mining  engineer  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

•Q.  "Will  you  please  state  to  the  committee  where  you- 
have  studied  mining,  and  the  sciences  appertaining  to 
mining? 

A.  I  made  my  professional  studies  at  the  University  of 
Heidelberg  and  Polytechnic  School  at  Munich,  and  the 
Mining  Academy  of  Freiberg,  in  Germany. 

Q.  Will  you  please  state  what  particular  studies  are 
usually  considered  necessary? 

A.  A  mining  engineer  may  be  only  prepared  in  a  cer- 

597 


598 

tain  branch,  or  he  may  take  a  wider  course,  and  devote 
himself  to  both  mining,  engineering  and  metallurgy. 
For  a  complete  course  he  ought  to  study  also  geology, 
mathematics,  mechanics,  civil  engineering,  and  chemistry. 

Q.  Are  those  different  branches  studied  at  the  Academy 
of  Freiberg? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Have  you  visited  any  of  the  mines  of  Europe? 

A.  While  I  was  a  student  I  visited  quite  a  number. 

Q.  You  devoted  yourself  entirely  to  the  study  of  mining 
and  examination  of  mining  districts? 

A.  Very  largely,  for  some  years. 

Q.  Since  your  return  to  the  United  States  hare  you 
visited  any  of  the  mining  districts  in  this  country  ? 

A.  I  was  some  five  or  six  years  in  practice  as  consult- 
ing engineer,  and  in  charge  of  works  in  various  eastern 
States,  and  for  the  last  four  years  I  have  been  traveling  in 
connection  with  my  office  as  commissioner. 

Q.  Are  you  connected  with  the  Engineering  and  Mining 
Journal? 

A.  I  have  been  editor  of  that  paper  for  about  six  years. 

Q.  Have  you  any  connection  with  the  American  Board 
of  Mining  Engineers? 

A.  There  is  a  society  of  mining  engineers  called  *the 
American  Institute  of  Mining  Engineers,  numbering  about 
200,  I  think;  I  am  at  present  president  of  that  society. 

Q.  What  mining  districts  have  you  visited  east  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains?  In  what  States  have  you  visited  mines? 

A.  We  have  no  mining  districts,  in  the  technical  sense 
of  the  term,  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains;  but  I  have 
visited  mines  in  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  Ken- 
tucky, New  York,  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  North  Caro- 
lina, Georgia,  and  may  be  other  States.  I  do  not  recollect 
at  present. 

Q.  What  mining  districts  have  you  visited  in  the  Terri- 
tories of  the  United  States? 

A.  It  is  really  hard  to  enumerate  the  mining  districts 
there.  I  have  visited  a  large  number  in  California,  a  large 


599 

number  in  Nevada,  and  a  large  number  in  Montana,  Idaho, 
Oregon,  Utah,  and  Colorado. 

Q.  Yon  are  quite  familiar,  then,  with  the  mining  inter- 
ests of  this  country? 

A.  Yes,  b}^  my  own  observations,  and  from  field-notes 
of  a  great  many  agents  I  have  to  use.  I  have  between  one 
and  two  hundred  correspondents,  in  different  districts. 

Q.  In  the  official  position  you  now  hold,  you  have  cor- 
respondents at  all  the  different  mining  districts,  or  the  • 
principal  ones,  have  you? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  That  gives  you  full  information  of  the  progress  and 
the  improvements  which  are  made  in  those  different  min- 
ing districts  ? 

A.  I  try  to  have  very  full  information. 

Q.  You  make  an  annual  report  to  the  Government  in 
regard  to  mining  in  those  districts  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  What  is  your  opinion  as  to  the  value  of  the  mining 
resources  of  the  country  ? 

A.  That  requires  a  long  answer.  I  do  not  think  that 
there  is  any  other  country  in  the  world  with  an  equal 
amount  of  mineral  resources.  I  suppose  that  is  a  well- 
ascertained  fact,  if  that  is  what  you  mean  by  that  question. 

Q.  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  there  is  no  other  country  in 
the  world  that  has  an  equal  amount  of  mineral  wealth  to 
the  United  States? 

A.  So  far  as  my  observation  and  reading  go  I  do  not 
think  there  can  be  any  other  country. 

Q.  £>o  you  think  there  is  any  country  that  ever  possessed 
mineral  interests  as  extensive  as  those  owned  by  the  United 
States? 

A.  If  you  mean  by  the  term  extensive,  area  of  territory 
and  prospective  as  well  as  present  value,  I  say  no.  I  sup- 
pose there  have  been  countries  that  have  produced  in  a 
single  year  as  much  treasure  as  we  now  produce  in  a  single 
year,  without  any  doubt. 


600 

Q.  I  mean  the  general  wealth  contained  in  our  mineral 
domain  ? 

A.  Well,  if  you  mean  resources 

Q.  I  mean  general  resources. 

A.  I  have  always  supposed,  and  I  believe  now,  we  are 
ahead  of  the  world  in  that, 

Q.  Do  not  you  think,  Professor  Raymond,  that  some 
day  it  will  form  one  of  the  most  important,  if  riot  the  most 
important,  resource  of  this  country? 

A.  It  will  be  one  of  the  most  important.  I  do  not  think 
mining  can  ever  be  more  important  pecuniarily  than  ag- 
riculture. 

Q.  Taking  into  consideration  the  question  of  our  min- 
eral domain,  if  the  mining  interests  were  to  be  fostered 
and  developed,  would  it  not  probably  form  almost  the 
most  important  interest  that  this  country  has? 

A.  Well,  if  you  will  allow  me  to  make  a  statement  in 
reply  to  that  in  my  own  words,  without  answering  categor- 
ically, I  will  state  simply,  that  the  mineral  wealth  of  any 
country  is  an  absolute  necessary  element  to  any  commer- 
cial supremacy  of  that  country,  in  my  opinion.  There  is 
just  this  difference  between  the  agricultural  wealth  and 
mineral  wealth — that  the  mineral  resources  of  a  country 
are  of  a  certain  quantity,  which  may  be  exhausted,  and 
they  ought  to  be  economized,  because  when  the}^  are,  in 
the  course  of  time,  by  neglect  or  waste,  diminished  or  ex- 
hausted— economically,  if  not  absolutely  exhausted — then 
the  decline  of  the  commercial  supremacy  of  that  country 
would  commence,  in  spite  of  its  agricultural  resources.  I 
think  we  have  an  instance  of  that  in  the  prophesied  ex- 
haustion of  the  coal  mines  of  England,  which  will  take 
place,  whether  there  is  any  more  coal  in  the  mines  or  not, 
just  as  soon  as  the  coal  is  so  far  worked  out  that  they  can- 
not produce  it  as  cheaply  as  other  nations.  That  is  an  eco- 
nomical exhaustion.  It  does  not  make  any  difference  whether 
1here  is  any  coal  there  or  not;  if  it  comes  to  a  point  that  it 
cannot  be  extracted  economically,  that  is  the  end  of  it.  I 
have  explained  all  this  in  one  of  my  former  reports.  I  there- 


601 

fore  think  that  the  mineral  resources  of  the  country  are  ti 
highly  important  trust  of  the  Government. 

Q.  Would  you  not  consider,  then,  that  an  economical,  in- 
telligent, and  rational  system  of  mining  would  be  highly 
desirable  for  this  country? 

A.  I  do. 

Q.  What  is  the  first  requisite  in  opening  mineral  regions — 
is  it  not  capital? 

A.  That  is  one  necessity. 

Q.  Are  not  mining  operations  at  this  day  carried  on  to 
a  large  extent  simply  for  speculative  purposes? 

A.  There  is  a  speculation  involved  in  mining  any  how. 
If  you  mean  speculations  as  to  the  success  of  the  mining 
enterprise,  why  of  course.  If  you  mean  speculation  as  to 
merely  selling  stocks  of  mining  companies,  that  is  also  true. 

Q.  Is  that  sort  of  operation  detrimental  to  the  general 
welfare  of  the  mining  interest? 

A.  That  I  cannot  answer.  I  do  not  know.  Speculation 
seems  to  be  a  part  of  all  enterprises  in  our  country  at  the 
present  time.  I  am  very  strongly  impressed  with  the  idea 
that  it  more  or  less  injures  the  regular  industry,  but  I  do 
not  know  positively.  That  is  a  question  of  political  econ- 
omy as  to  whether  it  is  -a  positive  evil. 

Q.  Are  not  the  mines  in  many  portions  of  Europe  car- 
ried on  so  that  they  pay  regular  dividends  for  many  years 
in  succession  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  they  are.     That  is  often  the  case. 

Q.  Do  they  not  carry  on  their  explorations  and  open  up 
their  bodies  of  ore,  so  that  they  have  always  some  years* 
work  ahead  for  their  mills? 

A.  That  is  very  generally  the  case.  I  think  that  such 
mines  as  are  under  the  Government  supervision  do. 

Q.  Where  is  that,  in  Germany?- 

A.  Yes,  sir;  in  all  the  States  of  Europe  where  the  Gov- 
ernment has  had  mining  bureaus  or  mining  departments 
administering  the  mining  industry.  Whether  that  is  the 
case  when  the  mines  are  wholly  owned  out  an'd  out  by  pri- 
vate parties  I  am  not  able  to  say.  The  only  instance  that 


602 

Occurs  to  nre  of  that  is  some  coal  speculations  in.  West- 
phalia, where  private  parties  went  in  very  much  as  they 
do  in  this  country,  and  wasted  money  and  sold  stocks;  but 
most  of  the  mines  abroad,  even  where  private  parties  op- 
erate them,  are  under  some  sort  of  Government  control 
They  have  been  heretofore  to  such  an  extent,  that  the  Gov- 
ernment has  the  right  to  say  how  they  shall  be  worked. 

Q.  In  other  words,  there  is  a  code  of  mining  laws  regu- 
lating mining  operations  in  those  countries  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  They  are  required  to  do  certain  things  by  law? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Are  they  not,  among  other  things,  required  to  make 
such  connections  in  their  works  as  to  protect  the  lives  of 
the  miners? 

A.  They  are. 

Q.  They  are  not  permitted  to  carry  on  any  mining  ope- 
rations except  they  comply  with  the  law  in  that  regard? 

A.  £To,  sir. 

Q.  Are  there  not  certain  rights  extended  by  law,  in  a 
number  of  countries  of  Europe,  which  encourage  the  con- 
struction of  tunnels? 

A.  That  is  an  almost  universal  feature  of  all  the  old 
mining  codes,  with  the  exception  of  the  Spanish  code. 

Q.  Did  they  have  any  rights  by  law  to  collect  a  royalty 
or  contribution  from  the  mines  that  were  benefited? 

A.  If  you  refer  to  what  I  think  you  do,  it  is  an  old  tun- 
nel-right or  the  Erbstollen  law. 

Q.  What  is  that  called?     The  Erbstollen? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  the  Erbstollen.  The  right  was  a  right 
which  accrued,  by  general  law,  without  special  enactment, 
to  any  man  who  would  run  a  tunnel  30  feet  deeper  than  any 
other  tunnel  had  previously  been  run  into  the  same  mine. 
The  proprietor  of  such  a  tunnel  was,  generally,  not  the 
proprietor  of  the  mine;  but,  by  simply  getting  in  30  feet 
deeper  than  any  other  tunnel,  he  would  have  the  right  to  a 
certain  percentage  or  royalty  upon  all  the  ore  that  was 
taken  out.  It  was  called  the  tunnel-royalty. 


603 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  the  mines  in  the  Harz 
mountains  ? 

A.  I  have  never  visited  the  mines  in  the  Harz,  moun- 
tains, but  I  am  pretty-  familiar  with  them  from  different 
maps  and  drawings. 

Q.  Are  you  aware  they  have  constructed  tunnels  there 
for  the  last  five  or  six  centuries  ? 

A.  I  know  there  are  a  great  many  tunnels  there. 

Q.  Have  they  not  constructed  tunnels  there,  d'ie  below 
the  other,  extending  until  they  have  made  the  last  one  14 
miles  in  length  ? 

A.  .That  is  the  history  of  the  most  of  the  old  mining 
enterprises  in  Germany;  that  they  go  from  one  level  to 
another,  and  Jceep  putting  in  deeper  tunnels. 

Q.  They  have  constructed  this  last  tunnel,  which  is  called 
the  Ernst- August  tunnel — they  have  constructed  that,  I  be- 
lieve, for  a  length  of  14  miles? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  by  the  report  of  the  engineers  which  I 
have  read. 

Q.  I  have  a  paper  here,  "Leipsic  Illustrated  Journal," 
of  the  3d  of  September,  1864,  which  gives  a  number  of  draw- 
ings of  this  great  tunnel  in  the  JIarz  mountains,  the  depth 
of  shafts,  and  the  great  celebration  they  went  into  upon  its 
completion,  and  a  description  of  the  great  jubilee  in  the 
whole  country  after  it  was  completed,  and  also  gives  some 
pictures  representing  the  connections  made,  &c.  I  wish 
to  ask  you,  Professor  Raymond,  to  look  at  this  section 
here,  which  gives  the  depth  of  the  shafts  below  this  tun- 
nel when  it  was  constructed.  He  states  that  the  tunnel 
below  the  Church  of  Clausthal  was  1,200  feet. 

A.  1,200  feet  is  my  recollection. 

Q.  How  far  do  you  judge  the  shafts  had  reached  below 
that  tunnel  before  they  constructed  it? 

A.  About  600  or  700  feet  is  my  impression. 

Q.  Were  not  some  of  them  1,000  feet  below  the  tunnel 
at  that  time— 2,200  feet,  that  would  make? 

A.  I  do  not  know  b'ut  there  was  a  shaft  down  2,200  feet. 
My  recollection  is  not  of  course  very  distinct  about  that. 

9 


604 

It  is  only  from  reading  a  report  of  the  engineers.  I  thought 
it  was  about  1,900  feet,  but  it  may  be  2,200.  The  Sampson 
shaft,  which  is  much  deeper,  is  not  near  this  tunnel. 

Q,  That  is  2,700  feet? 

A.  The  diagram  shows  that  very  plainly,  Mr.  Sutro,  that 
the  shafts  are  deeper  than  the  tunnel;  before  this  Ernst- 
August  tunnel  was  constructed,  there  was  another  tunnel 
in  existence  there,  called  the  deep-George  tunnel,  under 
the  chur^  of  Clausthal,  which  had  a  depth  of  900  feet. 

Q.  Do  you  recollect  the  length  of  that  tunnel  ? 

A.  I  think  it  was  6J  miles.  I  do  not  remember.  I  re- 
member that  the  deepest — the  new  tunnel — was  a  great  deal 
longer  than  the  other,  and  that  it  was .  constructed  with  a 
great  deal  of  engineering  skill ;  and  I  have  been  more  in- 
terested in  the  details  of  the  work  than  I  have  been  as 
to  anything  about  the  previous  tunnels — those  that  were 
superseded  by  it.  The  deep-George  tunnel  was  an  old 
affair,  made  and  finished  Ions;  before  I  ever  went  to  Ger- 

O 

many  to  study. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  wish  to  object  to  this  testimony,  as 
not  being  embraced  within  the  report  of  the  commis- 
sioners. 

'Mr.  SUTRO.  "Why,  Professor  Raymond  has  been  called 
here,  if  I  understand  correctly,  by  the  committee,  as  an  ex- 
pert, anc>  as  a  United  States  officer.  He  has  charge  of  the 
mining  interests  of  this  country,  and  is  called  here  by  the 
committee  to  give  some  information  on  this  subject. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  So  was  General  Foster 

Mr.  SUTRO.  General  Foster  was  called  here  as  one  of  the 
commissioners,  and  examined  as  to  a  special  subject.  Pro- 
fessor Raymond  is  the  commissioner  who  has  charge  of  the 
general  mining  interest  of  this  country.  There  is  a  mining 
question  that  arises  before  this  committee,  and,  if  I  under- 
stand correctly,  it  is  desirable  to  have  all  the  information 
upon  this  general  mining  question  that  can  be  obtained, 
and  I  think  it  was  the  intention  of  the  committee  to  call 
Professor  Raymond  with  that  view.  * 

The  CHAIRMAN,  (Mr.  NEGLEY.)  It  is  not  a  parallel  case, 


605 

that  of  Professor  Raymond  and  General  Foster.  By  an 
agreement,  the  testimony  given  by  General  Foster,  when 
he  was  recalled,  was  to  be  confined  to  an  explanation  of  a 
statement  of  the  evidence  which  he  had  before  given,  and 
to  the  subject-matter  of  his  report.  Professor  Raymond 
occupies  now  about  the  same  position  that  the  other  gen- 
tlemen did  who  wore  called.  You  were  permitted  to  give 
such  testimony  as  was  relative  to  the  subject-matter.  Of 
course  Professor  Raymond  will  not  be  permitted  to  give 
irrelevant  testimony 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  simply  made  the  objection,  Mr. 
Chairman,  because  I  understood  the .  committee  to  an- 
nounce at  the  time  that  General  Foster  was  recalled  that 
the  committee  would  not  go  into  anything  beyond  the  sub- 
jects embraced  in  the  report  of  the  commissioners. 

The  CHAIRMAN,  (General  Negley.)  Do  you  find  anything 
in  the  evidence  given  by  Professor  Raymond  that  is  not 
relevant  ? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  do  not  say  it  is  not  relevant,  but  f 
say  it  is  not  embraced  within  the  report  of  the  commis- 
sioners.    That  is  all. 

Mr.  RICE.  There  was  no  restriction  whatever  when  the 
commissioners  were  first  called.  We  went  through  the 
examination  of  the  three  commissioners  fully,  and  without 
any  objection  on  any  side;  not  confining  them  to  the  sub- 
ject-matter specifically  of  their  report,  although  it  naturally 
took  that  tendency.  When  General  Foster  was  recalled,  the 
point  was  raised  by  us  that,  he  having  been  examined  fully  on 
the  one  side  and  the  other,  and  dismissed,  it  was  not  proper 
that  his  testimony  should  be  reopened,  to  admit  41  ew  mat- 
ter, and  the  committee  so  ruled.  That  is  my  recollection. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  That  is  correct. 

Mr.  RICE.  I  suppose  any  testimony  that  has  a  bearing 
upon  this  question,  without  regard  to  the  Sutro  tunnel  or 
to  the  men  owning  the  mines,  or  anything  bearing  upon 
the  interests  of  the  Government  in  this  country,  would  be 
perfectly  relevant  and  very  important  to  obtain  in  this  ex- 
amination. 


606 

Examination  resumed. 

Q.  I  wanted  to  ask  you,  Professor  Raymond,  whether 
you  do  not  consider  that  they  look  upon  tunnels  as  of  very 
high  importance,  and  if  we  find  they  have  constructed 'a 
tunnel  14  miles  in  length,  which  is  hut  300  feet  helow  the 
tunnel  which  had  been  previously  constructed  to  the  same 
mines — : — 

The  WITNESS.  "What  is  jrour  question  ? 

Q.  The  question  is,  "  Whether  they  do  not  look  upon  the 
construction  of  tunnels  as  of  the  very  highest  importance?" 

A.  I  know  they  look  upon  tunnels  as  of  very  high  im- 
portance. It  does  not  need  any  argument  to  prove  that. 
I  know  it. 

Q.  Is  not  this  a  striking  fact,  that  in  mining  districts, 
300  feet  is  considered  sufficient  to  authorize  the  construc- 
tion of  a  new  tunnel  ? 

A.  It  is  a  very  common  fact  that  300  feet  are  sufficient, 
•  in  the  old  mining  districts  of  productive  mines,  in  that 
country,  in  their  opinion  to  justify  the  construction  of  a 
new  tunnel. 

Q.  A  tunnel  14  miles  in  length? 

A.  Yes,  sir,  that  is  the  longest  tunnel. 

Q.  They  look  upon  tunnels  then  as  auxiliaries  to  mining, 
and  of  absolute  necessity  ? 

A.  I  do  not  like  the  term  "  absolute  necessity."  They 
look  upon  them  as  of  the  highest  importance,  and  an  econ- 
omical necessity. 

Q.  Do  they  carry  on  mining  in  those  countries  with 
intelligence  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Do  they  apply  all  the  sciences  and  all  the  experiences 
that  have  been  made  for  'centuries,  and  use  them  in  further- 
ing the  mining  interest? 

A.  They  do.    * 

Q.  They  never  take  any  decisive  steps  in  mining  there 
without  careful  scientific  consideration,  in  view  of  all  the 
circumstances  ? 


GOT 

The  "WITNESS.  I  did  not  understand  Mr.  Sutro's  question 
perfectly.  I  supposed  he  was  asking  whether  they  brought 
to  bear  science  in  the  operation  of  these  works. 

Q.  Do  they  not  have  the  most  experienced  engineers 
and  Government  officials,  who  take  into  consideration  these 
measures? 

A.  That  is  a  part  of  their  mining  system. 

Q.  And  that  they  arrive  at  the  conclusion  that  these 
tunnels  contribute  very  much  to  the  development  of  their 
mines  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir.  Wherever  tunnels  are  feasible,  I  think 
they  run  them,  in  connection  with  the  development  of  the 
mines. 

Q.  Would  you  consider  that  the  tunnel  to  the  Comstock 
lode,  which  in  a  distance  of  4  miles,  cuts  the  mines  to  the 
depth  of  2,000  feet,  would  be  a  desirable  point  to  be  at- 
tained ? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  I  have  always  thought  so. 

Q.  Do  you  think  that  such  a  tunnel,  as  a  general  mining 
proposition,  would  contribute  largely  to  the  profitable  work- 
ing of  those  mines  ? 

A.  Why,  yes,  I  think  that  such  a  tunnel  would  be  a  very 
important  assistance  in  the  proper  working  of  the  Com- 
stock lode. 

Q.  Does  not  a  tunnel  of  that  kind,  embracing  a  whole 
series  of  mines,  or  a  mining  district,  open  up  a  new  basis 
of  operations  at  a  depth  of  2,000  feet? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Are  you  personally  acquainted  with  Baron  Von  Beust, 
who  was  in  charge  of  the  mining  departments  of  Saxony? 

A.  Well,  yes,  as  much  as  students  are  likely  to  be  per- 
sonally acquainted  with  the  president  of  a  college.  He 
was  the  head  of  the  Freiberg  school  at  the  time  of  my 
studying  there.  I  cannot  say  that  I  was  personally  ac- 
quainted with  him. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  suppose  the  character  and  reputation 
of  that  gentleman  is  sufficiently  established  without  prov- 
ing it  by  witnesses. 


608 

The  WITNESS.  I  should  hardly  think  my  testimony  was 
necessary  on  that  point. 

Q.  In  a  letter  addressed  to  me  by  Baron  Von  Beust,  in 
October,  1867,  he  states: 

"A  deep  adit  of  the  proportions  of  the  Sutro  tunnel,  having  a  length  of 
6,000  metres,  together  with  four  shafts  of  a  probable  entire  depth  of  1,200 
metres,  which  have  to  bo  provided  with  steam-engines,  could  not  in  very 
favorable  rock  formations,  as  they  are  said  to  exist  in  the  Comstock  range, 
be  constructed  in  Germany  for  less  than  ona  to  one  and  a  quarter  millions  of 
thalers.  With  the  price  of  American  labor  and  fuel,  as  they  exist  in  that 
neighborhood,  three  millions  of  dollars  may  therefore  be  considered  as  a  fair 
estimate. 

"  In  regard  to  the  time  required,  I  should  not  like  to  estimate  it  at  less 
than  eight  years,  at  the  same  time  basing  my  calculations  upon  very  favor- 
able rock  formations,  great  energy  in  execution,  and  the  non-occurrence  of 
special  casualties,  which  may  occur  in  such  operations  notwithstanding  all 
precautionary  measures. 

"  But  this  expenditure  of  three  millions  of  dollars  and  eight  years  of  time, 
which,  as  already  stated,  I  simply  put  down  as  the  probable  result  from  very 
general  experiences,  would,  according  to  my  views,  be  insignificantly  small, 
compared  with'  the  results  which  would  be  achieved  thereby,  particularly  if 
not  only  the  direct  financial  advantages  are  taken  into  consideration,  but 
also  those  of  a  politico-economical  nature,  which  would  consist  in  having 
placed  for  all  times  on  a  solid  foundation,  the  most  extensive  gold  and  silver 
mines  which  are  known  to  modern  times." 

Q.  You  indorse  what  Mr.  Von  Beust  states  here? 

A.  As  a  general  proposition,  yes,  sir. 

Q.  Are  you  acquainted  with  Mr.  Bernhard  Von  Gotta, 
the  professor  of  geology  at  the  Mining  Academy  of  Frei- 
berg ? 

A.  I  am. 

Q.  Do  you  know  him  personally? 

A.  I  do. 

Q.  What  deputation  does  Mr.  Von  Cotta  enjoy  as  an 
authority  upon  mineral  lodes  and  mining? 

A.  He  is  the  author  of  the  best  works  on  mineral  lodes, 
I  suppose,  that  have  been  written. 

Q.  Is  he  not  looked  upon  as  the  highest  authority  that 
we  have  anywhere? 

A.  He  is  very  high  authority  indeed. 

Q.  Mr.  Von  Gotta,  in  a  letter  written  October  31,  1867, 
addressed  to  me,  states  as  follows:- 

"After  having  read  Von  Richtofen's  superb  treatise  on  theOomstock  lode, 
which,  as  far  as  the  establishment  of  facts  is  concerned,  thoroughly  bears  tho 


,  from  a  full 


G09 

SM!  of  truth,.  Tr  feel  justified  in  answering  your  four  questions 
c§hviction,  ns  follows:  1 

"1st.  It  is  beyond  doubt  that  the  ComstoSk  lode,  as  a  genuine  fissure 
vejn,  will  continue  downwards  in  greater  depth  than  it  will  ever  be  possible 
to  reach  by  mining,  and  that  this  mighty  deposit  within  any  depth  which 
can  be  attained,  will  be  ore-bearing  in  the  manner  Von  Richtofen  supposes. 

"2d.  Accordingly  there  can  be  no  question  about  it,  that  the  opening  wp 
of  the  lode  by  a  deep  tunnel  will  facilitate,  to  quite  an  extraordinary  de- 
gree, mining  upon  the  same,  and  in  every  other  regard  make  it  more  prof- 
itable. 

"  3d.  The  advantages  in  working  the  mines  upon  the  Comstock  lode  by 
means  of  the  'tunnel  proposed  by  you  (tho  Sutro  tunnel)  will,  as  concerns  the 
main  lode,  principally  consist  of: 

"a.  In  facilitating  drainage  and  ventilation. 

"After  all  the  mines  are  connected  with  the  tunnel,  no  engines  will  any 
longer  be  required  for  this  purpose,  and  even  before  such  connections  are 
established,  the  completion  of  the  tunnel  would  likely  drain  off  considerable 
water  through  the  fissures  of  the  lode. 

"  b.  In  facilitating  transportation,  not  only  of  the  ore  from  the  mines,  since 
reduction  works  may  be  established  near  its  mouth,  but  also  of  the  materials 
and  timbers  required  in  a  portion  of  the  mines. 

"c.  In  facilitating  the  enCry  and  exit  for  a  portion  of  the  mines. 

"d.  In  any  case  the  possibility  will  be  acquired,  by  means  thereof,  to  work 
the  lode  to  a  much  greater  depth  than  without  the  tunnel. 

"N.  B.  The  concentration  of  ores  in  the  neighborhood  of  a  river  can  in  all 
probability  also  be  attained  better  and  more  advantageously  than  on  the 
side  of  the  mountain. 

"It  is  probable  in  the  highest  degree,  that  the  tunnel  will  open  up  new 
and  similar  lodes,  which  in  this  neighborhood  seem  to  run  mainly  from  north 
to  south,  and  which  will  be  found  particularly  in  the  rocks  which  form  the 
hanging  wall  eastward!}7'  from  the  main  lode." 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  object  to  lumbering  up  the  record 
here  in  this  way.  This  is  a  book  that  can  be  used  before 
the  general  committee  on  argument;  and  therefore  it  seems 
to  me  unnecessary  to  lumber  up  the  record  with  these  ex- 
tracts of  letters.  They  are  accessible  to  anybody  who  wants 
to  read  them  in  this  book.  It  is  simply  an  unnecessary 
consumption  of  time.  / 

The  CHAIRMAN.  If  Mr.  Sutro  desires  to  put  them  in  as 
evidence,  of  course  he  can  do  so,  by  making  reference  to 
them,  or  by  reading  from  them.  In  either  case  they  would 
become  part  of  the  record.  I  do  not  see  how  we  could 
exclude  them.  He  desires  to  put  them  in  evidence,  and 
they  are  relevant  matter.  The  object  Mr.  Sutro  has  in 
referring  to  them  would  seem  to  be,  to  obtain  the  opinion 
39 


610 

of  m  the  witnd&£,vWo<)i  is  personally  acquainted  with 
gentlemen.  ^ 

Mr.  SUTRO.  He  knows  their  reputation  fully. 

The  WITNESS.  Allow  me  to  say,  it  puts  me  in  a  difficult 
position,  because  to  ask  my  indorsement  of  a  whole  letter 
is  a  very  different  thing  from  asking  my  opinion  of  the 
inference  of  the  writer.  I  have  just  stated,  for  instance, 
that  I  indorse  Professor  Von  Cotta  as  one  of  the  highest 
living  authorities  on  the  subject.  Now,  the  question  is 
whether  I  indorse  all  that  letter  opens  up — every  point  in 
.the  letter.  It  therefore  becomes  not  a  question  of  Profes- 
sor Van  Cotta's  reputation,  but  of  my  individual  opinion. 

Q.  I  desire  to  remark,  that  I  do  not  wish  you  to  go  into 
the  details  of  that  letter ;  but,  as  a  general  proposition,  I 
ask  you  whether  you  indorse  what  Mr.  Von  Cotta  states 
there  as  a  general  proposition,  without  going  into  the  de- 
tails of  each  statement  he  makes. 

The  WITN-ESS.  As  a  general  proposition,  I  would  agree 
with  it.  There  are  some  things  in  the  letter  that  I  do  not 
agree  with,  and  it  is  perfectly  consistent  with  my  highest 
opinion  of  Professor  Von  Cotta;  because  he  would  not 
himself  say  some  things  there  on  the  information  that  he 
could  get  now:  as,  for  instance,  that  the  tunnel  itself,  before 
being  connected  with  any  of  the  mines,  would  drain  the 
fissures  in  the  lode,  because  it  is  evident  from  experi- 
ence that  the  majority  of  the  water  in  the  lode  is  shut  up 
in  such  a  way  that  no  single  tunnel  would  drain  it  without 
connections. 

Q.  Will  you  please  allow  me  to  again  read  what  he  says 
in  regard  to  that  ? 

"  After  all  the  mines  are  connected  with  the  tunnel,  no  engines  will  any 
longer  be  required  for  this  purpose,  and  even  before  such  connections  are  es- 
tablished, the  completion  of  the  tunnel  would  likely  drain  off  considerable 
water  from  the  fissures  of  the  lode.'' 

He  does  not  state  it  would  drain  off  all  the  water,  but  he 
states  it  would  likely  drain  off  considerable  water.  Would 
you  not  indorse  that  statement  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  it  is  probably  true  that  the  tunnel  would 
drain  some  of  the  water. 


611    , 

Q.  Then  you  do  not  find  any  objection 

A.  I  did  not  take  any  serious  objection  to  the  letter,  but 
I  wanted  to  understand  whether  I  was  committing  myself 
to  every  detailed  proposition. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  do  not  understand  it  that  way. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  submit,  Mr.  Chairman,  it  is  not  very 
fair  to  the  witness  nor  to  anybody  to  read  a  long  letter 
upon  a  great  many  points,  and  then  to  ask  the  witness  if 
he  indorses  the  whole  letter,  without  calling  his  attention 
to  the  points  made  in  the  letter. 

The  CHAIRMAN,  (Mr.  NEGLEY.)  The  objection  will  be 
sustained.  Mr.  -Sutro  hereafter,  in  referring  to  these  letters, 
will  state  what  points  he  wishes  the  witness  to  speak  about. 

Q.  Do  you  know  Professor  Weissbach,  professor  of  me- 
chanics, civil  engineering,  and  surveying? 

A.  I  did  know  him — he  is  dead. 

Q.  Was  he  one  of  your  professors  at  the  time  you  were 
there  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  What  reputation  does  Mr.  Weissbach  enjoy  as  a  man 
of  science — as  a  mechanical  engineer? 

A.  The  very  best  in  the  world. 

Q.  Are  not  Ms  books  used  in  every  school,  in  every 
university,  you  may  say,  in  the  world? 

A.  I  do  not  know  how  that  is,  but  they  are  used  in  every 
country  where  there  are  schools  and  universities. 

Q.  Would  you  consider  his  opinion  upon  the  value  of 
the  tunnel,  or  upon  the  practical  mining  operations,  worthy 
of  the  highest  consideration? 

A.  Very  high  indeed,  and  especially  upon  any  matters 
connected  with  mechanics  and  application  of  power,  in  his 
special  department.  Professor  Weissbach  was  professor  of 
mechanics  and  the  use  of  power  and  machinery  in  mines 
and  of  mine-surveying. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  ask  you  these  questions,  since  I  find  a  letter 
here  addressed  to  me  about  the  same  time  these  other 
letters  were  written  in  regard  to  this  tunnel,  in  which  he 
highly  indorses  it. 


612 
* 

Q.  Have  you  ever  heard  of  Dr.  H.  Von  Dechen,  actual 
privy  councillor  of  the  King  of  Prussia,  and  late  chief  of 
the  mining  department  ? 

A.  I  have  heard  of  him.  I  do  not  know  him.  I  do  not 
know  anything  further  about  him. 

Q.  Do  you  know  his  standing  as  a  mining  engineer,  or 
as  authority  in  mining  matters  ? 

A.  I  merely  infer  from  his  office  what  it  is. 

Q.  Could  a  man  hold  that  position  under  the  Xing  of 
Prussia,  unless  he  was  a  man  of r  the  highest  scientific  at- ' 
tainments  ? 

A.  I  do  not  think  he  could. 

•  -  •  '  • 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  do  not  call  in  question  the  reputa- 
tion of  any  of  these  gentlemen. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  want  to  introduce  this  evidence  as  an  off- 
set to  the  statements  of  those  superintendents,  who  have 
admitted  that  they  never  have  been  in  any  mining  district, 
or  ever  have  seen  any  mine  but  the  Com'stock  lode;  and 
who  do  not  profess  to  know  anything  about  mining,  ex- 
cept what  they  have  learned  there. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  They  may  know  a  great  deal  more 
about  the  Comstock  than  these  men  who  have  never  had 
any  practical  experience. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  !N"o  doubt  they  know  more  about  stock-job- 
bing. 

Q.  Here  is  a  letter  from  Mr.  H.  Koch,  royal  Prussian 
chief  mining  councillor,  dated  at  Clausthal,  ISTovember  1, 
1867.  Are  you  acquainted  with  Mr.  Koch  ? 

A.  ISTo,  sir. 

Q.  Here  is  a  letter  from  Mr.  Bruno  Kerl,  professor  at 
the  Royal  Mining  School  at  Berlin,  dated  November  11, 
1867,  in  which  he  highly  indorses  the  tunnel.  I  will  read 
just  one  little  sentence  from  that  letter: 

"  Only  by  means  of  such  a  tunnel — as  one  has,  for  instance,  been  constructed 
in  the  Harz,  under  the  name  of  Ernst-August  tunnel,  but  under  circum- 
stances by  far  more  unfavorable  than  yours,  can  a  metalliferous  mountain 
range  be  opened  properly — according  to  the  principles  of  mining  engineering ; 
a  well  regulated  extraction  can  take  place  with  such  a  tunpel,  and  poor  ores 
may  be  taken  out  to  advantage  along  with  the  rich  ores,  on  account  of  cheap 
transportation. 


613 

"This  is  absolutely  necessary,  if  the  durability  of  a  mine  is  to  be  secured, 
while  piratical  mining — the  extraction  of  the  best  ores — alone  will  always 
ruin  any  mine." 

Q.  I  have  not  had  an  answer  to  my  question  whether 
you  know  Mr.  Bruno  Kerl  ? 

A.  You  have  not  asked  it. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Well,  I  will  ask  it  now. 

Q.  What  standing  does  Mr.  Kerl  occupy  as  a  scientific 
man  in  Europe? 

A.  Professor  Kerl  was  formerly  Professor  at  the  School  of 
Clausthal,  and  was  called  from  there  to  Berlin,  which  was 
a  very  high  compliment  to  him.  We  regard  him  as  one 
of  the  foremost  men  in  the  mining  science  in  Germany. 
He  is  especially  distinguished  as  the  author  of  the  best 
books  on  assaying  and  reduction  of  ores.  That  book  has 
been  translated  into  English,  and  is  used  in  England  and 
in  this  country. 

Q.  Do  you  agree  with  Mr.  Kerl  when  he  says  that  it 
is  absolutely  necessary  to  extract  poor  ores  together  with 
the  rich  ores,  in  order  to  secure  the  durability  of  a  mine, 
while  piratical  mining,  or  the  extraction  of  the  best  and 
leaving  the  poor  ores  will  ruin  any  mine  ? 

A.  That  is  true  enough. 

Q.  Is  not  that  your  own  experience  in  this  country? 

A.  That  is  my  observation. 

Q.  Do  you  entirely  agree  with  him  on  that  point? 

A.  I  do. 

Q.  Were  you  acquainted  with  Mr.  A.  Daubree,  Inspector 
General  of  the  Mines  of  France  ? 

A.  ISTot  at  all. 

Q.  Do  you  know  him  by  reputation? 

A.  I  know  him  by  his  writings  and  his  reputation. 

Q.  Were  you  acquainted  with  Rivot,  professor  at  the 
Mining  School  of  Paris? 

A.  I  knew  him  as  the  author  of  Rivot's  Metallurgy,  and 
a  very  distinguished  man  he  was. 

Q.  Was  he  not  considered  one  of  the  first  scientific  men 
in  France,  in  that  branch? 


614 

A.  I  believe  so. 

Q.  Would  you  consider  his  opinion  in  regard  to  the 
value  of  the  construction  of  a  tunnel  in  a  mine  worthy  of 
high  consideration? 

A.  I  suppose  from  his  general  standing  it  would  be.  I 
do  not  know  anything  about  him  personally. 

Q.  Do  you  know  Sir  Roderick  Murchison,  "Warington 
"W".  S  my  the,  and  Ramsey. 

A.  I  know  of  the  two  former. 

Q.  What  standing  did  they  occupy  as  scientific  men? 

A.  Sir  Roderick  Murchison  was  a  leading  geologist  of 
England.  I  am  not  aware  that  he  had  any  experience  as 
a  mining  engineer.  Mr.  Smythe  is  one  of  the  best  mining 
engineers  of  England.  He  is  professor  of  the  mining  and 
engineering  department  of  the  London  School  of  Mines.  - 

Q.  Would  their  opinion  in  regard  to  a  mining  ques- 
tion be  very  valuable  ? 

A.  I  should  think  Mr.  Smythe's  would  be  very  valuable. 
I  do  not  know  anything  about  Sir  Roderick  Murchison's, 
although  he  is  a  very  eminent  man. 

Q.  Would  you  consider  Mr.  Smythe's  opinion  as  valuable 
as  that  of  a  superintendent  of  a  Comstock  mine,  who  had 
never  studied  mining? 

A.  I  prefer  not  to  answer  that  question. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  hear  of  Mr.  Rittinger,  councillor  of 
the  mining  department,  and  a  member  of  the  Imperial  So- 
ciety of  Vienna? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Have  you  seen  his  work? 

A.  I  am  familiar  with  his  book. 

Q.  Is  not  his  work  on  concentration  of  ores  looked  upon 
as  one  of  the  most  valuable  works  we  have  in  mining? 

A.  It  is. 

Q.  Is  it  not  a  work  that  is  used  in  all  the  mining 
schools? 

A.  It  is  considered  as  the  best  authority,  I  believe,  or 
one  of  the  best. 


615 

Q.  Would  you  not  consider  his  opinion  in  regard  to 
mining  questions  of  the  highest  value? 

A.  I  should  think  so,  especially  if  it  referred  to  con- 
centration. 

Q.  Are  you  acquainted  with  .Baron  Otto  You  Hingenau, 
doctor  of  law,  councillor  and  member  of  the  Imperial 
Austrian  Ministry  of  Finance  ? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  will  not  take  up  your  time  any  longer  with 
these  letters.  I  thought  I  would  refer  to  the  authors,  since 
you  have  studied  under  many  of  them,  and  they  being  the 
great  authorities  of  Europe  in  regard  to  mining  questions. 
I  now  want  to  ask  you  what  influence  the  introduction  of 
a  rational  system  of  mining,  in  the  most  important  mines 
we  have  in  this  country,  would  have  upon  all  the  other 
mining  districts  of  the  United  States. 

A-  Well,  the  successful  introduction  of  a  more  economi- 
cal system  of  mining  at  any  important  mines,  would  have, 
in  the  first  place,  the  influence  of  a  good  example  on  all 
the  others,  and  be  a  great  encouragement,  I  suppose,  in  other 
districts  suffering  from  the  same  difficulties  overcome  by 
that  reform. 

Q.  Would  it  not  serve  as  a  pattern?  If  successful,  would 
it  not  induce  capital  to  flow  in  that  direction  ? 

A.  Experience  in  other  countries  is,  that  the  introduction 
of  any  such  new  system  serves  very  decidedly  as  a  pattern, 
and  leads  to  wide  imitation.  The  way  in  which  it  might 
induce  capital  to  come  in  would  not  be  from  its  being  a 
pattern  principally,  but  from  the  encouragement  it  might 
give  in  the- way  of  permanence  of  investment. 

Q.  I  mean  to  say,  if  this  should  be  a  great  financial 
success,  would  it  not  have  a  tendency  to  make  capital 
flow  into  the  mining  districts,  and  induce  capital  to  enter 
into  similar  enterprises  throughout  the  mining  regions, 
where  the  conditions  admit  of  tunnels  ? 

A.  I  think  that  is  a  self-evident  proposition. 

Q.  Do  you  recollect  the  difficulties  that  were  encoun- 
tered in  the  construction  of  the  first  railroad  ? 


616 

A.  Ko,  sir. 

Q.  Have  you  read  about  them? 

A.  I  have,  sir. 

Q.  Have  you  read  about  the  immense  impetus  that  was 
given  to  railroad  building  as  soon  as  it  was  ascertained 
that  it  was  a  success  ? 

A.  I  know  that  it  is  the  case  from  history. 

Q.  Would  not  the  successful  investment  of  three  or 
four  or  five  millions  of  dollars  in  a  single  mining  work 
encourage  capitalists  to  enter  into  similar  undertakings, 
provided  that  enterprise  should  prove  a  great  success  ? 

A.  I  think  it  would,  as  I  said  before. 

Q.  What  do  you  think  of  the  importance  of  producing 
and  increasing  the  production  of  the  precious  metals  in 
the  politico-economical  sense. 

A.  I  think  I  had  better  be  excused  from  going  into 
political  economy.  I  am  not  an  expert  in  political  economy. 
Any  gentleman  of  the  committee  is  better  able  to  decide 
about  that  point  than  I  am. 

Q.  This  is  a  general  inquiry  with  regard  to  the  mining 
interests  and  the  development  of  our  mines;  and  I  will 
confine  my  question  to  a  single  one.  I  simply  want  to 
ask  you  whether  the  increase  of  the  quantity  of  the  pre- 
cious metals,  as  a  general  proposition,  has  not  a  tendency 
to  depreciate  the  value  of  those  metals,  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  appreciates  the  value  of  all  commodities  ? 

A.  Well,  as  I  say,  that  leads  me  into  political  economy, 
and  my  views  may  not  be  particularly  sound.  I  do  not  pro- 
fess to  be  an  expert  in  regard  to  that.  If  it  depreciates  the 
value  of  the  precious  metals,  and  appreciates  the  value  of 
other  products,  in  that  depreciated  standard,  then  I  do  not 
know  that  it  necessarily  changes  the  real  value  of  the  other 
products. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  It  will  change  the  nominal  value  ? 

A.  It  would  have  this  effect.  It  would  undoubtedly  ben- 
efit all  debtor  classes,  because  it  would  decrease  the  value 
of  debts;  because  people  who  had  contracted  to  pay  money 


617 

would  find  it  easier  to  pay,  if  other  things  had  gone  up 
and  money  had  gone  down  in  the  mean  time. 

Q.  Then,  taking  into  consideration  that  statement  you 
have  just  made,  would  it  not  be  of  great  value,  great  im- 
portance to  the  United  States,  having  an  immense  national 
debt  to  encourage  and  develop  the  mineral  resources  of  the 
country? 

-  Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  object  to  the  question.  It  is  one  that 
any  of  us  can  answer. 

Mr.  KENDALL.  This  is  a  question  any  member  of  the 
committee  can  answer  just  as  well  as  the  witness,  and  an- 
swer it  to  satisfy  himself.  I  suppose  we  all  know  what 
effect  the  increase  of  the  precious  metals  would  have,  and 
I  see  no  use  in  cumbering  up  the  record  with  things  that 
are  self-evident. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Mr.  Chairman,  we  have  a  gentleman  here  to- 
night before  the  committee  who  has  been  engaged  in  gather- 
ing all  the  information  possible  as  to  our  mineral  resources. 
In  connection  with  the  development  of  our  mineral  resources, 
it  is,  I  think,  very  necessary  to  find  out  what  influence 
that  will  have  upon  the  payment  of  the  national  debt.  I 
do  not  see  why  any  gentleman  should  object  to  a  question 
of  that  kind. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  That  is  a  deduction.  It  does  not  follow 
that  the  line  of  investigation  leads  us  into  questions  of 
political  economy. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  We  draw  our  own  deductions,  you 
know.  As  I  understand,  the  committee  want  facts. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  will  drop  that  question.  1  did  not  want 
to  waste  your  time  by  going  into  long  dissertations  on  poli- 
tical economy.  I  want  to  recur  again  to  the  question  of 
tunneling — to  come  back  to  the  main  subject,  and  to  ask 
you  whether  there  are  not  greater  advantages  created  by 
having  a  deep  tunnel  in  mines,  in  enabling  the  water  which 
may  be  collected  in  mines  to  be  used  as  a  water  power? 

A.  Undoubtedly. 

Q.  Does  not  this  tunnel  level,  which  ija  this  instance 


618 

enters  at  a  depth  of  2,000  feet,  open  up  an  entirely  new 
basis  of  operations  from  that  point  down? 

The  WITNESS.  By  virtue  of  the  power? 

Mr.  Sumo.  By  virtue  of  the  power;  by  virtue  of  the 
ventilation;  by  virtue  of  creating,  in  tact,  a  new  place  to 
begin  with? 

A.  I  have  answered  that  already,  that  it  does. 

Q.  And  now,  in  regard  to  the  water  power  that  .may 
may  be  obtained  from  the  water  contained  in  the  mines, 
and  also  from  water  collected  on  the  surface  and  carried 
down  the  shafts,  -do  you  know  of  any  place  where  that 
water  is  economized  and  employed  for  generating  power? 

A.  I  regret  to  say  that,  in  this  country,  so  far  as  my 
observation  has  gone,  I  can  recollect  of  no  instance  in 
which  our  miners  have  used  such  a  power,  although  there 
are  a  great  many  places  in  mining  districts  where  it 
could  be  and  ought  to  be  used.  The  use  of  underground 
water  powers,  both  water  wheels  and  hydraulic  engines, 
in  foreign  mines,  is  very  common  and  sometimes  very  ex- 
tensive. I  know  of  one  system  of  mines  in  the  Austrian 
Duchy  of  Salzburg,  where  nine  such  engines  are  at  work 
in  raising  brine  and  transporting  it  from  one  village,  where 
it  is  mined,  to  another,  where  it  is  boiled  down;  they  are 
also  used  at  Freiberg,  and  several  of  them  are  used  at 
Mansfield  and  in  Hungary. 

Q.  What  sort  of  machinery  have  they  for  using  this 
water  power  ? 

A.  It  is  a  regular  hydraulic  engine,  such  as  you  will  find 
in  a  great  many  of  our  manufactories,  in  the  Bessemer 
Steel  Works,  and  in  various  manufactories  where  very  high 
pressures  are  required  ft>  be  produced.  But  in  such  cases 
the  pressure  is  artificially  gotten  up  first  by  a  force  pump, 
and  then  conducted  into  hydraulic  engines;  whereas  in 
mines,  the  pressure  is  obtained  by  the  height  of  the  shaft 
from  the  reservoir  down  to  the  place  where  the  hydraulic 
machine  is  located. 

Q.  Does  not  a  small  quantity  of  water  with  a  great  fall 
create  an  immense  power  ? 


619 

A.  Any  quantity  of  water  with  atiy  fall  creates  a  power 
equal  to  the  water  multiplied  into  the  fall. 

Q.  Suppose  you  had  50  gallons  per  second  in  a  fall  of 
2,000  feet. 

A.  50  gallons  a  second  is  about  500  pounds;  multiplied 
by  2,000  feet=equal  1,000,000  foot-pounds. 

Q.  Please  state  how  much  that  would  be,  divided  by 
33,000  pounds  ? 

A.  Eighteen  hundred  and  fifteen  horse-power. 

Q.  That  would  take  the  place  of  a  good  many  steam  en- 
gines, would  it  not  ? 

The  WITNESS.  You  could  not  obtain  1,815  horse-power 
net,  but  you  get  a  very  large  per  centage  of  it,  I  think  75 
per  cent. 

Q.  That  would  give  us  how  much  ? 

A.  Some  where  about  1,300  or  1,400  horse-power. 

Q.  That  water  power  could  then  be  employed  in  pump- 
ing the  water  from  below  the  tunnel  level,  for  the  purpose 
of  hoisting  rock,  and  taking  men  in  and  out? 

A.  It  is  a  very  excellent  power  for  pumping  water  from 
below  the  tunnel  level,  but  for  the  purpose  of  hoisting 
rock  and  men,  I  think  a  simpler  use  could  be  made  of  the 
same  head  of  water. 

Q.  In  the  particular  use  you  would  employ  it,  would  it 
be  for  pumping  water  ? 

A.  I  think  so. 

Q.  Why  would  it  be  particularly^  desirable  to  use  this 
power  for  pumping? 

A.  Because  the  motion  of  a  hydraulic  engine  is  almost 
exactly  the  motion  that  is  required  for  a  pump-rod,  and 
without  any  extension  or  troublesome  gearing,  we  can  link 
a  pump-rod  to  the  hydraulic  engine  and  produce  directly 
the  pumping  motion.  For  lowering  or  hoisting  men  or 
ore  in  some  cases,  when  the  distance  is  not  great,  the  best 
use  to  be  made,  in  my  opinion,  of  the  head  of  water,  is  what 
is  called  the  water-hoist,  which  you  will  find  in  use  at  our 
principal  iron  furnaces,  where  you  have  to  hoist  coal  and 
ore  to  the  top  of  a  furnace  50  or  60  feet  high.  In  that 


620 

case  you  fill  a  tank  with  water  at  the  top,  and  that  bal- 
ances the  platform  on  which  they  run  the  coal  or  ore;  and 
as  the  tank  goes  down,  the  platform  goes  up.  When  the 
ore  or  coal  reaches  the  top  of  the  furnace,  they  roll  off  the 
load  there  and  discharge  it  into  the  furnace.  The  platform 
is  then  empty,  and  the  tank  full  of  water  is  at  the  bottom. 
They  open  a  valve  in  the  bottom  of  that  tank  and  let  the 
water  out,  and  the  tank  becomes  empty,  and  the  platform 
is  heavy  enough  to  pull  it  up :  so  that,  by  letting  down  a 
cargo  of  water  on  the  one  side,  }^ou  are  able  to  pull  up  a 
cargo  of  ore  or  men  on  the  other  side.  That  is  a  very 
simple ,way  of  applying  the  power. 

Q.  Why  could  not  that  simple  way  be  employed  in  the 
mines,  providing  this  tunnel  was  connected  with  shafts, 
and  you  have  a  double  shaft  with  a  rope  going  over  a  pul- 
ley, having  a  water-tank  on  the  one  side  and  a  cargo  on  the 
other?  Why  not,  by  letting  down  the  water — filling  this 
tank  with  water,  and  lowering  it  down — why  could  you 
not  take  the  men  or  timber  up,  taking  in  a  supply  of  water 
at  the  top  of  the  shaft  sufficient  t^>  give  you  that  power? 

A.  That  is  a  very  good  way,  provided  the  length  of  rope, 
&c.,  is  not  too  great. 

Q.  We  have  one  mine  alone  where  they  have  been 
pumping  out  411  tons  of  water  every  day. 

A.  I  do  not  kno\v  anything  about  that* 

Q.  That  would  hoist  a  good  many  men. 

A.  I  simply  want  to  give  you  the  general  principle 
that,  if  at  the  top  of  the  shaft  you  have  weight  enough, 
with  water  to  let  it  down  that  way,  and  let  it  run  out  at 
the  bottom,  that  that  is  a  very  good  way  arranging  a 
simple,  cheap  water  power.  It  is  a  primitive  mode,  and 
not  very  rapid.  I  do  not  know  how  rapid  it  might  be 
made,  but,  in  practice,  for  instance,  where  }TOU  use  it  for 
small  hoisting,  of  course  the  difference  in  weight  between 
one  side  and  the  other  is  made  as^mall  as  possible,  so  as 
to  save  water,  and  the  natural  result  is  that  that  does  not 
produce  a  very  swift  motion.  It  may  be,  by  loading  the 
•  water-tank  more  heavily  it  could  be  made  swifter  also. 


621 

Q.  Suppose  you  put  two  tons  of  water  on  the  one  side, 
how  many  men  could  you  hoist  up  pretty  rapidly  ? 

A.  That  would  depend  a  great  deal  on  the  length  of  the 
rope  it  had  to  hoist. 

Q.  Supposing  a  rope  is  attached  to  the  bottom  of  the 
tank  and  to  the  bottom  of  the  other  car,  would  not  that 
balance  it? 

A.  That  balances. 

Q.  Suppose  the  apparatus  be  fixed  in  that  way,  how 
much  would  it  hoist? 

A.  That  balances,  but  the  length  of  rope  is  still  an  item 
to  be  considered,  because  it  makes  so  much  weight  to  be 
moved,  although  it  balances. 

Q.  Since  we  are  on  the  subject  of  hoisting  ore,  I  want 
to  ask  you  whether,  by  having  this  same  apparatus,  with  a 
car  on  each  side,  connected  with  a  rope  going  over  a  pul- 
ley, if  we  had  ore  at  the  top — whether,  by  putting  ore  on 
the  one  side,  tha.t  would  not  hoist  up  the  men? 

A.  I  have  seen  that  done  frequently. 

Q.  That  is  a  very  simple  operation,  is  it  not? 

A.  Very. 

Q.  It  would  hoist  up  timbers  too;  would  it  not? 

A.  The  difficulty  in  the  operation  does  not  lie  in  any 
mechanical  laws,  but  in  a  systematic  arrangement. 

Q.  "Where  men  are  at  work,  mining  is  going  on,  is  it 
not?  The  men  are  not  in  there  doing  nothing,  are  they  ? 
and  consequently  where  they  are  mining,  they  must  take 
out  waste  rock,  or  they  must  take  out  ore — one  of  the  two  ? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  object  to  Mr.  Sutro 
arguing  the  question  with  the  witness.  'The  witness  is  to 
be  asked  questions. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  am  not  arguing  with  the  witness ;  I  asked 
the  witness  if  when  men  were  in  the  mine  they  were  not 
doing  something  there.  That  is  a  question.  It  is  no  argu- 
ment. 
'  Mr.  SUXDERLAXD.  I  made  my  objection  to  the  chairman. 

The  CHAIRMAN,  (Mr.  Negley.)  I  prefer  having  the  ques- 
tions put  direct,  as  nearly  as  possible. 


622 

Q.  I  want  to  ask  whether  men  are  not  supposed  to  work 
when  they  go  into  a  mine — laboring  men  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Then  I  want  to  ask  you  whether,  when  they  go  into 
a  mine,  they  do  not  take  out  waste  rock  or  ore? 

A.  Not  always. 

Q.  May  be  they  are  timbering? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Suppose  there  have  been  regular  mining  operations 
going  on,  and  you  take  out  the  waste  rock  or  ore.  I  do 
not  mean  to  say  during  any  particular  10  minutes  or  half 
hour,  but  during  the  working  hours  of  the  day,  are  they 
not  taking  out  eith'er  rock  or  ore? 

The  WITNESS.  I  am  only  trying  to  make  my  opinion 
clear.  The  trouble  is  not  to  arrange  to  hoist  men  by  let- 
ting down  the  ore,  for  that  is  perfectly  feasible.  The  diffi- 
culty is,  to  always  have  ore  when  the  men  are  coming  up. 

Q.  Do  you  see  any  practical  difficulty  in  having  car 
loads  of  ore  ready  always  when  you  are  going  to  hoist  the 
men? 

A.  I  think  it  could  be  arranged. 

Q.  Do  they  not  always  work  two  or  three  shifts  in  the 
mine,  and  when  one  shift  gets  ready  to  go  out  another 
goes  in  ? 
s  A.  Certainly. 

Q.  Can  there  be  any  difficulty,  then,  in  arranging  for 
the  lowering  of  this  ore  every  time  they  want  to  hoist 
these  men  ? 

A.  I  do  not  see  any  practical  difficulty.  There  is  the 
difficulty  of  inconvenience  in  arrangement.  It  is  not  an 
insuperable  difficulty.  It  is  perfectly  feasible  to  carry  out 
the  thing:  at  the  same  time  it  is  not  in  all  respects  as  con- 
venient as  it  is  to  have  an  independent  man-engine  taking 
the  men  up  and  down. 

Q.  You  remind  me  of  a  subject  that  I  want  to  ask  you 
a  question  about.  I  had  not  thought  of  it  before.  The 
subject  has  never  been  alluded  to  as  yet,  and  that  is  this 


623 

L 

subject  of  the  fahrkunst.    You  have  seen  those  in  opera- 
tion in  Europe? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Are  they  not  commonly  used  in  the  mines  there? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  and  we  have  them  in  this  country. 

Q.  Where? 

A.  In  the  deep  mines  of  Lake  Superior. 

Q.  Will  you  he  kind  enough  to  state  what  a  fahrkunst 
is? 

A.  A  fahrkunst  is  an  arrangement  for  taking  men  in 
and  out  of  a  mine  at  the  same  time,  in  either  direction.  It 
consists  of  two  parallel  timbers,  running  in  the  shaft,  or  on 
one  side  of  the  shaft;  and  if  the  shaft  is  inclined  at  all, 
then  these  timbers  run  near  the  foot  wall.  They  move 
regularly,  by  means  of  an  arrangement  of  bobs  at  the  top, 
which  gives  to  them  opposite  motions,  so  that  they  move  in 
parallel  lines  up  and  down,  but  in  opposite  directions,  ten 
feet  each  way  at  a  time.  At  every  ten  feet  apart  on  these 
two  timbers  are  steps  like  the  steps  of  a  carriage,  and  half 
way  between  these  steps  are  small  iron  handles,  arranged 
so  that  the  men  can  take  hold  of  them  with  two  hands. 
A  man  can  stand  on  one  of  these  steps,  and  find  five  feet 
above  that  step  an  iron  handle  for  his  hand.  Standing  up 
on  one  such  step,  and  holding  on  by  the  handle,  the  miner, 
when  this  beam  begins  to  move,  is  lifted  up,  say  ten  feet. 
At  the  same  time  the  opposite  beam  has  come  down  ten 
feet,  and  he  finds  at  the  end  of  this  stroke,  just  opposite 
to  him,  just  such  another  step,  and  he  steps  over  the  dis- 
tance of  a  few  inches  upon  it.  The  next  moment  that 
beam  goes  up,  and  the  one  he  is  then  on  goes  down,  and 
comes  opposite  another  step;  he  steps  over  again,  and  he 
is  again  lifted.  At  the  same  time,  if  he  should  miss  one 
stroke,  and  should  wait  until  the  beam  he  stood  on  went 
down  again,  and  then  stepped  across  on  the  other  beam, 
that  would  go  down,  and  carry  him  down  ;  so  that,  by  sim- 
ply stepping  at  the  right  moment,  a  miner  goes  up  'or 
down,  whichever  way  he  wants  to  go.  At  the  moment  of 
this  stepping  the  whole  machine  is  stationary,  so  that  he  does  f 


624 

not  step  upon  any  beam  while  it  is  in  motion.  The  beams 
are  running  clay  and  night,  without  regard  to  whether  any 
body  is  going  in  or  corning  out.  The  number  of  miners 
that  can  go  up  and  down  at  the  same  time  is  limited  only 
by  the  strength  of  the  machinery. 

Q.  Why  cannot  such  a  machine  be  constructed  to  be 
run  from  the  bottom,  and  let  these  men  go  up?  Do  you 
see  any  difficulty  about  that? 

A.  It  would  be  novel. 

Q.  Suppose  you  have  a  fahrkunst  extending  upward 
from  the  tunnel  level,  and  men  come  in  below  on  the  tun- 
nel level  and  go  up  to  wherever  they  want  to  work.  Can 
you  see  any  practical  difficulty  about  that  ? 

A.  The  fahrkunst  is  usually  operated  from  above.  It  is 
more  convenient  to  pull  a  weight  than  to  push  it  up.  I 
think  it  is  possible;  and  if  you  had  power  enough  below,  I 
think  it  would  be  worth  trying. 

Q.  Now  I  want  to  ask  you  some  few  questions  about 
ventilation.  Don't  you  think  that  a  deep  tunnel  connected 
with  shafts,  ventilates  a  mine,  or  assists  greatly  in  ventila- 
tion ? 

A.  Undoubtedly. 

Mr.  SUXDERLAND.  I  do  not  understand  the  answer  to  that 
question,  Professor  Raymond,  because  it  is  two  questions 
really. 

The  WITNESS.  Mr.  Sutro  asked  me  if  I  did  not  think  a 
deep  tunnel  would  thoroughly  ventilate  or  assist  in  the 
ventilation  of  a  mine.  I  said  undoubtedly.  I  cannot  say 
without  any  further  qualification  that  a  deep  tunnel  will 
thoroughly  ventilate  a  mine.  It  depends  upon  the  length. 
The  principle  upon  which  the  power  of  a  tunnel  for  ven- 
tilation can  be  ascertained  is  as  mathematical  as  anything 
else  in  engineering.  It  is  perfectly  easy  to  decide  which 
way  the  draught  will  be,  and  how  strong  it  will  be. 

Q.  Which  way  would  the  draught  go,  suppose  the  tem- 
perature at  the  bottom  of  the  shaft  is  100°  or  110°,  and  it 
is  say  65°  at  the  top  of  the  shaft  and  65°  at  the  mouth  of 
the  tunnel,  which  way  would  that  draught  go?  We  have 


G25 

heard  a  great  deal  about  it  before,  but  I  am  not  quite  clear 
upon  the  question  yet. 

A.  There  is  no  doubt  about  the  way  in  which  it  would 
go.  It  would  invariably  go  up  the  shaft. 

Q.  Would  not  the  hot  air  always  rise  in  the  shaft,  where 
the  temperature  at  the  bottom  of  the  shaft  is  much  greater 
than  it  is  at  the  top  of  the  shaft? 

A.  Allow  me  to  answer  that  very  briefly  in  my  own  way. 
I  can  show  you  the, whole  theory  of  the  matter  in  an  in- 
'stant.  The  air  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  is  under  the 
pressure  of  a  column  of  air  extending  up  to  the  top  of  the 
atmosphere,  wherever  that  is.  The  air  at  the  bottom  of  a 
shaft  at  the  other  end  of  the  same  tunnel  is  also  under  the 
pressure  of  a  column  of  air  which  extends  up  to  the  top  of 
the  atmosphere.  Now,  the  difference  in  weight  of  these 
two  columns  of  air  determines  the  way  the  draught  will 
move.  Outside  and  above  the  mouth  of  the  shaft,  and 
above  that  horizontal  level  in  the  atmosphere,  the  pressure 
is  the  same  for  both,  but  below  that  line  you  have  out- 
doors a  column  leading  down  to  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel, 
and  in -doors  or  underground  a  column  leading  down  to  the 
bottom  of  the  shaft.  If  that  is  lighter  than  the  other  (it  will 
be  lighter,  if  considerably  hotter,)  then  the  draught  will 
rise  in  the  shaft  with  a  power  and  speed  determined  by  the 
difference  in  weight,  with4  proper  deductions  for  drag  or 
friction  of  the  air.  In  most  mines,  not  exceeding  500  or 
600  feet  in  depth  in  temperate  climes,  the  tunnel  draught 
is  one  way  in  winter  and  another  way  in  summer,  because 
the  temperature  in  the  mine  is  at  one  time  in  the  year 
higher,  and  at  another  time  lower,  than  the  temperature 
out-doors.  It  is  the  temperature  of  the  whole  column,  in 
the  mine,  not  of  the  bottom  alone,  that  must  be  considered. 

Q.  Would  it  make  any  material  difference,  in  working 
the  mine,  which  way  the  draught  went,  up  or  down? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  it.  makes  a  difference.     It  is  a  great  deal 

better  not  to  have  the  draught  of  a  mine,  if  you  have  all  your 

arrangements  to  conduct  it  one  way,  so  as  to  bring  it  as 

pure  as  possible  to  the  parties  of  workmen — it  is  better  not 

40 


626 

to  have  it  reversed,  because  if  it  be  reversed  it  brings  it 
first  to  the  place  where  you  want  it  to  go  last.  If  you  have 
arranged  your  ventilation  wisely,  to  begin  with,  it  certainly 
cannot  be  the  same  thing  to  have  it  turned  end  for  end. 
With  a  mine  that  is  so  deep  as  to  give  a  difference  of  20° 
between  the  bottom  of  the  shaft  and  the  summer  atmos- 
phere, the  draught  will  always  be  one 'way.  With,  a  shaft 
2,000  feet  .there  never  would  be  any  such  thing,  in  my 
opinion,  as  a  draught  down  a  shaft,  and  out  of  a  tunnel. 

Q.  Has  not  a  thorough  ventilation  a  tendency  to  decrease 
the  temperature  ? 

A.  There  are  two  elements  in  the  temperature  inside  of 
the  mine.  One  is  the  temperature  of  the  rock;  the  other 
is  the  increase  of  temperature  produced  by  the  exhalations 
of  men  and  animals.  The  last  element  is  very  great  in 
any  actively  worked  mine,  and  that  is  the  one  most  imme- 
diately and  thoroughly  reduced  by  good  ventilation.  The 
element  of  the  temperature  of  the  rock  is  reduced  by  ven- 
tilation and  by  working  the  mine  to  an  important  degree, 
but  never  is  entirely  taken  away.  Mines,  however,  without 
ventilation  could  not  be  worked  nearly  as  deep  as  they  are 
worked  with  good  ventilation. 

Q.  Would  you  consider  that,  in  working  mines  to  a  very 
great  depth,  it  would  be  necessary  to  use  compressed  air? 

A.  Yes.  I  do  not  think  that* natural  ventilation  by  any 
draught,  produced  merely  by  a  difference  in  altitude  of 
openings,  would  suffice  for  very  great  depth  below  the 
openings. 

Q.  Does  it  not  take  a  great  deal  of  power  to  compress 
air  ?  Rather  is  there  not  a  great  deal  of  loss  of  power  in 
compressing  air  ? 

The  WITNESS.  You  mean  in  transmitting  compressed  air. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  No,  sir;  in  manufacturing  compressed  air? 

A.  The  loss  from  the  theoretical  power  is  very  large.  If 
you  use  so  many  foot-pounds  of  steam  power,  you  will  find 
you  do  not  get  anywhere  near  that  number  of  pounds  of 
compressed  air;  but  the  loss  in  transmitting  the  compressed 
air  is  not  large. 


G27 

Q.  Bo  yon  think  it  feasible  to  transmit  compressed  air 
four  or  five  miles  or  even  more? 

A.  Yes,  sir,  from  the  experiences  of  the  Hoosac  tun- 
nel and  the  Mont  Cenis,  I  should  say  thnt  without  any 
douht. 
•   Q.  Don't  you  consider  the  loss  very  trifling? 

A.  It  is  not  trifling,  mechanically  speaking,  but  practi- 
cally speaking  it  is  a  loss  that  \^o  can  stand  less  than  the 
loss  by  any  other  long  transmission  of  power. 

Q.  Considering  the  power  required  for  compressing  air, 
would  it  not  be  a  matter  of  high  importance  to  have  a 
cheap  power  to  compress  that  air? 

A.  Of  course. 

Q.  Such  as  could  be  obtained  at  the  mouth  of  a  tunnel 
by  water  power  ? 

A.  It  would  be  a  matter  of  importance  to  have  a  cheap 
power. 

Q.  Now,  to  come  back  to  the  reduction  of  the  tempera- 
ture, do  you  consider  that  men  can  do  much  more  work 
at  a  temperature  say  75°  than  they  could  at  105°? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  I  think  they  could. 

Q.  Does  it  not  become  a  very  important  item  in  mining 
economy  to  furnish  such  a  temperature  as  will  enable  the 
men  to  do  the  most  work  ? 

A.  Certainly. 

Q.  Would  not  the  capacity  of  miners,  at  a  temperature 
of  75°,  as  compared  with  105°,  be  very  much  increased  ? 

A.  I  think  very  much,  decidedly. 

Q.  How  much  ? 

A.  I  cannot  give  you  any  estimate. 

Q.  Increase  of  25  per  cent.  ? 

A.  I  could  not  say.  I  think  there  might  be  a  gain  of 
25  per  cent.,  if  you  combine  the  actual  increase  of  a  man's 
strength  and  power  to  work  with  the  increase  of  his  willing- 
ness to  work.  I  have  noticed  myself  that  sometimes 
miners  in  very  uncomfortable  mines  would  not  only,  per- 
haps, be  weaker  actually  for  work,  but  they  behaved 
weaker  than  they  were. 


.    628 

Q.  What  do  you  know  about  the  concentration  of  ores  ? 
Have  you  ever  visited  concentrating  works  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  What  is  the  first  requisite  in  concentrating  ores.  Is  it 
not  water? 

A.  There  are  methods  of  concentration  which  do  no1^ 
employ  any  water;  but  all  the  complete  concentration 
works  which  have  been  carried  on  successfully  on  a  large 
scale  have  required  water,  and  plenty  of  it. 

Q.  Is  there  a  large  space  required  for  the  purpose  of 
concentration? 

A.  Yes,  sir,  in  systematic  concentration. 

Q.  Suppose  you  had  to  concentrate  1,000  tons  a  day, 
would  there  not  be  required  an  immense  space  of  ground? 

A.  You  would  require  a  great  deal  of  ground. 

Q.  And  it  would  require  considerable  water? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Would  not  you  consider  that  the  Sutro  tunnel,  going 
four  miles  in  that  country,  and  having  lateral  branches 
from  it,  three  or  four  miles  in  length,  would  carry  out  a 
considerable  amount  of  water? 

A.  I  presume  it  would. 

Q.  Don't  you  think  there  would  be  water  enough  for 
concentrating  purposes  alone? 

A.  I  have  never  made  any  estimate  about  the  concen- 
trating works  requiring  water  for  1,000  tons  a  day,  and 
I  do  not  undertake  to  say. 

Q.  You  cannot  tell  how  much  water -there  would  be, 
but  you  can  form  some  general  idea,  as  a  mining  engineer 
of  great  experience,  whether  there  would  be  a  great  amount 
of  water. 

A.  I  think,  sir,'I  should  not -want  to  undertake  to  erect 
works  for  any  such  amount  of  ore,  even  arranging  them  in 
the  best  possible  way  to  economize  water,  without  from  500 
to  1-,000  inches  of  water. 

Q.  Don't  you  think  there  would  be  7  square. feet  of  water 
coming  out  of  that  tunnel? 

A.  That  I  could  not  answer. 


629 

Q.  We  have  made  provision  for  20  square  feet.  We 
have  made  a  drain  of  20  square  feet,  and  we  expect  it  will, 
be  half  full. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  You  don't  pretend  to  say  you  have 
any  portion  of  that  tunnel  completed  at  all,  do  you? 

Mr.  SUTUO.  "We- have  some  portion  of  it  completed. 

Mr.  SUXDERLAXD.  How  much? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  cannot  tell  you  how  many  feet. 

Mr.  SUXDERLAXD.  I  ohject  to  Mr.  Sutro  stating  that  he 
has  made  preparations  in  that  tunnel  for  carrying  out  so 
much  water,  when  it  is  perfectly  well  known  there  are  not 
60  feet  of  the  tunnel  completed. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  have  a  telegram  here  stating  that  2,800 
feet  of  the  tunnel  are  completed. 

Mr.  SUXDERLAXD.  When,  he  makes  a  statement  which 
every  body  in  that  country  knows  is  not  the  case,  then  he 
ask*  the  witness  a  question  based  upon  that  statement. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  have  asked  the  witness  whether  he  does 
not  think  there  will  be  -7  square  feet  of  water  flowing 
through  that  tunnel;  and  I  have  at  the  same  time  stated 
that  we  have  made  provision  to  carry  off  20  square  feet 
of  water. 

Mr.  •  SUNDERLAND.  You  have  not  made  any  provision  at 
all,  because  you  have  not  anything  but  a  little  drift. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  We  have  made  provision  to  carry  the  whole 
tunnel  through  upon  that  scale,  and  there  is  provision  made 
for  20  square  feet  of  water  to  be  carried  through  under  the 
railroad  track. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  know  very  well  you  have  not  erected 
the  tunnel  at  all. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  want  to  ask  you,  Professor  Raymond, 
whether,  with  cheap  coal  or  cheap  firewood  at  the  mouth 
of  the  tunnel,  and  the  water  issuing  from  the  tunnel  for 
concentrating  purposes,  reduction  works  could  not  be 
erected  there  which  would  supersede  the  reduction  works 
that  exist  there  now,  without  employing  any  water  power 
at  all — I  mean  for  driving  power? 

A.  If  the  coal  is  cheap  enough. 


630 

Q.  Suppose  you  get  coal  there  for  $12  a  ton? 

A.  Coal  at  $12  a  ton  is  about  equal  to  wood  at  $8  per  cord. 

Q.  That  is  nut-pine  wood.  Take  the  Nevada  wood.  Is 
it  not  equal  to  wood  at  $6  ? 

A.  You  will  have  a  great  deal  of  waste  in  coal,  if  you 
have  to  bring  it  all  the  way  from  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
You  had  better  say  §8.  Saying  $8,  I  answer  yes,  sir.  I 
think  it  would  give  an  advantage  to  reduction  works  located 
at  that  point;  but  the  decisive  character  of  that,  I  judge, 
would  depend  on  a  great  many  other  things.  I  have  seen  so 
many  reduction  works  that  "  ought  to  supersede  all  others," 
broken  down  by  entirely  different  causes  than  natural  ones, 
that  I  cannot  state  whether  it  would  or  not. 

Q.  What  I  want  to  get  at  is  this:  Would  not  the  water 
which  the  tunnel  itself  would  furnish  and  the  adaptability 
of  the  ground  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  be  of  such  a 
character  that  the  erection  of  very  large  concentrating 
works  and  steam  machinery  to  propel  the  mills  and  con- 
centrate the  ores  —  would  enable  the  company  or  the 
owners  of  the  rniils  at  that  point  to  extract  so  much  more 
from  the  ore  as  to  increase  the  yield  of  the  ores  exten- 
sively ? 

A.  If  I  understand  the  question,  I  think  it  might.  It 
would  facilitate  the  cheaper  working  of  the  ores  arid  ex- 
traction of  the  precious  metals,  with  less  handling,  and  it 
might  secure  a  higher  yield. 

Q.  I  will  ask  you  what  is  the  yield  returned  to  the  mines, 
as  far  as  your  statistics  go,  and  as  far  as  your  knowledge 
goes? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  object  to  that,  because  it  is  irrelevant. 
The  question  is,  if  a  question  at  all,  to  be  considered  by 
the  committee:  what  is  saved  by  the  various  processes 
used,  not  what  the  mine  gives,  because  it  can  make  no 
difference  to  anybody  what  proportion  of  the  assay  value 
is  returned  to  the  mines.  It  is  not  a  matter  of  public  in- 
terest, not  a  matter  of  interest  to  the  Government  how  the 
products  of  the  mines  of  the  Comstock  are  divided  be- 
tween the  owners  of  the  mills  and  the  owners  of  the  mines. 


631 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  have  always  observed  that  the  moment 
we  touch  upon  the  perquisites  of  the  mines  and  the  mills 
there  which  are  owned  by  the  Bank  of  California,  Air. 
Sunderland  objects.  It  has  been  stated  here  over  a^id  over 
again,  by  every  witness,  that  all  the  mining  company  gets 
is  65  per  cent,  and  the  mill  company- gets  the  other  35;  and 
the  mill  company  is  so  manipulated  by  the  mining  company, 
that  the  stockholder  loses  any  benefit  arising  from  either; 
and  I  think  it,  therefore,  very  important  that  the  exact  posi- 
tion of  things  should  be  ascertained,  and  why  it  is  that 
there  is  this  opposition  to  the  construction  of  the  tunnel. 
I  believe  I  have  asked  that  question  before,  and  I  do  not 
see  why  the  commissioner  of  mines  and  mining  should  not 
be  asked  the  question  how  much  is  returned  to  the  mining 
company. 

By  the  CHAIRMAN,  (Mr.  NEGLEY  :) 
f      Eepeat  your  question,  if  you  please,  Mr.  Sutro? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  asked  Professor  Raymond  whether,  accord- 
ing to  the  statements  which  have  been  furnished  by  him, 
the  returns  by  the  mills  to  the  mines  is  not  65  per  cent.? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  object  further  to  this  question,  un- 
less Mr.  Raymond  knows  what  the  returns  are.  If  he  has 
been  informed,  why  that  we  have  had  a  dozen  times  by 
different  witnesses.  If  his  statements  are  based  ouly  on 
information,  then  they  are  not  testimony.  If  he  knows 
what  yield  of  the  assay  value  is  returned  to  the  mines^  then, 
if  that  is  considered  legitimate,  why  all  right ;  but  cer- 
tainly if  he  only  knows  from  information,  he  cannot  tes- 
tify. I  still  urge  my  former  objection,  that  it  makes  no 
difference  to  anybody  outside  of  the  stockholders;  but  I 
believe  Mr.  Sutro  does  not  pretend  to  be  a  stockholder  in 
any  mine  on  the  Comstock. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Mr.  Chairman,  Mr.  Raymond  has  received 
official  statements  from  the  'different  mining  companies, 
which  have  been  published. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Please  let  the  witness  state  that. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  want  to  ask  the  witness  whether  those 
statements  do  not  show  that  the  mines  only  get  65  per 


632 

cent,  of  the  yield  of  tho  ores.  I  Jo  not  see  that  there  is 
anything  objectionable  in  asking  that  question.  Every 
time  a  question  of  that  kind  is  asked,  Mr.  Sunderland  makes 
an  objection. 

The  CHAIRMAN  (Mr.  NEGLEY.)  If  you  will  just  confine 
yourself  to  the  object  you  have  stated.  The  purpose  you 
have  in  making  this  inquiry  is  to  show  the  economical 
working  of  the  ores. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  That  is  what  I  want  to  show.  I  was  trying 
to  reach  that  point  when  I  was  interrupted. 

The  CHAIRMAN  (Mr.  ]$TEGLEY.)  The  witness  can  answer 
the  direct  question. 

WITNESS.  The  question  is,  as  I  understand  it — what,  ac- 
cording to  the  statements  furnished  to  me,  the  returns  to 
the  mining  companies  are;  that  is,  how  much  they  are? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Yes,  sir. 

WITNESS.  The  statement  furnished  to  me  in  my  official 
capacity  was,  that  the  mills  guarantied  to  the  mining  com- 
panies 65  per  cent. 

Q.  Do  you  know  who  gets  the  tailings — the  other  35  per 
cent.  ? 

A.  That  is  not  the  same  thing.  The  tailings  are  not 
necessarily  the  other  35  per  cent. 

Q.  Who  gets  what  remains  from  the  tailings? 

A.  The  mills,  I  believe;  with  the  exception  possibly  of 
the  battery  slimes. 

Q.  What  I  want  to  get  at  is  this:  Suppose  reduction 
works  and  concentrating  works  are  erected  upon  a  large 
scale,  driven  by  steam,  without  airy  water  power  at  all, 
and  the  water  issuing  .through  that  tunnel  is  used  for  con- 
centrating purposes,  could  not  the  tunnel  company  afford 
to  pay  65  per  cent,  to  the  mining  company  right  at  the 
mine  to  take  the  ore  and  work  it  and  make  money  out  of 
it — say  the  average  ore  to  be  $30  and  upward? 

WITNESS.  With  the  tunnel  in  operation,  and  a  complete 
system  of  concentrating  works  in  operation,  I  believe  that 
the  company  could  pay  65  per  cent,  on  $30  ore  and  clear 
itself.  I  do  not  think  there  would  be  a  large  margin  of 


633 

profit,  however,  but  it  leaves,  according  to  my  figuring, 
about  $7  margin  per  ton. 

Q.  That  is  not  employing  water  power  at  all? 

A.  I  am  not  employing  water  for  running  the  concen- 
trating works.  I  want  to  explain  that  answer.  I  do  not 
think  it  fair  that  it  should  stand  in  that  way.  It  turns  en- 
tirely on  the  fact  that  by  concentration  and  by  the  treatment 
there,  not  by  any  means  that  you  will  get  all  the  silver  out 
of  that  tori  of  ore  that  you  work  in  the  mill,  but  thet  you 
may  reduce  a  large  quantity  of  poor  stuff  into  one  ton, 
and  you  will  save  the  cost  of  milling  in  the  pans  on  tho 
remainder,  and  by  handling  so  much  less  at  the  last — in 
the  last  operation — even  if  you  do  not  make  a  close 
metallurgical  run,  you  save  so  much  expense  in  treating 
the  large  quantity,  that  you  are  able  to  make  a  large  allow- 
ance. 

Q.  Suppose  the  ore,  Mr.  Raymond,  would  work  $35  or 
$40,  there  would  be  a  handsome  profit,  would  there  not? 

A.  Those  estimates  of 'mine  are  not  to  be  regarded  as 
professional  estimates,  on  which  I  propose  to  stake  any- 
thing. 

Q.  So  fur  as  you  can  arrive  at  it  at  all  by  making  a  few 
figures,  that  is  your  conclusion  ?  „ 

A.  My  impression  is  it  might  pay,  if  that  ore  were  free 
of  all  mining  cost  at  the  foot  of  the  shaft.  Then  the  tun- 
nel company  would  be  enabled  to  offer  to  pay  the  mining 
company  65  per  cent.,  and  take  the  ore  at  their  mine  and 
clear  itself  on  §30  rock. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  What  do  you  mean  by  $30  ore  ?  I  do 
not  understand. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Not  the.  assay  value;  tho  yield — ore  that  will 
yield  $30. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND  to  witness.  Is  that  what  you  under- 
stand by  it? 

The  WITNESS.  Yes;   the  yield  it  will  make. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Yes,  that  is  the  way  I  thought  it  was  under- 
stood; that  is  the  ordinary  value  of  milling  rock. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  only  want  to  understand. 


634 

Q.  Suppose  the  tunnel  company, would  pay  the  mining 
company  65  per  cent,  right  at  the  mines,  transport  the  ore 
out,  and  reduce  that  ore  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  and 
make  a  profitable  operation  out  of  any  rock  over  $30, 
would  not  that  save  the  mining  company  the  whole  ex- 
pense of  transporting  and  milling? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  on  low-grade  ores  it  would. 

Q.  Would  it  not  on  any  kind  of  ores  ? 

A.  ISTo,  sir;  not  on  first-class  ores,  because  on  those  they 
get  more  than  65  per  cent. 

Q.  Smelting  ores,  you  mean  ?  I  mean  the  average  of  the 
ores  that  come  from  the  Comstock  lode — not  roasting  or 
smelting  ores. 

A.  You  can  see  exactly  what  it  would  save  as  well  as  I  can. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  According  to  this,  there  would  be  a  saving 
of  §12  a  ton — $12,000  a  day;  and  365  times  that  would 
effect  a  saving  of  $4,380,000  to  the  mining  company. 

WITNESS.  That  is  a  business  proposition.  I  do  not  think 
the  matter  is  quite  as  simple  as  that.  That  seems  true  as 
a  comparison  between  the  system  by  which  they  never  get 
more  than  65  per  cent,  and  the  system  by  which  you  should 
pay  them  65  per  cent,  down ;  but  I  suppose  that  the  former 
system  might  be  ameliorated  so  that  the  saving  would  not 
be  so  great. 

Q.  Taking  these  statements  for  granted,  that  they  get  65 
per  cent.,  which  has  been  shown  here  over  and  over  again 
by  the  commissioners 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  That  has  not  been  shown  at -all,  but 
directly  the  contrary. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  You  have  tried  hard  to  show  it  was  not,  but 
I  do  not  think  any  one  has  denied  it. 

Q.  I  want  to  ask  you  a  few  questions  about  the  rocks 
along  the  line  of  the  Carson  river.  What  are  those  rocks? 

A.  I  have  never  made  any  special  examination  of  that 
locality.  I  suppose  they  are  volcanic  and  igneous  rocks. 

Q.  Are  they  of  a  character  so  as  to  let  water  through 
readily? 

A.  I  do  not  think  they  would  pass  water  through  as 


635 

readily  as  stratified  rocks,  provided  the  water  in  stratified 
rocks  follows  on  the  line  of  cleavage;  any  rock  that  is 
cleaved  throughout  any  particular  portion  may  allow  water 
to  pass  in  that  direction  quite  easily,  and  the  rocks  that  are 
crystallized,  as  a  usual  thing,  do  not  allow  water  to  pass 
except  through  fissures.  There  are  a  great  many  fissures 
in  the  trachyte,  but  they  are  irregular;  they  do  not  run  in 
any  one  direction. 

Q.  Do  not  they  form  a  homogeneous  mass  generally? 

A.  On  a  great  scale  they  may  be  called  homogeneous. 
The  trachyte  itself  consists  of  a  homogeneous  mass,  con- 
taining small  crystals  of  feldspar. 

Q.  Supposing  tl^e  trachyte  becomes  once  soaked^with 
water,  would  it  allow  any  water  to  pass  through  it? 

A.  I  do  not  think  it  would  to  any  practical  extent.  I 
do  not  exactly  know  what  you  are  driving  at;  most  rocks 
allow  water  in  small  quantities  to  pass  through  them. 

Q.  I  will  explain  to  you  why  I  put  this  question.  It  has 
been  proposed  to  make  a  dam  across  the  Carson  river.  It  is 
not  a  necessity  at  all  for  the  tunnel,  but  we  have  had  a 
great  many  arguments  about  that  dam,  and  some  witnesses 
have  testified  that  the  rocks  in  that  country  are  of  a  sandy 
character — loose  character — and  that  water  will  go  through 
them  like  a  sieve.  That  is  the  reason  I  asked  you,  as  a 
geologist  and  as  a  mining  engineer,  whether  there  are  any 
such  rocks  in  that  neighborhood  that  have  any  such  char- 
acteristics as  to  allow  water  to  go  through  them  like  a 
sieve. 

A.  There  is  a  popular  notion  in  the  west,  that  a  great 
many  streams  sink  and  disappear  on  account  of  the  porous 
character  of  the  rock  and  the  soil.  I  think  that  is  a  mis- 
take. I  think  that  the  disappearance  of  the  water  in  our 
western  streams  is  mainly  by  evaporation ;  but  there  is  a 
certain  percolation  of  water  through  the  Bandy  soil  and 
the  surface  for  a  few  feet  in  the  valleys,  so  that  the  stream 
will  work  along  under  the  sand  for  some  distance  after  it 
seems  to  disappear.  That  don't  go  very  deep,  in  my  opin- 
ion however. 


636 

Q.  Would  there  be  much  percolation  in  a  rocky  gorge 
which  is  formed  by  the  Carson  river? 

A.  I  should  think  not. 

Q,  Would  the  water  be  lost  there,  except  by  evapora- 
tion ? 

A.  I  should  think  not. 

Q.  That  has  been  given  here  by  General  Foster  at  44 
inches  per  annum.  Would  it  not  be  about  that  ? 

A.  I  do  not  know;   probably  that  is  correct. 

Q.  Would  you  consider  that,  with  a  royalty  secured  to 
this  tunnel  company  through  contracts  and  by  law  of 
Congress,  that  security  wou'ld  be  sufficient  for  a  loan  of 
$3,000,000?  , 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  object  to  that. 

,  WITNESS.  I  do  not  know  anything  about  the  royalty 
that  is  secured. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  There  is  a  royalty  tax  of  $2  upon  every  ton 
of  ore  ? 

.  A.  I  know  that,  but  I  do  not  understand  the  bearing  of 
the  question  as  a  question  for  a  mining  engineer.  If  you 
want  to  ask  me  whether  I  think  the  Comstock  mines  will 
yield  a  certain  sum  before  they  give  out  at  a  certain  rate 
per  annum,  I  can  tell  you. 

Q.  Suppose  that  for  every  ton  of  ore  in  the  Comstock 
lode  $2  a  ton  is  paid  there  as  long  as  the  mines  can  be 
worked,  would  that  $2  per  ton  be  ample  security  for  a  loan 
of  $3,000,000? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

By  the  CHAIRMAN,  (Mr.  FEGLEY  :) 

Please  tell  us  as  to  the  richness  and  value  of  those  mines 
to  be  reached  by  the  proposed  tunnels-do  you  think  the 
Government  will  be  justified  in  making  any  considerable 
expenditure  to  ascertain  it? 

A.  I  do  not  exactly  feel  called  upon  to  say  what  the 
Government  will  be  justified  in  doing;  that  is  a  question 
of  legislation.  You  ask  me  if  the  Government  will  be 
justified  in  making  any  considerable  expenditure.  I  will 
admit  that 


637 

Q.  I  putfthc  question  because  you  are  an  officer  of  the 
Government. 

A.  I  am  an  officer  of  the  Government,  but  I  do  not  belong 
to  that  department  that  decides  the  policy  of  its  legislation. 

Q.  It  is  not  a  question  of  legislation;  it  is  a  question  of 
policy.  The  question  is  whether  the  Government  would 
be  justifiable  in  any  considerable  expenditure  to  determine 
these  geological  facts  as  to  the  richness  and  tne  extent  of 
the  Comstock  lode. 

A.  Well,  the  determination  would  be  of  great  value, 
and  it  is  a  matter  that  would  be  worth  considerable  ex- 
penditure to  find  out.  The  question  whether  or  not  that 
expenditure  should  be  made,  or  whether  the  Government 
would  be  justifiable  in  making  it,  it  is  a  question  which  in- 
volves the  whole  present  relation  of  those  mines  to  the 
Government,  and  that  is  a  pretty  tangled  one.  I  can  hardly 
answer  it.  I  will  say  frankly,  that  if  the  proposition  were 
to  run  a  tunnel  at  a  cost  of  $8,000,000,  out  and  out,  to  the 
Government,  and  with  no  other  return  to  the  Government' 
or  anybody  else  than  the  ascertaining  of  these  facts,  it 
would  be  a  very  expensive  way  to  get  the  information.  If 
this  was  all  there  was  of  it,  it  would  be  a  proposition  I  do 
not  suppose  anybody  would  make. 

Q.  I  have  not  stated  an  amount ;  my  inquiry  was  whether 
it  would  justify  any  considerable  amount  of  expenditure. 

A.  Yes,  sir.  The  Government  is  said  to  have  spent 
nearly  a  half  million  dollars  already  in  the  surveys  and 
publications  of  Mr.  King,  which  are  largely  devoted  to  that 
lode.  I  consider  that  was  justifiable. 

Q.  ."Would  not  the  economy,  in  time,  as  well  as  the 
demonstration  of  the  fact,  be  of  great  value  to  the  Govern- 
ment and  to  the  nation? 

A.  Yes,  it  would.  I  consider  that  the  profit  to  the  coun- 
try in  some  'such  cases  is  an.  entirely  separate  proposition 
from  the  profit  to  individuals.  The  country  may  profit  by 
a  course- which  is  not  to  the  immediate  profit  of  individ- 
uals. It  frequently  has  happened,  and  I  suppose  will  hap- 
pen under  our  present  eysteoi  over  and  over  again,  that 


638     .. 

individuals  go  on  the  public  lands  and  open  min  es,  and 
consulting  only  their  own  immediate  profit,  not  having 
purchased  those  mines  of  the  Government,  and  not  being 
permanently  located  there,  make  a  point  of  skimming  the 
cream  off  of  the  mines,  making  a  great  deal  of  profit  for 
the  time  being,  and  then  probably  abandoning  the  mines, 
entirely.  The  country  of  course  loses  whenever  a  mine 
has  been  skimmed  in  that  way,  by  the  very  fact  that  the 
average  value  has  been  reduced  by  taking  out  the  richest 
portion  of  the  mines.  That  is  what  is  called  piratical  min- 
ing. That  is  the  difference  between  our  system  of  mining 
and  the  system  of  mining  in  all  other  countries,  where 
their  forms  of  government  permit  more  rigid  governmental 
control.  There  the  Government  takes  the  same  ground  in 
regard  to  mines  that  it  does  in  regard  to  the  timber ;  still, 
more  with  regard  to  mining;  that  is,  that  the  mineral  re- 
sources must  not  be' wasted  for  the  sake  of  present  divi- 
dends, because  they  belong  to  posterity  as  well  as  to  the 
present  generation,  and  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Government 
to  nurse  that  industry  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  it  last  as 
long  as  possible  to  support  the  people  and  be  a  source  of 
power  and  wealth  to  the  country.  It  is  perfectly  easy,  by 
a  system  of  piratical  mining,  to  render  a  mining  district 
comparatively  useless  for  generations  to  come.  With  regard 
to  agricultural  lands,  some  farmers  out  in  the  Middle  States 
and  far  West  get  great  farms  and  work  them  as  hard  as 
they  can  to  make  great  profits  out  of  them,  then  they  leave 
the  lands  perfectly  worn  out.  But  there  is  a  difference  be- 
tween the  agricultural  and  mineral  lands.  The  agricul- 
tural lands  may  recover,  but  the  mineral  lands  never. 

Q.  As  a  general  thing,  does  not  private  enterprise  and 
capital  shrink  from  such  large  undertakings,  as  would 
demonstrate  the  richness  of  mineral  lodes  surrounded  by 
such  great  natural  difficulties? 

A.  In  this  country  they  undoubtedly  have  done  so. 
Such  enterprises  are  novel  in  this  country,  and  of  course 
capital  has  shrunk  from  them.  There  needs  to  be  more 
stability  of  general  conditions  than  we  have  as  yet  in  our 


639 

western  country,  for  private  capital  to  be  willing  to  go 
ahead  in  such  a  manner.  It  is  not  like  a  settled  country, 
where  all  rights  are  perfectly  well  determined  and  per- 
fectly secured,  and  where  people  can  go  into  any  enter- 
prise with  perfect  good  faith,  knowing  they  will  be  sus- 
tained throughout.  Men  of  property  and  capital  investing 
in  any  long  and  doubtful  enterprise  in  this  country,  are  ex- 
posed to  all  sorts  of  risk  in  our  mining  regions,  arising 
from  insecurity  of  title,  and  from  the  character  of  legisla- 
tion, &c.  If  Mr.  Sutro's  tunnel,  for  instance,  had  been  be- 
gun when  it  was  first  talked  about,  and  been  going  on  all 
this  time,  the  whole  mining  laws  of  the  country  would 
have  been  changed  two  or  three  times  in  that  period,  and 
the  ownership  of  all  the  mines  probably  have  changed  in- 
numerable times;  and  all  those  features  of  change  would 
have  deprived  enterprises  of  that  kind  of  a  character  for 
stability  which  they  need,  that  capital  may  have  confidence 
and  trust  in  them. 

Mr.  SUTRO,  Do  I  understand  you  that,  if  the  Sutro  tunnel 
had  been  started  without  any  authority  from  Congress 

WITNESS.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  it  would  have  had 
any  effect  upon  the  Sutro  tunnel.  I  merely  refer  to  the 
fact,  that  since  it  has  been  talked  about  there  have  been 
changes  in  the  local  laws  and  general  laws,  private  owner- 
ship, and  everything  surrounding  the  case,  and  that  makes 
it  a  very  different  sort  of  proposition  to  go  to  private  capi- 
tal, from  what  it  would  be  in  an  older  country.  In  other 
words,  if  you  had  not  anything  more  stable  than  these 
local  laws 

The  CHAIRMAN,  (Mr.  NEGLEY.)  Deep  mining  is  too 
limited  in  the  California  auriferous  mountains  to  deter- 
mine satisfactorily  the  richness  of  the  lodes  at  the  same 
depth  at  which  they  are  reached  and  worked  in  Europe? 

A.  We  have  mines  as  deep  as  1,200  to  1,400  feet  in 
the  California  auriferous  belt. 

Q.  Consequently  the  richness  of  the  lode  at  the  depth 
worked  with  profit  in  mines  in  Europe  remains  yet  a 
problem? 


640 

A.  It  is  not  known  yet. 

Q.  To  attain  that  information,  it  would  justify  Govern- 
ment in  making  an  exploration,  would  it  not? 

A.  You  could  not  obtain  information  of  the  richness  of 
any  one  vei;i  by  running  a  tunnel  in  any  other  vein. 

Q.  When  you  have  so  important  a  lode  as  the  Comstock 
lode? 

A.  With  regard  to  the  Comstock  lode,  that  is  an  excep- 
tion to  all  the  lodes  in  this  country,  and  of  almost  all  the 
lodes  known  in  history.  That  makes  it  a  very  different 
matter.  Where  one  vein  has  produced  as  many  millions 
of  dollars  as  the  Comstock  has,  it  becomes  a  matter  of 
national  interest: — equal  in  importance,  I  may  say,  almost 
to  any  hundred  mines  in  the  country.  Take  out  a  very 
few  exceptions,  and  it  will  equal  in  importance  any  one 
hundred  mines  anywhere. 

Q.  Is  not  the  ;yield  in  the  Comstock  lode  equal  in  profit- 
ableness almost  to  that  of  all  the  Mexican  mines  together  ? 

A.  Not  in  profitableness  The  aggregate  amount  has 
been  very  large,  but  the  aggregate  profit  has  been  small. 

Q.  I  do  not  mean  to  the  owners,  but  I  mean  in  addition 
to  the  treasure  of  the  country.  I  do  not  mkan  the  profit 
to  the  stockholders,  but  I  mean  so  far  as  the  yield  in 
quantity  of  treasure  extracted  is  concerned* 

A.  No,  sir;  it  would  not  come  up  to  the  aggregate 
yield  of  the  Mexican  mines,  because  there  was  a  time  when 
they  were  enormously  productive.  I  think  it  excels  any 
one  of  them  as  far  as  I  recollect,  and  it  is  probably  greater 
than  the  yield  of  all  the  silver  mines  of  Saxony,  which  made 
the  Saxon  royal  family  the  richest  in  Europe. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  The  annual  yield  of  the  Mexican  mines  is 
twenty-five  millions. 

WITNESS.  If  that  be  so,  then  the  annual  yield  of  the  Com- 
stock is  not  so  great. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  The  statistics,  as  given  by  Humboldt— and 
he  is  the  only  authority  we  have  on  that,  and  an  acknowl- 
edged authority — show  that  between  1795  .  and  1810  the 
mines' of  Mexico  were  in  their  most  flourishing  condition, 


641 

and  the  average  yield  in  those  years  was  $21,000,000  per 
annum  ;  and  that  is  the  highest  yield  that  has  ever  taken 
place  in  Mexico,  until  within  a  very  late  period  they  have 
somewhat  run  over  that. 

Q.  You    could   not    say  that  the  Comstock  produces 
more  th.in  all  the  Mexican  mines? 

A.  E"o,  sir. 

The  examination  in  chief  being  concluded,  the  committee 
adjourned  till  Monday,  the  25th  instant 
41 


HEARING  MONDAY,  MARCH  2oTH. 
Committee  met  pursuant  to  adjournment. 
Cross-examination  of  R.  W.  Raymond  was  commenced. 

By  Mr.  SUNDERLANP  : 

Q.  I  understood  you  to  state  the  other  night  that  you 
had  received  your  mining  education  principally  in  Europe. 
Is  that  so? 

A.  My  professional  school  studies  were  in  Europe. 

Q.  That  is  what  I  meant.  In  what  country  did  you  first 
see  tunnels  run  into  mines? 

A.  In  Europe. 

Q.  In  what  part  of  Europe? 

A.  Germany. 

Q.  For  what  object,  principally,  were  those  tunnels  run 
in  Germany? 

A.  I  suppose  they  were  principally  run  for  drainage 
and  water  power. 

Q.  Are  not  the  circumstances  of  the  Comstock  lode 
very  different  from  those  surrounding  any  mine  in  Ger- 
many where  you  have  seen  tunnels  run  ? 

A.  In  some  respects,  yes. 

Q.  Is  not  the  ground  much  dryer  at  the  Comstock  than 
in  those  mines  in  Germany? 

A.  I  presume  it  is. 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  the  fall  of  water  is  there  per  an- 
num? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  quantity  of  water  flows  through 
any  one  of  those  mines  where  there  is  a  deep  tunnel — 
abroad,  I  am  talking  about  now? 

A.  I  could  not  give  it  to  you  exactly.  I  can  say  in  gen- 
eral terms,  if  you  want  that. 

Q.  As  near  as  you  can  give  it. 

A.  At  one  of  the  deep  tunnels  in  the  Harz  mountains 

642 


643 

there  is  a  sufficient  quantity  of  water  for  navigation;  they 
use  it  as  a  canal. 

Q.  Where  is  that  used  for  water  power? 

A.  It  is  used  for  water  power  at  Freiberg. 

A.  Is  it  used  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  or  in  the 
mines  ? 

A.  It  is  used  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  wherever  there 
is  sufficient  fall. 

Q.  What  fall  is  there  from  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  to 
where  it  is  used  near  its  mouth? 

A.  I  do  not  refer  now  to  any  particular  mine. 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  there  is  such  a  constancy  or 
regularity  of  flow  of  water  in  the  Comstock  as  to  rely  upon 
the  water  for  power  anywhere  in  the  mine  ? 

A.  I  have  inferred  from  some  reports  of  the  Comstock 
that  you  could  rely,  at  least,  upon  the  minimum  that  is 
mentioned. 

Q.  Do  you  know  that  in  the  Comstock  the  water  is  very 
irregular;  that  a  mine  may  be  overflowed  in  the  winter 
or  summer,  and  in  less  than  six  months  be  absolutely  dry? 

A.  Yes,  that  is  the  case,  with  the  exception  of  the  term 
"absolutely." 

Q,  What  qualification  would  you  make  to  the  term  "  ab- 
solutely?" 

A.  Well,  I  would  say  that  there  may  be  absolutely  dry 
places  in  some  portions  of  the  mines,  wh^e  the  whole  of 
the  mines  might  not  be.  * 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  there  is  any  fall  anywhere  iu 
the  Comstock  to-day,  where  you  could  use  the  water  in  the 
mine  for  propelling  power,  or  for  any  power  ? 

A.  I  believe  they  bring  the  water  from  as  low  as  the  600- 
foot  level  of  the  Comstock;  but  I  am  not  aware  that  they 
have  any  available  tunnels  lower  than  that,  and  conse- 
quently there  will  be  no  fall  where  they  could  use  the  water. ' 

Q.  How  often  have  you  visited  the  Comstock? 

A.  I  think  two  or  three  times — twice. 

Q.  How  long  a  time  have  you  ever  spent  in  examination 
of  the  mines  upon  the  Comstock? 


644 

A.  A  very  few  days. 

Q-,  What  proportion  of  the  mines  did  you  visit  while 
you  were  there? 

A.  I  visited  the  principal  mines  that  were  producing 
ore. 

Q.  When  were  you  there  the  last  time  ? 

A.  The  last  time,  I  think,  was  in  1869. 

Q.  Vfhat  advantages,  in  your  opinion,  to  the  Comstock, 
would  the  running  of  the  Sutro  tunnel  be? 

A.  I  believe  that  there  would  be  positive  advantage  in 
the  draining;  positive  advantage  in  the  procuring  of  power 
in  the  mines ;  positive  advantage  in  the  ventilation;  and  an 
advantage  in  transportation. 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  proportion  the  waste,  or  unpro- 
ductive rocks  and  earth,  taken  out  of  the  Comstock,  bears 
to  the  gold-bearing  quartz  ?  I  mean  the  amount  taken  out 
that  is  not  used  for  filling  in. 

A.  I  know  nothing  more  about  it  than  the  statement 
made  by  one  of  the  superintendents  in  the  report  of  the 
commissioners,  which  was,  that  there  was  an  equal  amount. 
I  do  not  think  there  ought  to  be  so  much. 

Q.  You  say  there  will  be  an  advantage  in  the  cost  of 
transportation.  Do  you  know  what  it  costs  to  transport  over 
there  now  to  the  mills? 

A.  Not  of  my  own  knowledge. 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  it  costs  under  the  act  of  Congress, 
giving  Mr.  Sutro  this  franchise,  to  transport  ore  to  the 
mouth  of  the  tunnel  ? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  object  to  the  question ;  that  is  not  a  true 
statement  of  the  fact.  The  act  of  Congress  does  not  give 
us  the  right  to  transport  ore  through  there  at  any  given 
rate. 

WITNESS.  I  think  I  can  answer  the  question.  I  think  I 
know  what  it  would  cost  to  transport  ore  to  the  mouth  of 
the  tunnel 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  What  it  will  cost  the  mines,  not  what 
it  will  cost  Mr.  Sutro. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  That's  entirely  voluntary,  under  the  act  of 


645 

Congress,  to  be  governed  by  sucb  contracts  as  may  be 
made. 

WITNESS.  I  do  not  know  anything  about  the  net  of  Con- 
gress. I  am  not  saying  what  advantage  it  would  be  to  Mr. 
Sutro  under  any  contract;  but  I  can  estimate  what  the  cost 
of  the  transportation  will  be. 

Q.  The  cost  is  25  cents  per  ton  per  mile — the  same  as  it 
costs  for  the  transportation  of  debris  and  waste  rock  or 
earth;  then,  if  the  waste  is  equal  to  the  ore,  it  will  cost 
how  much  for  each  ton  of  earth  taken  out?  What  would 
be  the  average  distance  from  all  the  mines  to  the  mouth  of 
the  tunnel? 

A.  If  the  managers  of  the  mines  are  foolish  enough  to 
send  out  as  much  waste  as  they  do  ore,  and  pay  25  cents  a 
ton  for  taking  it  through  the  tunnel — It  will  cost  50  cents 
a  ton  per  mile. 

Q.  What  would  be  the  average  distance  now  to  trans- 
port the  ore  from  each  one  of  the  mines — on  the  Comstock 
to  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  or  to  a  point  where  mills  could 
be  erected,  beyond  ihe  mouth  of  the  tunnel? 

A.  I  suppose  it  might  be  four  or  five  miles. 

Q.  Do  you  know  the  length  of  the  tunnel? 

A.  I  know  it  from  these  reports. 

Q.  What  is  the  length  of  the  tunnel? 

A.  It  is  18,000  feet  nearly. 

Q.  The  commissioners  give  the  average  distance,  I  be- 
lieve, at  five  miles. 

WITNESS.    Very  well,  sir. 

Q.  N"ow,  then,  how  do  you  make  any  advantage  to  the 
Comstoek  in  transportation  of  ore  from  the  mine,  when, 
according  to  your  estimate,  it:  will  cost  $2  50  for  each  ton 
of  ore  run  out  through  the  tuunel  ? 

A.  That  requires  a  very  simple  answer.  I  did  not  say 
anything  about  25  cents  per  ton  per  mile.  I  am  not  here 
to  testify  anything  about  Mr.  Sutro's  contract. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  will  read  you  so  much  of  the  con- 
tract as  fixes  it:  . 


646 

"  Also  during  the  time  when  paid  party  of  the  second  part  shall  use  said 
tunnels  or  drifts  na  meanta  of  transportation,  as  hereinbefore  contracted  for, 
the  party  of  the  second  part  will  pay  to  the  parties  of  the  first  part,  for  each 
ton  of  ore,  rock,  earth,  or  debris  removed  from  the  point  hereinbefore  desig- 
nated, to  or  beyond  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  as  the  case  may  be,  the  sum  of 
twenty-five  cents  per  mile  from  the  place  of  removing  it  to  the  place  of  dis- 
charging it,  and  at  the  same  rate  for  all  material  conveyed  from  the  mouth 
of  the  tunnel  to  said  point  of  connection  heretofore  described — forty  cubic 
feet  of  timber,  or  twenty- two  hundred  and  forty  pounds  of  rock,  ore,  or  other 
material  being  considered  a  ton." 

That  is  Mr.  Sutro's  contract. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  That  is  a  matter  of  option  entirely— the 
running  out  of  ore  through  the  tunnel  under  that  contract. 
That  is  the  maximum  charge  that  was  made  in  the  con- 
tract between  the  Mining  Companies  and  the  Sutro  Tunnel 
Company.  It  is  not  obligatory  upon  them  to  pay  that 
rate  or  use  the  tunnel.  It  is  a  matter  of  choice. 

By  the  CHAIRMAN,  (Mr.  NEGLEY.)  The  witness 

Mr.  SUTRO.  One  cent  a  mile  only  may  be  charged  under 
that  act. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  $"obody  ever  heard  of  a  monopoly, 
such  as  the  Sutro  tunnel  will  be,  charging  less  than  the 
law  allows. 

The  CHAIRMAN,  (Mr.  NEGLEY.)  Is  it  a  matter  of  con- 
tract ? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Yes,  sir. 

The  CHAIRMAN,  (Mr.  NEGLEY.)  Then  it  cannot  be  amor.- 
opoly. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Cannot  a  monopoly  be  made  out  of  a 
contract? 

The  CHAIRMAN,  (Mr.  N"EGLEY.)  There  is  nothing  there  to 
compel  the  company  to.  send  ore  through  there,  is  there  ? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  It  is  a  matter  of  choice  whether  they  send 
ore  through  there  or  not.  They  are  not  compelled  to 
send  one  cent's  worth  through. 

WITNESS.  The  advantage  in  transportation,  in  my  opin- 
ion, would  arise  in  this  way:  I  believe  the  proprietors  of 
the  mines  at  that  time,  if  they  found  they  could  send  their 
ore  in  that  way  cheaper  than  the  other  way,  would  do 
it;  and  the  tunnel  company,  rather  than  transport  no  ore, 
would  take  it  at  such  price  as  would  give  them  a  fair  profit. 


64* 

I  do  not  figure  on  25  cents  per  ton,  nor  do  Pfigurc  on 
Bending  through  this  tunnel  all  the  waste;  and  the  reason 
why  I  leave  out  the  waste  is  very  simple.  The  transporta- 
tion through  the  tunnel  under  such  an  arrangement  would 
be  the  transportation  out  of  the  mine  plus  the  transporta- 
tion to  the  mill,  if  the  mill  was  at  the  mouth  of  the  tun- 
nel: therefore  sending  the  waste  out  through  the  tun- 
nel would  be  like  sending  all  the  waste  rock  to  the  miU, 
which  they  do  not  do  now. 

Q.  Why  do  they, not? 

A.  They  do  not  choose  to  pay  the  expense  of  hauling, 
because  it  is  cheaper  to  leave  it  near  the  mouth  of  the 
shaft. 

Q.  Would  it  not  be  much  cheaper  to  raise  waste  rock, 
or  whatever  is  necessary  to  be  raised,  and  deposit  it  on  the 
surface,  near  the  top,  than  to  run  it  out  ? 

A.  It  might  be  cheaper  under  certain  circumstances — in 
regard  to  such  material  as  did  not  have  to  be  subsequently 
hauled  or  handled.* 

Q.  Don't  you  know  all  the  vacant  spaces  made  by  min- 
ing are  filled  up  now  with  waste*? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  am  not  aware  of  that.  My  personal  observ- 
ation is  exactly  the  contrary;  but  my  personal  observation 
is  now  several  years  old;  and  I  have  been  assured  very 
recently,  by  gentlemen  engaged  in  mining  there,  that  that 
is  the:  case.  I  am  not  personally  aware  of  it.  On  their 
authority  I  accept  the  fact. 

Q.  In  what  mines  did  you  see  them  put  waste  rock  when 
you  were  there? 

A.  I  saw  large  spaces  in  the  "Kentuck"  and  "Crown 
Point." 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  waste  was  taken  out  of  those 
spaces  worked  out,  or  whether  it  was  all  ore?  • 

A.  I -think  it  was  all  ore. 

Q.  Then  where  would  you  get  your  waste  from  to  fill 
up  those  vacant  spaces?  Would  you  raise  it  in  the  mine, 
wheel  it  to  a  distant  part  of  the  shaft,  or  lower  it  from 
above  ? 


648 

A.  If  I  had  the  surplus  of  waste  in  the  mine,  and  I  was 
expecting  to  have  to  hoist  it  clear  out,  I  would  hoist  it  part 
of  the  way  out,  an'd  put  it  in  these  spaces. 

Q.  Don't  you  think  it  is  much  cheaper  to  raise  an  incline 
or  winze  shaft  into  harren  rock,  above  where  the  vacant 
space  is,  and  throw  it  down  the  winze  or  incline? 

A.  I  could  not  answer  a  general  question  like  that.  It 
would  not  be,  as  a  general  rule,  cheaper;  it  might  in  some 
particular  case. 

Q.  To  what  extent  would  the  Comstock  be  benefited  in 
the  way  of  drainage? 

A.  In  the  first  place,  by  making  all  pumping  machinery 
unnecessary  above  the  tunnel  level. 

Q.  Would  it  exceed  the  present  cost  of  pumping? 

WITNESS.  What  would? 

Q.  Would  the  advantage  of  the  Sutro  tunnel  to  the 
Comstock,  in  the  way  of  drainage,  exceed  the  present  cost 
of  pumping? 

A.  In  that  item  it  would  be  just  equal  to  the  present 
cost  of  pumping,  because  it  would  save  the  present  cost  of 
pumping. 

Q.  Would  it  exceed? 

A.  If  you  were  spending  a  certain  amount  for  pumping, 
and  you  saved  that  money,  you  cannot  save  more  than  tha,t 
in  that  item;  but  there  would  be  incidental  benefits,  in  re- 
gard to  the  drainage,  that  would  make  an  additional  ad- 
vantage. 

Q.  What  would  they  be  ? 

A.  First  would  be  the  obtaining  of  a  head  for  water 
power. 

Q.  In  the  mine  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Whereabouts  in  the  Comstock  would  you  have  any 
head  for  water  power  ? 

A.  Wherever  you  could  get  a  shaft  to  the  tunnel. 

Q.  Suppose  there  was  no  water  in  that  shaft  ? 

A.  There  would  be. 

Q.  Do  you  know  that  fact  ? 


649 

A.  I  am  very  positive  of  it. 

Q.  In  every  shaft  upon  the  Comstock? 

A.  There  may  be  one  or  two  exceptions,  but  in  the 
majority  of  shafts  in  the  Cornstock  I  believe  there  would 
be  water  enough  to  use. 

Q.  What  fill  would  that  water  have  ? 

A.  That  would  depend  upon  the  level  it  came  from ; 
and  the  testimony  in  regard  to  the  Comstock  at  the  present 
time  is,  that  most  of  the  water  comes  from  the  upper  600, 
feet,  and  so  has  a  fall  of  say  1,500  feet. 

Q.  How  deep  is  the  tunnel  below  the  mouth  of  the  shaft 
sunk  upon  the  Comstock  ? 

A.  I  suppose  it  is  1,890  feet  below. 

Q.  Below  what  shaft? 

A.  Below  the  Gould  and  Curry.  I  do  not  remember 
the  figures  exactly. 

Q.  ^You  talk  about  having  1,500  feet  of  fall  ? 

A.  That  is  a  very  general  expression.  I  do  not  mean 
the  exact  fall,  because  I  have  just  stated  that  would  de- 
pend on  where  the  water  was  brought  in.  If  you  bring 
the  water  in  from  outside,  for  instance,  at  the  top  of  the 
shaft,  there  will  be  a  head  equal  to  the  whole  depth  of  the 
shaft  to  the  tunnel  level. 

Q.  You  gave  quite  a  lengthy  description  the  other  even- 
ing of  the  mode  of  raising  ore  by  lowering  water  of  greater 
weight  than  the  ore  that  was  raised  up.  Will  you  advise 
us  of  any  such  means  on  the  Comstock  for  raising  ore? 

A.  Not  for  a  long  shaft,  because  the  movement  is  slow. 

Q.  I  am  talking  now  about  raising  the  ore.  I  say  for 
raising  ore  in  the  present  shafts  on  the  Comstock.  Would 
you  advise  the  abandonment  of  the  present  mode  of  raising 
for  the  introduction  of  any  other,  if  it  is  to  be  raised? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  did  not  intend  to  recommend  the  water 
hoist  for  deep  shafts  and  long  passages,  because  it  is,  as  I 
say,  slow. 

Q.  Then  what  application  has  it  to  the  Comstock? 

A.  It  was  asked  me  whethei  you  could*  raise  men  in 
that  way  from  the  tunnel. 


650 

Q.  First,  your  description  was  the  mode  of  raising  ore? 

A.  I  illustrated  that  proposition  as  to  whether,  with  the 
water  and  a  head,  weights  could  be  raised;  and  the 
question,  as  I  recollect  it  now,  was  put  to  me  in  regard  to 
men.  I  described  the  arrangement  for  raising  water,  hoist- 
ing ore  and  coal  to  the  top  of  the  furnaces.  It  may  be  you 
got  the  impression  that  I  referred  to  the  hoisting  of  ore 
above  the  tunnel  level. 

Q.  Do  you  or  do  yon  not  mean  to  advise  the  adoption 
of  any  such  mode  of  raising  ore  upon  the  Comstock? 

A.  No,  I  do  not  recommend  it  for  raising  ore  from  the 
Comstock.  Above  the  tunnel  it  would  not  be  necessary, 
and  below  the  tunnel  it  would  not  be  possible. 

Q.  Then  you  described  a  mode  of  raising  and  lowering 
men,  which  ,1  believe  is  called  in  Germany,  so  far  as  I  can 
pronounce  it,  fahrkunst ;  would  you  advise  the  adoption  of 
any  such  mode  on  the  Comstock? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Why? 

A.  Because  it  is  safer,  although  a  more  expensive  mode. 

Q.  Safer? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  in  my  opinion. 

Q.  That  would  occupy  what  space  in  the  shaft? 

A.  It  would  occupy  one  compartment. 

Q.  How  long  does  it  take  a  man  to  ascend  1,800  feet? 

A.  I  don't  remember  exactly  the  speed  with  which  that 
goes — (witness  proceeded  to  calculate  the  time,  and  after 
doing  so  said,)  about  12  minutes. 

Q.  Does  it  take  the  same  time  to  go  down? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Most  work  done  in  the  Comstock  is  done  in  10-hour 
shifts:  the  men  coming  up  at  11  o'clock,  and  the  new  shift 
going  down  at  1  o'clock  in  the  day,  and  the  same  hours  at 
night.  If  you  were  to  have  all  the  miners  at  one  time 
coming  down,  would  it  be  economy,  then,  to  have  all  th,e 
weight  on  those  timbers  that  go  up? 

A.  If  you  will  give  me  the  number  of  men,  I  will  try  to 
tell  you. 


651 

Q.  There  are  about  300  or  400  miners. 

A.  You  would  not  put  300  or  400  miners  on  the  fahr- 
kunst  at  once.  The  simple  necessity  in  that  case  would  be, 
to  arrange  the  shifts  so  that  they  would  not  all  come  out 
and  all  go  in  at  the  same  time. 

Q.  Well,  would  not  the  weight 

A.  The  weight  is  just  the  same  going  up  or  down. 

Q.  What  power  ij  there  required  to  work  that  machinery? 

A.  I  could  not  tell  you  without  examining  notes.     This 
whole  matter  of  the  fahrkunst  has  nothing  to  do  with  the' 
question  of  the  tunnel.    It  may  or  may  not  be  advisable  to 
use  it  in  the  Comstock. 

Q.  I  will  get  your  opinion  of  the  probability  of  all  the 
principal  shafts  that  are  now  being  worked  in  the  Corn- 
stock  getting  below  the  tunnel  level  before  the  tunnel 
reaches  Comstock? 

A.  I  am  not  certain  whether  the  shafts  that  are  expected 
to  the  tunnel  level  within  the  next  year  or  two  are  all  that 
are  being  worked,  and  therefore  I  am  not  able  to  answer 
that  question  categorically,  but  no  doubt  some  of  those 
shafts  will  be  below  the  tunnel  level  before  the  tunnel  is 
there;  and  I  am  informed  one  of  them  is  nearly  or  quite 
.at  the  tunnel  level  now. 

Q.  Do  you  know  how  long  it  has  been  since  the  Sutro 
tunnel  was  commenced? 

A.  !N"o,  sir;  not  of  my  own  knowledge.  I  have  no  per- 
sonal knowledge  that  it  is  commenced;  I  never  saw  it. 

Q.  You  have  never  been  in  the  Sutro  tunnel? 

A.  ]S"ever. 

Q.  In  one  of  your  reports  you  speak  of  several  veins 
having  been  cut  by  the  Sutro  tunnel.  What  authority  had 
you  for  saying  that? 

A.  I  inspected  a  series  of  specimens  taken  out  at  inter- 
vals every  few  feet  in  the  tunnel,  and  I  judge  from  the 
material,  of  which  I  found  some  of  the  specimens. 

Q.  How  do  you  know  that  those  specimens  came  from 
the  tunnel? 

A.  I  have  no  reason  to  doubt  that  they  did. 


652 

Q.  You  do  not  know  it  of  your  own  personal  knowl- 
edge? 

A.  I  have  no  personal  knowledge  on  tlie  subject. 

Q.  Do  you  think  that  if  there  had  been  any  veins  cut 
by  the  tunnel,  that  had  the  appearance  of  being  metal- 
bearing,  that  they  would  have  lain  until  this  time  without 
being  prospected  ? 

A.  I  have  no  knowledge  one  way  or  the  other  about 
that;  but  think  it  quite  likely  they  would  have  been  pros- 
pected. 

Q.  What  was  the  material  of  the  vein  matter  that  you 
saw? 

A.  Silicious  material. 

Q.  If  it  had  not  been  raining,  I  would  have  brought 
some  maps  here  to  show  the  working  of  the  lower  por- 
tions of  the  Comstock.  Have  you  examined  all  those  maps 
published  by  Mr.  King? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  in  King's  atlas. 

Q.  Do  you  think  you  could  have  ventilated,  by  me'ans 
of  this  tunnel,  the  whole  Comstock? 

WITNESS.     All  the  drifts  and  works? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Yes,  sir. 

WITNESS.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Would  not  the  ventilation  be  confined  to  the  single 
passage  between  the  tunnel  and  each  shaft  ? 

A.  The  inner  end  of  the  tunnel. 

Q.  Terminating  at  the  Comstock,  from  that  point  through 
the  drift  that  may  run  from  there  to  each  shaft — the  bot- 
tom of  each  shaft? 

A.  That  would  be  the  only  passage  orf  that  level,  I  sup- 
pose. 

Q.  To  what  distance  on  either  side  that  passage — that 
drift — would  the  effect  of  the  circulation  of  the  air  be  felt? 

A.  If  that  drift  is  run  in  the  rock,  and  the  rock  is  all 
solid  at  the  tunnel  level,  if  I  understand  you,  of  course 
there  is  no  question  of  ventilation  in  a  solid  rock;  and  if 
there  are  other  passages  leading  out  of  that  drift  to  the 
different  mines,  or  to  explore  on  that  level,  you  can  carry 


653 

the  air  by  splitting  the  current,  through  every  one  of 
them.  | 

Q.  Where  would  you  split  the  current? 

A.  Wherever  you  wanted  to  split  it. 

Q.  In  the  tunnel? 

A.  In  the  drift. 

Q.  In  the  drift  after  leaving  the  main  tunnel? 

A.  Yes,  sir.  That  is  the  question  to  be  determined  en- 
tirely by  the  size  of  the  air  passages  and  the  drag  of  the  air. 

Q.  Suppose  the  tunnel  were  completed,  and  in  going 
south  it  commenced  at  the  Savage  mine,  next  south  of  that 
is  the  iSToreross,  and  you  take  a  portion  of  the  air  into  the 
ISTorcross,  and  then  into  the  Chollar,  and  then  in  the 
Bullion,  and  then  in  the  Gold  Hill  mines,  would  there  be 
anything  left  to  take  into  the  Yellow  Jacket,  the  Keutuck, 
and  Crown  Point,  and  Belcher? 

A.  That  is  too  indefinite  a  question  for  me  to  answer. 
I  can  give  you  a  general  idea  of  the  amount  of  air  going 
into  the  tunnel,  and  you  can  divide  it  up  for  yourself. 

Q.  I  want  you  to  divide  it  up.  Tell  me  how  many 
cubic  feet  are  required  in  that  mine? 

A.  It  depends  entirely  upon  the  air  they  want  to  ven- 
tilate. .  It  is  not  necessary  for  them  to  ventilate  all  their 
works.  It  is  only  necessary  for  them  to  ventilate  the 
points  where  the  men  are  at  work. 

Q.  That  I  understand.  Therefore  it  depends  on  the 
positions  of  the  men,  and  the  number  of  men,  and  the 
amount  of  air  they  want.  Now,  do  you  think  that  suffi- 
cient air  could  be  carried  through  that  tunnel  to  ventilate 
these  different  mines  at  the  different  points  where  the  men 
are  at  work? 

A.  Men  are  at  work  sometimes  only  on  one  level,  but 
generally  they  are  at  work  on  several  levels,  where  min- 
ing is  carried  on  properly.  The  only  analogy  by  which  I 
can  answer  that  question  is  that  of  the  ventilation  in  coal 
mines  and  ventilation  in  deep"  mines  in  Europe.  Accord- 
ing to  that  analogy  I  should  be  led  to  say  at  once  that  it 
could  be  done,  but  this  is  an  operation  so  much  larger  in/ 


654 

some  respects,  notably  in  height  of  shaft,  &c.,  and  the  con- 
ditions of  what  we  call  the  drag  or  friction  of  the  air — so 
different,  that  I  do  not  think  I  could  answer  the  question 
directly.  Indeed,  I  think  the  tunnel  might  not  be  suffi- 
cient at  all  times  of  the  year,  and  perhaps  not  at  any  time 
of  the  year,  to  ventilate  of  itself,  without  assistance,  all 
parts  of  the  mine. 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  size  they  propose  to  make  the 
tunnel  ? 

A.  It  is  proposed,  I  believe,  to  make  it  twelve  by  thir- 
teen and  fourteen. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  The  contract  says,  article  6,  that, 

"The dimensions  of  said  tunnel  shall  not  be  less  than  seven  feet  in  height 
in  the  clear,  and  eight  feet  in  the  clear  in  width." 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  wish  to  state,  right  here, 
that  there  is  no  provision  in  that  contract  tbat  operates  so 
as  to  prevent  the  tunnel  being  made  any  larger  than  7  or 
8  feet;  we  are  making  it  12  by  14  feet. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  do  not  know  whether  you  are  making 
a  tunnel  at  all. 

WITNESS.  I  do  not  make  my  calculations  on  6  by  8.  I 
make  them  on  12  by  14. 

Q.  The  bill  that  is  now  before  Congress,  and  which  is 
referred  to  this  committee,  calls  for  100  square  feet  ? 

WITNESS.  It  is  a  mere  calculation.  My  calculation  was 
150  feet  section. 

Q.  Now,  when  these  mines  get  below  the  tunnel  level, 
will  the  air  going  in  through  the  tunnel  go  downward  into 
the  mines? 

A.  N~o,  sir. 

Q.  Then  you  must  apply  artificial  means — use  artificial 
means  to  force  the  air  down? 

A.  Yes,  sir.  If  the  mines  above  at  that  time  are 
not  occupied,  and  you  have  a  clear  shaft  down  to  the  tun- 
nel level  of  1,800  feet,  for  instance,  you  can  produce  for  a 
few  hundred  feet,. by  a  simple  direction  of  the  air  cur- 
rents, a  downward  and  upward  draught,  ventilation  of  the 
works  below  the  tunnel  level. 


655 

Q.  In  Working  a  mine,  is  it  necessary  to  have  your  drifts 
very  crooked  through  which  you  have  got  to  have'your  air 
go  to  the  points  where  the  men  are  at  work? 

A.  I  only  speak  of  the  supposition  that  in  some  partic- 
ular mine,  as  for  instance  the  Yellow  Jacket,  which  I  have 
been  informed  is  now  down  nearly  or  quite  to  the  tunnel 
level,  all  the  ore  above  that  level  should  be  extracted  be- 
fore the  tunnel  reaches  it,  so  that  the  mine  should  be  un- 
occupied. In  lhat  case  it  would  be  possible  to  utilize  the 
draught  of  air  in  such  a  way  as  to  ventilate  to  a  consider- 
able extent  the  workings  below  the  tunnel  level.  Of  course 
this  could  not  be  done  ad  wfiniliim,  for  there  would  come  a 
time  when  the  drag  of  the  air  would  be  so  great  as  to  stag- 
nate the  ventilation. 

Q.  In  answer  to  a  question  the  other  evening  by  Mr. 
Sutro  you  stated  that  the  mines  in  Europe  were  worked 
with  intelligence.  I  will  get  you  to  state  whether  the 
mines  on  the  Comstockare  now  worked  with  intelligence, 
so  far  as  you  know? 

A.  I  do  not  remember  of  stating  that  to, Mr.  Sutro  as  a 
sweeping  proposition.  There  are  badly  worked  mines  in 
Europe  as  well  as  in  this  country,  but  the  mines  that  are 
under  government  control  in  Europe,  or  worked  by  govern- 
ment engineers,  are  worked  with  scientific  applications;  but 
there  are  in  a  great  many  cases  abroad,  just  such  rude 
methods  of  mining  as  you  will  find  in  a  great  many  of  our 
districts  at  home.  If  you  ask  me  whether  the  Comstock 
is  worked  with  intelligence,  as  a  general  proposition,  I  will 
say  yes. 

Q.  In  connection  with  that,  when  your  opinion  was  asked 
upon  the  expenditure  by  the  Government  of  $3,000,000  for 
the  running  of  this  tunnel,  what  opinion  did  you  give,  if 
any? 

A.  I  declined  giving  any  opinion  as  to  any  action  of  the 
Government. 

Q.  I  understood  you  to  say  that  Government  had  ex- 
pended about  §500,000  on  Mr.  King's  work,  whicli  was 
mostly  devoted  to  the  Comstock? 


656 
j 

A.  I  think  I  said  largely  devoted  to  the  Comstock. 

Q.  That  was,  perhaps,  the  word.  lN~ow,  I  will  get  you  to 
state  whether  the  description  of  the  mode  of  mining  upon 
the  Comstock,  and  of  the  machinery  used  upon  the  mines  . 
in  hoisting  up,  and  the  machinery  used  in  the  mills,  and 
the  mode  and  manner  of  reduction,  were  not  given  for  the 
benefit  of  others,  and  not  for  the  people  on  the  Comstock? 

A.  I  suppose  it  was  given  for  the  benefit  of  what  is  called 
"  science,"  which  is  the  combined  experience  in  that  mat- 
ter. 

•  Q.  Is  the  publication  of  that  book  of  any  benefit  to  the 
people  along  the  Comstock  ?  Docs  it  give  anything  beyond 
what  is  known  to  those  who  are  there  ? 

A.  I  do  not  suppose  it  gives  any  information  beyond 
what  the  leading  superintendents  of  the  Comstock  know; 
but  I  regard  it  as  valuable  even  to  them.  It  puts  in  per- 
manent form  those  things  which  in  five  years  from  now 
they  or  their  successors  might  not  otherwise  know.  There 
were,  for  instance,  a  great  many  mining  operations  on  the 
Comstock  in  the  early  days,  concerning  which  it  would  be 
very  important  to  have  such  careful  and  detailed  informa- 
tion as  Mr.  King  gives  concerning  the  operations  of  a  year 
or  two  ago.  It  was,  as  I  understand  it,  in  consequence  of' 
that  experience  and  the  experience  of  that  inconvenience 
that  has  been  spoken  of,  that  the  companies  adopted  this 
system  of  making  complete  maps,  giving  a  full  description 
of  their  works.  • 

Q.  Mr.  King's  atlas,  in  his  description  of  the  mines 
and  mode  of  milling,  was  simply  taken  from  the  maps 
made  by  the  surveyors  of  the  Comstock;  the  mode  of  re- 
duction simply  from  the  mill  men ;  and  the  description  of 
the  mills  and  the  machinery  used  in  the  mills^from  what 
is  there  now  ? 

A.  Of  course,  it  is  a  great  deal  more  valuable  to  us  outside 
of  Comstock  than  it  is  to  people  who  knew  it  before.  If 
I  may  be  allowed  to  add  a  word^  I  made  that  mere  allusion 
in  connection  with  the  question  whether  it  was  wise  to  .ex- 
pend money  simply  to  discover  facts  in  geology  and  min- 


657 

ing.  I  said  that  there  might  be  expenditures  made  which 
might  be  justifiable.  I  was  not  prepared  to  say  that  an 
expenditure  of  $3,000,000,  merely  to  discover  a  fact  in 
geology,  was  justifiable;  but  yet  I  do  justify  the  expendi 
ture  by  the  Government  of  several  hundred  thousand  dol 
lars — if  so  much,  and  that  is  the  common  report — for  the 
preparation  of  such  a  work  as  Mr.  King's.  I  am  thoroughly 
in  favor  of  it,  and  that  remark  was  merely  thrown  out  to 
show  I  do  believe  in  the  expenditure  of  money  for  such  a 
purpose,  though  I  explicitly  stated  I  would  not  justify  an 
expenditure  of  $3,000,000  for  that  alone. 

Q.  Would  you  run  a  tunnel  or  advise  the  running  of  a 
tunnel  for  exploration  alone? 

A.  No,  sir;%I  am  opposed  in  opinion  to  the  running  of 
extensive  deep  cross  tunnels,  exclusively  as  works  of  ex- 
ploration or  as  primary  works,  before  mines  have  been  de- 
veloped. 

Q.  I  believe  you  stated,  in  answer  to  some  question, 
that  you  thought  the  running  of  this  tunnel  would  induce 
capital  to  be  invested  in  the  mines? 

A.  I  stated  that  as  the  result  of  several  questions  lead- 
ing up  to  it,  if  I  remember  rightly;  and  the  conclusion  is 
qualified  somewhat  by  the  answers  that  precede  it.  It 
would  in  my  opinion  tend  to  induce  what  I  regard  as  a 
more  permanent  system  of  mining  in  that  locality,  and  if 
it  demonstrated,  according  to  the  questions  put  to  me,  the 
continuance  and  value  of  the  lode  in  depth,  it  would  tend 
to  inspire  confidence  on  the  part  of  capitalists  in  mining 
operations  in  our  western-  districts.  This  would  not  be 
actual  demonstration  of  the  value  of  the  other  mines;  but 
it  would  have  a  tendency  on  the  minds  of  capitalists  in  that 
direction,  while  it  might  actually  demonstrate  another 
thing,  viz :  the  best  way  to  work  the  mines  with  perma- 
nent success. 

Q.  But  suppose  the  present  companies  working  upon 
the  Comstock  should  be  from  two  to  five  hundred  feet 
below  the  tunnel  when  it  reached  the  lode,  would  th?  run- 
ning of  the  tunnel  demonstrate  the  richness  of  the  mines? 
42 


658 

A.  In  that  case  the  running  of  the  tunnel  would  demon- 
strate  no  more  than  it  would  show,  unless  explorations  in 
the  drift  from  the  tunnel  proved  something  more :  for 
the  drift  might  prove  a  great  deal  more  than  the  shaft. 

Q.  How  so? 

A.  Because  the  shaft  goes  through  the  vein,  and  only  in 
one  vertical  line,  hut  does  not  prove  the  character  at  any 
given  depth,  except  of  the  small  area  it  passes  through.  If 
the  shafts  are  down,  and  the  proprietors  of  the  mines  have 
extended  a  drift  at  the  tunnel  level,  the  whole  length  of 
the  lode,  before  the  tunnel  gets  there,  then  the  tunnel  can- 
not prove  anything  additional  to  that  drift. 

Q.  From  what  you  have  seen  on  the  Comstock,  are  not 
drifts  run  every  100  feet  from  the  shaft  that  goes  down  ? 

A.  It  is  not  the  universal  practice  there,  out  they  are,  I 
believe,  where  they  have  reason  to  expect  any  ore.  I  have 
noticed  in  some  instances  in  the  mines  that  they  skip 
spaces.  A  single  drift,  which  in  ordinary  mines  would 
prospect  the  whole  width  of  the  vein,  does  not  by  any 
means  do  this  adequately  upon  the  Comstock — upon  many 
portions  of  the  Comstock.  You  are  well  aware,  as  well  as 
everybody  who  has  been  on  the  Comstock,  that  that  vein 
differs  from  every  other  vein  in  the  matter  of  exploration 
by  the  fact  of  its  great  width,  so  that  a  single  drift  in  either 
direction  does  not  prospect  the  whole  width  of  the  vein. 

Q.  Then  could  the  Sutro  tunnel,  running  through  the 
Comstock,  possibly  demonstrate  anything  one  way  or  the 
other  ? 

A.  The  Sutro  tunnel,  running  through  the  Comstock, 
would  not  demonstrate  anything  more  than  it  showed. 

Q.  Then,  if  these  shafts — the  main  shafts — are  down  to 
the  tunnel  level  before  the  tunnel  reaches  there,  would  it 
not  be  much  cheaper  to  run  drifts  between  the  different 
shafts  on  that  level  from  the  north  to  the  south  end  of 
the  Comstock,  than  to  run  these  side  drifts  or  lateral  drifts 
of  the  tunnel  as  proposed  ? 

A.  N"o,  sir,  it  would  be  much  more  expensive,  leaving: 


659 

out  the  cost  of  the  tunnel  itself,  because  you  would  in  the 
latter  case  take  the  rock  right  out  of  the  tunnel. 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  size  it  is  proposed  to  run  these 
side  tunnels  from  the  end  of  the  Sutro  tunnel  when  it  en- 
ters or  reaches  the  Comstock? 

A.  I  do  not,  sir;  I  know  what  I  should  advise  as  an  en- 
gineer. I  do  not  know  what  is  determined  upon. 

Q.  Suppose  you  have  now  four  or  five  of  the  leading 
mines  upon  the  Comstock,  worked  from  one  end  to  the 
other  upon  the  level  of  the  tttnnel,  then  it  would  not  cost 
anything  to  drift  from  those  mines,  would  it?  Suppose  the 
Belcher,  the  Crown  Point,  the  Kentuck,  the  Yellow 
Jacket,  on  the  tunnel  level,  would  connect  together  and 
drift  from  one  end  to  the  qther.  That  would  take  out 
several  thousand  feet.  Now,  I  am  talking  of  the  remain- 
der to  be  drifted  through  on  that  level ;  and  the  cost  of  it, 
compared  with  the  cost  of  running  this  drift  upon,  or  east 
of  the  tunnel  level,  and  taking  out  the  waste  through  the 
tunnel.  What  would  be  the  cost? 

A.  I  do  not  understand  what  a  drift  east  of  tunnel  level 
you  refer  to  would  be.  Do  you  mean  a  parallel  drift  in  the 
east  wall? 

Q.  Mr.  Sutro,  in  his  contract,  undertakes  to  run  a  branch 
tunnel  north  and  south,  from  the  end  of  his  main  tunnel, 
which  shall  not  be  less  than  500  feet  east  of  the  west  wall. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  should  like  to  correct  that 
statement.  The  gentleman  does  not  state  the  fact  correctly. 
It  is  true  that  there  shall  not  be  more  than  500  feet,  but 
we  may  run  inside  of  the  lode,  or  alongside  of  it. 

The  WITNESS.  My  own  idea  would  be  that,  if  Mr.  Sutro's 
tunnel,  arriving  at  the  vein,  should  find  a  drift  already  made 
on  a  portion  of  the  vein,  a  part  or  the  wholo  of  which 
could  be  used  by  him,  with  or  without  enlargement,  in  lieu 
of  the  new  longitudinal  drift  to  his  own,  he  should  buy  the 
the  right  of  such  already  constructed  drift,  and  that  the 
parties  constructing  it,  if  they  were  sensible  men,  would 
make  a  fair  arrangement  with  him  for  that  purpose.  What 


660. 

would  be  the  result,  if  they  were  hostile  to  him,  I  do  not 
pretend  to  say. 

Q.  I  understood  you  to  say  that  the  mines  in  Germany — 
I  do  not  know  that  you  went  beyond  Germany,  but  in 
Germany — that  they  paid  regular  dividends.  Do  you  mean 
that  for  the  year  round. 

A.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that. 

Q.  Just  make  your  own  statement  ? 

A.  Some  pay  dividends,  and  some  do  not.  "When  they 
have  bonanzas,  the  practice,  where  the  mines  are  under  gov- 
ernment control  and  supervision,  has  been  to  reserve  the 
bonanzas,  and  to  use  it  in  order  to  keep  up  the  regular 
average  product  of  the  mine,  and  it  is  not  the  custom  to 
exploit  every  body  of  ore  as  rapidly  as  possible,  in  order  to 
make  a  profit  out  of  it  and  divide  it  among  the  owners 
or  stockholders,  and  then  to  go  into  a  long  period  of  bar- 
ren exploration.  The  reason  for  that  is  simply,  that  the 
government  feels  some  responsibility  for  the  laboring  popu- 
lation, who  are  not,  like  our  miners,  able  to  move  about 
from  one  district  to  another,  but  who  reside  in  the  district, 
and  have  for  generations;  and  consequently  it  is  felt  to  be 
a  responsibility  on  the  part  of  the  government  to  see  to  it 
that  they  have  steady  work.  They  do  not  crowd  the  mines 
when  they  are  in  rich  ore,  do  riot  discharge  the  force  when 
they  are  in  poor  ore ;  and,  as  far  as  dividends  go,  you  will 
see  for  yourselves,  it  may  stop  the  dividends  or  increase 
the  dividends.  The  mines  keep  a  reserve  fund,  which 
enables  them  to  go  through  a  hard  time  without  allowing 
the  suffering  to  fall  upon  the  laborer ;  the  result  is  there- 
fore more  uniform  than  it  would  be  on  another  system. 

Q.  I  think  my  minutes  of  your  testimony  read, 

"That  mines  in  Europe  so  worked  declare  regular  dividends." 

If  I  am  mistaken  in  that,  I  would  like  to  be  corrected. 

The  WITNESS.  I  do  not  think  I  made  any  such  sweeping 
assertion  as  that.  There  is  nothing  that  can  be  predicated 
of  the  mines  of  Europe,  as  a  whole,  any  more  than  in  re- 
gard to  the  American  mines  as  a  whole. 

Q.  You  know  that,  as   a  matter  of  course,   mining  is 


661 

the  most  uncertain  business  in  the  world,  as  far  as  pro- 
ductiveness is  concerned? 

A.  As  a  mining  engineer,  I  have  always  been  accustomed 
to  say  it  was  not  the  most  uncertain,  but  it  is  very  uncer- 
tain ;  I  will  say  that. 

Q,  Take  the  Comstock  now,  the  bodies  of  ore  that  you 
have  seen  there — the  bod}''  of  ore  as  shown  on  King's  maps, 
— can  there  be  any  certainty  in  mining,  or  any  certainty  in 
dividends,  declared  by  any  company  on  the  Comstock? 

A.  IsTo,  sir ;  not  as  at  present  administered. 

Q.  How  do  you  propose  to  administer  the  mines  there, 
to  make  it  pay? 

A.  I  do  not  propose  to  manage  the  future.  I  suppose 
I  can  criticise  the  past  better. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  A  good  many  of  us  can  do  that.  "We 
all  see  the  mistakes  that  we  have  made. 

The  WITNESS.  But  my  general  point  is,  that  the  consol- 
idation in  former  times  would  have  prevented  that  state  of 
affairs  by  which  one  proprietor  has  been  in  luck,  and 
another  proprietor  been  out  of  luck,  and  both  of  them 
wasted  money. 

Q.  You  are  aware  of  that  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir ;  to  say  nothing  of  litigation. 

Q.  The  litigation  has  not  been  between  the  legitimate 
mine  owners,  but  it  has  been  between  the  owners  of  mines 
first  located  upon  the  Comstock,  and  then  other  locations 
by  parties  who  claimed  there  was  more  than  one  lode. 

A.  I  thought  there  had  been  litigation  between  the 
owners — very  extensive  litigation — as  to  proper  bound- 
aries. 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  it  cost  to  mine  ore  in  early  times 
upon  the  Comstock — how  much  per  ton? 

The1  WITNESS.  Do  you  refer  to  the  cost  of  the  extraction 
simply? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Extraction. 

A.  I  cannot  tell  you  exactly.  I  could  refer  to  it  in  the 
reports  of  the  companies.  That  is  my  only  authority. 


662 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  it  cost  to  mill  ore  in  1861,  1862, 
and  1863?* 

A.  I  have  heard  of  very  high  prices  being  paid.  I  do 
not  know  of  my  own  knowledge. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  the  cost  of  sup- 
plies necessary  for  running  the  milling  in  those  early 
times? 

A.  IsTo,  sir;  I  do  not  know  anything  of  my  personal 
knowledge  before  I  commenced  to  look  into  the  subject 
as  Commissioner  of  Mines. 

"Q.  Suppose  the  cost  to  have  been  greatly  in  excess  of 
the  present  cost  of  supplies  for  both  mills  and  mines,  could 
the  company  at  that  time  have  afforded  to  work  low-grade 
ores? 

A.  They  could  have  afforded  to  work  a  lower  grade  of 
ores  than  they  did.  I  believe  it  has  never  been  denied, 
and  I  am  quite  sure  you  would  not  wish  to  dispute  it,  that 
in  the  early  days,  when  the  Ophjr  and  the  Gould  and  Curry 
were  in  bonanza,  there  was  the  most  unnecessary  expend- 
iture of  money.  Inexperience  and  extravagance  both  com- 
bined to  produce  that  result.  Since  these  expenditures 
were  all  charged  to  the  account  of  working  the  mine,  it 
stands  to  reason  that  ores  of  lower  grade  could  have  been 
worked  with  profit  than  were  really  worked,  or  were  sup- 
posed to  be  capable  of  it,  at  that  time. 

Q,  So  far  as  .you  have  any  personal  knowledge,  is  there 
any  want  of  economy  now  ? 

A.  I  believe  that  at  present  there  is  a  great  economy 
practiced  on  the  Comstock  lode ;  and,  so  far  as  my 
knowledge  or  opinion  goes,  I  know  of  no  general  im- 
provement that  can  be  suggested  short  of  an  entire  change 
of  the  system. 

Q.  I  understood  you  to  say  the  other  evening  that  in 
mining,  as  mining  has  been  carried  on  on  the  Comstock, 
taking  out  only  such  ores  as  at  the  time  would  pay  a  profit, 
that  there  was  either  an  entire  loss  of  the  low-grade  ores, 
or  a  great  loss.  That  was  what  you  designated  as  piratical 


663 

mining,  not  using  the   term  piratical  in  any  offensive 
sense  ? 

A.  Exactly. 

Q.  Then  the  Conistock  is  pretty  much  ruined  now,  is  it 
not? 

A.  Very  badly  damaged  by  that. 

Q.  "Would  the  Sutro  tunnel  improve  that  any  ? 

A.  I  think  it  would. 

Q.  In  what  respect? 

A.  By  leading  to  the  extraction  and  working  of  these 
low-grade  ores. 

Q.  How  much  deeper  could  you  mine  these  ores  below 
the  surface — the  low  grade  ores,  taking  them  through  the 
tunnel,  for  that  is  the  purpose,  and  reduce  them  at  the 
mouth  of  the  tunnel — than  they  can  be  now  raised  to  the 
surface  and  taken  to  the  mills  on  the  Carson  river  and 
there  reduced? 

WITNESS.  Can  you  tell  me  what  it  cost  to  haul  to  the 
mills  on  the  Carson  river  ? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  You  want  to  know  what  the  railroad 
charges  are. 

WITNESS.  What  the  whole  cost  is  from  the  mine  to  the 
mill. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  can  tell  you  what  the  railroad 
charges  are,  but  not  the  other  charge. 

WITNESS.  I  cannot  ansvfer  the  question  until  I  know 
what  that  item  amounts  to. 

Q.  Then  how  can  you  form  an  opinion  as  to  whether 
the  tunnel  would  reduce  the  expense  of  mining  and  mill- 
ing this  low  grade  ore  ? 

A.  Because  I  am  very  strongly  of  opinion  that,  what- 
ever that  item  amounts  to,  it  is  more  than  the  cost  of  taking 
ore  through  the  tunnel. 

Q.  When  you  speak  of  the  cost  of  taking  ore  out  of  the 
tunnel,  do  you  mean  the  absolute  cost  of  taking  it  out,  or 
charges  that  Mr.  Sutro  is  entitled  to  impose  ? 

A.  My  proposition,  as  a  general  proposition,  is  in  regard 


664 

to  the  advantages  of  the  tunnel,  without  reference  to  who 
owns  it,  or  the  contract  existing  with  regard  to  it. 

Q.  Would  the  reduction  in  the  expense  of  raining  and 
milling  be  equal  to  the  $2  royalty  upon  all  the  ores  taken 
out? 

A.  Yes,  sir,  it  would ;  because  they  would  not  take  out . 
lower  grade  ore  if  it  was  not. 

Q.  Will  not  the  imposition  of  a  royalty  of  $2  a  ton  upon 
the  low-grade  ores  prevent  the  working  of  a  great  many 
low-grade  ores  in  the  Comstock?  * 

A.  I  have  no  doubt  that,  if  that  tunnel  imposes  a  roy- 
alty of  $2  a  ton  upon  ore,  there  would  be  a  line  in 
value,  below  which  ore  would  not  be  taken  out.  That 
line  would  determine  itself  by  the  experience  of  the 
company,  with  regard  to  those  low-grade  ores;  but  I  hold 
myself  that,  when  that  point  is  reached,  there  will  be  in 
the  progress  of  mining  of  the  Comstock  just  what  there 
has  been  hitherto.  There  would  be  a  further  reduction  of 
expenses  in  other  respects,  so  as  greatly  to  enable  those 
ores  to  be  reached  also,  and  particularly,  I  believe,  that  the 
price  of  labor  would  be  sooner  or  later  less  than  it  is  at 
present. 

Q.  Do  you  think  the  running  of  the  Sutro  tunnel  can 
possibly  affect  the  price  of  labor? 

A.  I  do  not  expect  that  particular  measure  to  doit.  That 
is  to  come  in  course  of  time,  with  or  without  the  tunnel. 

Q.  You  spoke  the  other  evening  of  the  mining  laws  of 
Europe.  Do  you  think  that  those  laws,  established  in 
Europe  by  monarchical  governments,  are  applicable  to  this 
Government,  or  the  spirit  of  the  people  in  this  country  ? 

A.  ISTo,  sir. 

Q.  You  spoke  also  of  the  changes  in  laws  since  this  fran- 
chise was  granted  to  Mr.  Sutro,  or  rather  since  the  Sutro 
tunnel  project  was  first  started.  What  changes  have  taken 
place  ?  You  spoke  of  the  local  laws  having  changed,  and 
also  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Nevada. 

A.  The  State  of  Nevada,  since  that  time,  has  passed  a 


666 

general  mining  law,  tried  it  for  a  year  or  two,  and  repeal- 
ed it. 

Q.  When  was  that? 

A.  I  think  that  was  in  1867  or  1868;  I  do  not  remera- 
her  exactly  the  year.  I  have  read  the  law.  I  know  that 
it  was  not  executed,  and  I  think  it  was  repealed. 

Q.  What  were  the  provisions  of  that  law? 

A.  The  provisions  were  in  relation  to  the  location  of 
mines.  I  cannot  recall  them  now.  My  reference  to  the  sub- 
ject, you  will  remember,  was  merely  to  say  that  the  con- 
ditions surrounding  mining  in  this  country,  are  not  as 
stable  as  they  are  in  older  countries,  and1  naturally,  there- 
fore, capital  is  not  invested,  as  a  general  rule,  in  min- 
ing districts  with  confidence. 

Q.  What  local  laws  affecting  the  Comstock  have  been 
changed  since  then? 

A.  I  am  not  able  to  tell  you.  I  have  stated  they  have 
been  changed.  I  have  stated  there  were  several  changes, 
both  in  federal  and  local  legislation.  I  was  mainly  referring 
to  the  investment  of  capital  in  other  places  than  the  Coin- 
stock.  .  I  simply  said,  by  way  of  illustration,  that  since 
then,  in  this  limited  period  of  time — since  the  Sutro  tunnel 
scheme  was  first  proposed — there  have  been  even  in  Nevada, 
affecting  the  whole  State  of  Nevada,  changes  in  legislation. 
Congress  has  also  made  changes  in  its  legislation,  and 
local  changes  have  beefl  made  in  other  mining  localities. 

Q.  In  what  respect  has  Congress  made  any  change? 

A.  The  law  of  1866;  and  they  have  passed  a  subsequent 
law  amending  it.  I  suppose  they  will  pass  a  third  law. 

Q.  Do  you  recollect  the  date  of  that  law  of  1866  ? 

A.  It  .was  in  July. 

Mr.  SUTRO     The  26th. 

Q.  In  what  respect  did  that  law  of  Congress  change  the 
course  of  the  Government,  or  any  law  passed  by  Congress, 
or  contemplated  by  Congress  ? 

A.  It  changed  the  course  of  the  Government  in  a  very 
important  respect.  It  opened  the  door  to  the  acquisition 
of  a  fee  simple  by  means  of  patents,  and  raised  the  entire 


666 

question  of  the  taxability  of  mining  claims,  which,  has 
been  one  of  the  most  troublesome  and  important  questions 
ever  affecting  mining  industry.  * 

Q.  Has  the  Government  ever  interfered  with  the  opera- 
tion of  any  gold  or  silver  mines,  since  their  discovery  west 
of  the  Mississippi  river? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  over  and  over  again. 

Q.  Where? 

A.  In- many  of  the  land  districts  of  the  country  we  find 
protests  on  file  at  the  land  office,  and  in  cases  where  the 
Government  has  granted  lands  as  agricultural,  and  com- 
plaint has  been  made  that  the  lands  were  mineral  lands. 
x  Q.  Has  any  law  of  Congress  ever  interfered  with  the 
sale  of  mineral  lauds,  except  under  the  law  of  1866,  July 
26,  and  the  amendment  to  it  in  1870,  authorizing  the  pas- 
sage of  the  title  from  the  Government? 

A.  Not  that  I  am  aware  of.  I  do  not  think  so.  That  is 
what  I  alluded  to  when  I  spoke  of  the  Government  chang- 
ing its  policy;  would  not  authorize  it  before,  and  yet  did 
it  afterward. 

Q.  Has  not  every  act  authorizing  the  sale  of  public*  lands 
exempted  mineral  lands  from  sale  in  the  act  ? 

A,  No,  sir ;  such  lands  as  were  marked  by  the  survey- 
ors as  mineral  lands  were  reserved. 

Q.  Are  you  certain  that  that  is  so? 

A.  That  has  been  so  up  to  within,  I  believe,  a  few  months. 
The  Commissioner  of  the  Land  Office  has  recently  reversed 
the  policy  of  the  Government  in  certain  cases.  Under  Mr. 
Wilson's  administration  it  was  not  necessary  to  make  abso- 
lute proof,  in  applying  for  agricultural  lands,  that  the  land 
was  jiot  mineral.  It  was  sufficient  if  the  surveyor's  report 
pronounced  it  agricultural. 

Q.  Don't  you  know  that  the  patent  passing  lands  from 
the  Government,  when  the  act  of  Congress  reserves  the 
mineral  lands,  does  not  convey  title  to  mineral  on  the  lands? 

A.  I  know  that  when  a  title  has  once  passed,  any  sub- 
sequent discovery  of  mineral  on  lands  belongs  to  the  man 
who  got  the  agricultural  patent,  and  cannot  be  touched. 


667 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  That  is  a  question  of  law  that  I  will 
not  Dispute. 

WITNESS.  I  lay  it  clown  on  the  authority  of  the  Commis- 
sioner of  the  Land  Office,  who  said  that  to  me  the  day  be- 
fore yesterday. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  suppose  there  are  about  as  good 
lawyers  in  the  country  as  he  is. 

WITNESS.  I  believe  there  has  been  no  case  where  a  man 
has  received  a  title  for  agricultural  lands,  where  such  title 
has  ever  been  disputed,  by  reason  of  the  discovery  of  min- 
erals or  salines.  He  is  required  to  make  an  affidavit,  when 
he  makes  his  application,  that  he  knows  of  no  minerals  on 
the  land.  The  land  is  presumed  to  be  agricultural,  if  no- 
body comes  up  and  swears  it  is  mineral.  There  used  to  be 
no  proof  at  all  required  until  lately,  except  that  negative 
proof. 

Q.  What  was  your  answer  to  the  question  as  to  the 
present  speculations  in  mining  stocks  of  the  Comstock? 

A.  I  do  r.ot  think  it  was  asked  me.  If  it  was,  I  could  not 
have  given  any  answer  from  personal  knowledge.  I  have 
no  special  knowledge  on  that  subject. 

Q.  So  far  as  the  Comstock  is  concerned,  is  there  any 
necessity  for  any  more  capital  being  attracted  to  that  mine 
than  is  there  now? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Then  the  running  of  the  tunnel  would  be  of  no  benefit 
to  the  Cqmstock  in  attracting  greater  investment  or  cap- 
ital at  that  point? 

A.  I  do  not  think  it  would ;  that  is  to  say,  if  you  refer 
to  an}-  foreign  capital  or  anything  of  that  kind.  There  is 
plenty  of  capital  in  California  to  run  the  Comstock. 

Q.  Don't  you  think  the  Comstock  is  selling  for  a  great 
deal  more  than  it  is  worth  now  intrinsically? 

A.  Yes,  I  do;  that  is,  I  have  no  personal  knowledge  of 
what  it  is  selling  for,  but  if  I  take  the  reports,  and  I  have 
seen  the  calculations  which  I  suppose  to  be  reliable — I  did 
not  make  them  myself— the  Comstock  is  selling  for  be- 
tween $20,000,000  and  $30,000,000  to-day. 


668 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Selling  nearer  $40,000,000. 

WITNESS.  I  think  $40,000,000  is  a  pretty  high  valuation 
for  airy  mine.  My  opinion  that  it  is  too  high  for  the  Corn- 
stock  is  based  on  my  own  idea  of  the  profits  which  a  mine 
ought  to  pay. 

Q.  What  is  your  information  as  to  eastern  capitalists  or 
Europeans  investing  in  mines  upon  the  Pacific  slope  ? 

A.  Some  of  our  best  mines  are  run  by  eastern  capital — 
by  European  capital — and  make  large  profits. 

Q.  What  mine? 

A.  Sierra  Buttes,  in  California,  that  has  been  owned  sev- 
eral years  by  an  English  company,  and  they  have  made 
large  profits.  They  have  declared  dividends  regularly. 

Q.  What  other? 

A.  The  "  Emma"  mine,  in  Utah,  owned  by  an  English 
company,  that  is  paying  18  per  cent,  dividend,  and  is  ex- 
pected to  continue  to  do  so  for  several  years,  certainly.  I 
believe  there  have  been  several  of  our  large  gravel  and 
cement  mines  in  California  sold  to  English  companies. 

Q.  Has  not  more  than  half  the  eastern  capital  invested 
west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  been  absolutely  lost  in  the 
Rocky  Mountains  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  western,  too,  for  that  matter. 

Q.  Then,  do  you  think  it  is  desirable  for  the  Govern- 
ment to  encourage  foreign  or  eastern  capitalists  to  invest 
in  those  mines  ? 

A.  Not  if  the  system  of  mining  is  going  to  bfc  what  it 
has  been. 

Q.  Mr.  Newcomb  stated  that  the  loss  in  transmitting 
compressed  air  a  little  more  than  a  mile  in  the  Hoosac 
tunnel  was  15  per  cent.  What  have  you  to  say  as  to  the 
correctness  of  that  statement  ? 

A.  I  cannot  say  anything  about  it.  I  do  not  remember 
the  figures.  If  you  have  got  the  Hoosac  reports,  why  it  is 
very  easy  to  determine;  but  I  cannot  recollect  them  at 
this  moment. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  of  the  practicability  of  taking 


669 

a  sufficient  quantity  of  water  from  the  Carson  river  "to  a 
point  opposite  the  tunnel  to  concentrate  ores  or  reduce 
them  ? 

A.  I  do  not.  I  simply  traveled  over  that  country  very 
rapidly,  and  have  no  opinion. 

Q.  General  Day  reports — I  have  the  report  here — that 
there  is  a  fall  from  the  Mexican  dam,  which  is  the  highest 
dam  upon  the  Carson  river  and  almost  the  highest  dam  at 
a  point  where  a  dam  can  be  built,  to  a  point  opposite  the 
mouth  of  the  Sutro  tunnel  of  250  feet.  It  is  now  proposed, 
at  a  point  5J-  miles  above  Sutro  tunnel,  to  erect  a  dam  1|35 
feet  high,  which  would  throw  the  water  back  to  the  Mexi- 
can dam.  What  fall  of  water  would  you  practically  get, 
using  the  dam  as  a  reservoir,  from  that  dam  down  to  a 
point  opposite  the  tunnel  ? 

A.  I  don't  know  anything  about  the  region  there,  and 
I  don't  think  I  had  better  try  to  answer  a  question  that 
involves  a  knowledge  of  the  region. 

Q.  I  believe  you  stated  Saturday  night  that  the  forma- 
tion upon  the  river  there  would  hold  water? 

A.  I  said  that  trachyte  would  hold  water. 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  the  formation  is  on  either  side  of 
the  Carson  river? 

A.  I  know  nothing  in  detail  about  it,  except  I  traveled 
through  that  region,  and  I  believe  it  to  be  composed  gen- 
erally of  rocks,  (volcanic  and  igneous  rocks;)  in  other 
words,  not  distinctly  stratified  rocks. 

Q.  Have  you  examined  the  formation  on  either  side  of 
the  river,  say  from  Empire  City  ? 

A.  I  have  not  examined  it. 

Q.  Then  you  cannot  say  whether  the  rocks  there  would 
hold  water  or  not? 

A.  I  do  not  know  anything  about  the  rocks  of  any  par- 
ticular spot.  I  do  not  think  I  undertook  to  make  any 
specific  statement  about  the  locality  the  other  night.  If  I 
gave  you  the  impression  I  had  personally  examined  the 
locality,  I  .was  misunderstood. 


670 

Mr.  SuNDERLAm  I  do  not  think  you  did,  but  I  under- 
stood  you  to  say  that  the  rock  there  would  hold  water. 

A.  From  the  general  impression  of  the  rocks  in  that 
region,  I  believe  it  would;  that  is  all. 

Q.  You  say  that,  in  concentrating  ores,  the  first  neces- 
sity is  plenty  of  water? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  What  quantity  of  water  would  be  required  to  reduce 
1,000  tons  a  day — to  concentrate  and  reduce? 

A.  I  could  not  answer  that.  It  would  depend  on  the 
manner  in  which  the  works  are  arranged. 

Q.  Suppose  you  had  a  fall  of  90  feet,  then  about  how 
much  water  would  you  require  ? 

A.  The  fall  would  not  help  you  at  all  in  concentration, 
except  as  a  means  of  power. 

Q.  You  require  considerable  fall  for  concentration,  do 
you  not?^ 

A.  Simply  for  the  location  of  the  building. 

Q.  You  require  a  power  to  move  your  automatic  ma- 
chinery? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Can  you  form  any  estimate  of  the  quantity  of  water 
that  would  be  likely  to  flow  out  of  the  tunnel  that  could 
be  relied  upon  ? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  cannot  form  any  definite  estimate  about 
it.  I  think,  as  a  minimum,  you  would  get  500  inches. 

A.  You  have  stated  that  coal  at  $12  a  ton  would  equal 
wood  at  $8  a  cord? 

A.  As  a  steam  generator. 

Q.  Have  you  any  idea  what  coal  would  cost  at  the  mouth* 
of  the  tunnel? 

A.  I  could  not  answer  from  personal  knowledge,  but  I 
believe  it  could  be  put  in  San  Francisco  for  $14  or  $15. 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  it  sells  for  at  Reno  ? 

A.  I  do  not  know;  but  that  would  be  an  entirely  differ- 
ent matter,  if  there  were  large  contracts,  of  course.  I 
know  the  Rocky  Mountain  coal  companies  are  very  anxious 


671 

to  get  their  coal  to  the  "West,  and  put  it  down  as  low  as 
they  can  afford  to  carry  it.  It  would  be  a  question  be- 
tween the  company  and  the  railroad.  In  using  it,  unless 
you  have  long  contracts,  you  would  be  at  the  mercy  of  the 
railroad  companies,  which  is  a  very  serious  objection. 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  wood  could  be  delivered  at  the 
mouth  of  the  tunnel  for? 

A.  I  have  no  personal  knowledge. 

Q.  Now,  about  the  present  saving  of  the  metal  in  the 
ores,  do  you  know  enough  to  give  an  opinion  as  to  the 
amount  of  assay  value  that  is  now  saved  ? 

A.  It  is  my  opinion  that  over  80  per  cent,  is  saved  ;  tkat 
is  to  say,  that  over  80  per  cent. — from  80  to  82.  That  is 
my  own  estimate — is  the  saving,  if  you  reckon  every- 
thing, that  finally  finds  its  way  into  circulation.  I  am  not 
speaking  about  what  the  mines  receive,  but  what  is  actu- 
ally extracted  sooner  or  later  from  the  ores  and  tailings, 
slimes,  and  everything. 

Q.  So  far  as  the  Government  is  concerned,  and  so  far 
as  the  people  of  this  country  are  concerned,  does  it  make 
an}-  difference  who  receives  the  metal  out  of  the  ore,  and 
whether  it  is  equally  divided  between  the  mines  and  mills, 
or  whether  the  mines  get  it  all  ? 

A.  That  is  a  political  question.  I  do  not  know  whether 
it  makes  any  difference  or  not.  It  is  a  question  as  to  what 
the  Government  has  got  to  do  in  that  matter.  For  my 
own  part,  I  am  very  free  to  say  that  I  do  not  think  it  is 
any  business  of  the  Government  whether  its  citizens  get 
the  best  or  the  worst  of  a  bargain. 

Q.  That  is  a  matter  to  be  left  to  any  contract  made  be- 
tween the  mills  and  the  mining  companies  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir.  I  do  not  think  it  is  a  subject  upon  which 
I  am  an  expert.  It  is  a  question  of  political  economy. 

Q.  I  understood  you  to  say  you  had  official  statements 
furnished  you  in  reference  to  this  guarantee  of  65  per  cent. 
What  official  statements  ? 

A.  Not  official  statements,  perhaps,  but  statements  made 


672 

to  me  in  my  official  capacity — received  from  the  proprie- 
tors of  mills,  and  from  superintendents  some  years  ago, 
whose  names  I  have  forgotten. 

Q.  You  always  got  what  you  asked  for.  Was  not  the 
information  always  given  freely  to  you  when  you  made  in- 
quiries of  the  mining  companies? 

A.  Not  in  every  case,  but  I  have  had  very  good  success. 
I  have  had  my  own  agents. 

•Q.  If  you  have  not  examined  the  formation  on  either 
side  of  the  Carson  river,  can  you  give  any  opinion  as  to 
what  the  percolation  would  be? 

1(-A.  Simply  from  the  fact — only  a  general  opinion  from 
the  fact — that  I  know  what  those  rocks  are  when  the  rocks 
are  declared  to  be  of  a  certain  class.  I  also  judge  from 
the  fact  that  the  Carson  itself  river  does  not  percolate  and 
disappear  at  that  spot. 

Q.  Have  you  been  to  the  head  waters  of  the  Carson 
river  ? 

A.  !Nb,  sir. 

Q.  You  do  not  know  that  any  one  of  the  branches  of  the 
Carson  river  is  larger  than  the  Carson  river  is  at  Empire 
City? 

A.  I  do  not  know  that  at  all  personally. 

Q.  I  understood.you  to  say  you  thought  this  royalty  was 
good  security  for  the  advancement  by  the  Government  of 
$3,000,000? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  declined  to  answer  that.  I  said  it  was  a 
matter  to  be  left  to  contract  and  the  action  of  the  Gov- 
ernment; that  I  did  not, belong  to  the  department  of  the 
Government  which  determined  its  policy,  but  if  I  was  asked 
whether  the  mines,  in  my  opinion,  or  the  Comstock  would 
last  long  enough  to  make  an  annual  payment  of  such  a 
roj'alty  on  the  production,  amounting  to  $500,000  or 
$600,000  a  year,  and  whether  that  was  good  security 
for  the  repayment  of  the  $3,000,000, 1  should  say  certainly 
it  was. 

Q.  Suppose  the  Government  should  grant  $3,000,000 
to  the  Sutro  tunnel  company,  and  it  proposes  to  pay  back 


673 

without  interest  one  quarter  me  net  proceeds,  without 
the  Government  having  any  control  over  the  keeping  of 
the  accounts  of  that  company,  what,  then,  would  you  say* 
as  to  the  security? 

A.  I  do  not  think  that  that  is  a  question  that  I  am  an 
expert  at  all  in  regard  to.  I  do  not  think,  as  a  private  citi- 
zen, that  that  sort  of  an  arrangement,  giving  the  Govern- 
ment no  control  over  the  accounts,  would  be  a  fair  one  to 
make. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  It  is  proposed  to  do  that.  The  bill  provides 
that  the  Government  shall  appoint  commissioners  to  ex- 
amine and  report  upon  the  condition  of  the  works  and  the 
condition  of  affairs  generally;  consequently  the  Govern- 
ment has  absolute  control. 

WITNESS.  If  it  is  proposed  by  any  bill  to  have  the  Gov- 
ernment cheated,  why  that  bill  ought  to  be  defeated;  that 
is  all  I  have  to  say  about  that.  I  have  nothing  to  do  with 
that  matter. 

Q.  Do  you  know  Mr.  Janin? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  He  is  a  mining  engineer,  I  believe,  is  he  not? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Where  did  he  graduate  ? 

A.  I  do  not  know  that  he  graduated  anywhere. 

Q.  Where  was  he  educated  ? 

A.  He  has  been  educated  at  Freiberg,  and  he  was  there 
several  years.  We  have  no  regular  graduation  at  Frei- 
berg, but  he  was  educated  there. 

Q.  He  says  in  one  of  his  reports  that  the  process  used 
there  now  for  the  reduction  of  ores  is  the  best  that  could 
be  adopted  for  the  reduction  of  the  ores  on  the  Corn-stock. 
What  have  you  to  say  about  that  ? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Where  does  he  state  that? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  In  one  of  his  official  reports. 

Q.  Does  not  he  state  anything  besides  that? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  He  states  a  great  many  other  things 
besides  that,  but  not  in  that  connection. 
43 


674 

WITNESS.  There  are  sevoral  processes  in  use  for  the  re- 
duction of  ores,  but  I  do  not  know  which  one  he  refers  to. 
«  Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  The  process  referred  to  is  the  one  in 
use  at  the  time  he  made  that  report. 

WITNESS.  I  do  not  know  the  date  of  the  report.  The 
Freiberg  process  has  been  changed  within  ten  years. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  He  speaks  of  the  process  used  on  the 
Comstock  as  the  best  that  could  be  adopted? 

A.  I  have  stated  the  same  thing  in  one  of  my  reports. 
As  far  as  the  application  of  the  raw  amalgamation  is  con- 
cerned, I  regard  the  Washoe  process  as  the  best  for  that 
purpose. 

Q.  How  do  the  ores  of  the  Comstock  compare  with 
those  in  the  different  mines  of  Germany,  generally,  as  to 
their  freeness — the  absence  now,  I  mean,  of  base  metals? 

A.  They  have  certain  grades  of  ores  abroad  that  are 
comparatively  free,  and  then  again  the  same  kind  of  min- 
erals occur  in  the  German  mines. 

Q.  Do  you  know  that  at  times  in  the  Comstock  there  is 
a  great  deal  of  base  metal  to  interfere  with  the  amalgama- 
tion of  the  ores  ? 

A.  I  know  that,  and  I  don't  think  the  Washoe  amalga- 
mation is  as  successful  on  that  grade  of  ore.  It  is  for  the 
reason  that  most  of  the  ores  belong  to  a  different  class  that 
that  process  is  considered  of  itself  to  be  adapted  to  them. 

A.  Is  there  not  a  great  deal  of  metal  carried  off  in  the 
sulphurets  from  the  first  process?  « 

A.  More  or  less.  I  think  that  the  first  process,  as  ap- 
plied in  most  of  the  mills  at  Washoe,  is  not  calculated  to 
reduce  sulphurets  at  all.  It  is  more  especially  the  silver 
and  gold,  that  occur  native  and  free  in  the  ore  that  is  ex- 
extracted  by  the  first  process  in  the  mills,  and  I  ought  to 
add  right  here,  to  explain  my  statement  of  the  Washoe 
process — I  do  not  need  to  defend  Mr.  Janin — my  own 
statement  is  that  the  Washoe  process  is  the  best  in  itself 
as  a  theory,  and  is  capable,  when  properly  managed,  of 
being  improved  and  of  doing  the  work  for  that  class  of  ores. 
I  do  not  mean  to  indorse  the  practice  in  every  mill.  There 


675 

ore  twenty  different  theories  going  among  the  mills  now. 
If  you  travel  from  one  mill  to  the  other,  you  will  find  a  to- 
tally different  practice  in  regard  to  some  important  point, 
each  man  regarding  his  as  the  best. 

Q.  Will  not  metal  carried  off  by  the  sulphurets  become 
free  by  salting  the  tailings  and  exposing  them  to  the  air? 

A.  I  do  not  think  it  will. 

Q.  What  process  is  it  necessary  to  resort  to  ? 

A.  I  think  that  the  tailings,  which  are  a  little  different 
from  the  sulphurets,  might  become  oxydized  by  exposure; 
but  for  the  treatment  of  the  slimes,  so-called,  which  are 
mainly  sulphurets  of  the  precious  metals,  sulphurets  of 
silver,  chemicals  in  the  pans  are  necessary. 

Q.  Is  there  not  a  great  deal  of  metal  that  is  lost  in  the 
first  process  of  the  working  of  the  ores  from  the  Comstock 
contained  in  the  pyrites  of  iron? 

A.  I  cannot  give  you  an  exact  statement  as  to  that.  I 
have  no  .doubt  that  in  some  ores — of  some  of  the  bodies — 
it  has  been  the  case.  I  do  not  know  how  it  is  with  the 
general  run  of  ores. 

Q.  So  far  as  they  are  concerned,  will  they  not  be  oxydized 
by  salting  and  exposure  to  the  air? 

A.  I  have  never  seen  it  practiced  upon  pyrites  in  that 
way.  I  do  not  know  that  salting  will  help  them. 

Mr.  SUTKO.  You  have  been  asked  whether  some  of  the 
shafts  at  present  existing  on  the  Comstock  lode  would  not 
be  down  to  the  tunnel  level.  I  want  to  ask  you  now 
whether  ifr  is  not  desirable  that  they  should  connect  with 
the  tunnel? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Would  it  not,  in  fact,  be  the  result  of  the  construction 
of  the  tunnel,  that  all  these  shafts  would  be  connected  with 
the  tunnel? 

A.  I  believe  that  is1  a  part  of  the  plan  of  running  the 
tunnel. 

Q.  Do  you  see  any  difficulty  in  sinking  these  shafts  down 
and  connecting  them  with  the  tunnel,  by  first  putting  the 
bore-holes  down  in  order  to  let  the  water  out  ? 


676 

A.  There  is  no  impracticability  about  putting  the  bore- 
hole down. 

Q.  E~ow,  I  want  to  ask  you  whether  the  tunnel  will  not 
allow  deeper  explorations  upon  that  lode  thao  could  be 
done  without  the  tunnel? 

A.  I  think  I  said  the  other  night  I  thought  it  would.  I 
look  upon  it  that  there  is  a  difference  between  the  absolute 
necessity  and  the  economical  necessity  in  that  matter,  as 
in  all  other  matters.  What  is  the  limit  of  mechanical  en- 
gineering I  do' not  know;  but  economically  we  have  never 
gone  deeper  by  shafts  alone — than  3,000  feet. 

Q.  Speaking  economically,  in  order  to  rilake  the  mines 
profitable,  would  it  not  be  more  profitable  to  open  up  a 
new  basis  of  operations  at  the  tunnel  level  than  to  go 
simply  down  from  the  surface? 

A.  I  believe  I  have  explained  all  the  points  that  would 
be  advantageous.  I  do  not  care  to  sum  them  up  again. 

Q.  Would  not  the  value  of  the  Comstock  be  largely  iu- 
creased  by  making  an  exit  for  the  water  and  the  ore,  2,000 
feet  below  the  surface  ? 

A.  As  a  general  proposition,  if  I  answer  yes,  it  would 
be  giving  a  categorical  answer  to  what  I  have  been  ex- 
plaining in  detail.  I  have  spoken  at  length  of  the- ad  van- 
tages which  would  be  conferred  on  the  lode  by  it. 

Adjourned  to  meet  at  the  same  place  March  26,  1872, 
7J  o'clock. 


HEARING  TUESDAY,  MARCH  26in. 
0.  A.  Luckhardt  called  and  examined. 

By  Mr.  SUTRO: 

Q.  You  are  a  mining  engineer  by  profession? 

A.  Well,  I  have  studied  chemistry.  I  afterwards  took 
up  mining  engineering. 

Q.  You  are  a  practical  mining  engineer? 

A.  I  did  not  make  mining  engineering  my  entire  study. 
I  have  studied  chemistry  in  Marburg,  and  I  afterwards 
spent  a  year  on  the  Harz,  after  I  got  through  my  studies 
at  Marburg;  and  from  that,  most  of  my  time  I  spent  in 
mining  engineering.  * 

Q.  Have  you  followed  anything  except  mining  and 
metallurgy  since  you  left  the  university? 

A.  No,  sir;  with  the  exception  that  I  set  up  two  chem- 
ical works. 

Q.  It  belongs  to  the  same  branch,  does  it  not? 

A.  Not  exactly.  I  spent  fifteen  years  on  mining,  and 
following  the  profession  of  a  mining  engineer  and  metal- 
lurgy. 

Q.  Have  you  visited  any  of  the  mines  in  Europe?  . 

A.  Yes,  sir.  I 

Q.  What  mines  have  you  visited  there? 

A.  A  great  many  of  the  mines  on  the  upper  Harz.  I 
have  visited  some  of  the  mines  in  England,  and  have  been 
employed  there. 

Q.  Have  ^you  visited  any  of  the  mines  in  the  United 
States? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  In  what  parts  of  the  United  States? 

A.  In  Maryland,  in  North  Carolina,  in  California,  in 
Nevada,  and  in  Lower  California,  and  in  Arizona. 

Q.  You  have  resided  on  the  Comstock  lode  some  time,  I 
believe? 

677 


678 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  For  how  long  a  time  ? 

A.  Nearly  six  years. 

Q.  At  Virginia  City  ? 

A.  All  the  time  I  was  there  I  resided  at  Virginia  City. 

Q.  What  were  you  engaged  in  there? 

A.  Mining. 

Q.  What  position,  did  you  occupy? 

A.  Position  of  mining  engineer  and  assayer. 

Q.  Who  were  you  employed  by? 

A.  I  was  employed  by  Paxton  and  Thornburg  as  an  as- 
sayer, and  employed  by  the  trustees  of  the  Justis  Mining 
Company  as  superintendent  of  their  mines,  ancj  employed 
by  the  president  of  the  Ophir,  and  took  charge  of  the 
Ophir,  and  by  the  trustees  of  the  North  American  com- 
pany as  superintendent  of  the  North  American,  and  by  the 
Bank  of  California  as  mining  engineer. 

Q.  How  long  have  you  been  employed  by  the  Bank  of 
California? 

A.  Nearly  five  years. 

Q.  What  were  the  special  duties  that  were  assigned  to 
you? 

A.  To  examine  the  mines  that  they  wished  to  have  ex- 
amined, and  report  the  appearance  and  probable  product 
of  those  mines. 

Q.  You  were  employed,  then,  as  a  general  agent,  or  as 
an  expert  to  report  on  all  the  mines? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  on  all  the  mines  to  which  they  sent  me; 
on  all  those  mines  they  wished  to  have  examined. 

Q.  What  was  the  object  of  the  Bank  of  California  in 
employing  you  as  mining  engineer? 

A.  Well,  I  suppose  it  was  to  receive  truthful  informa- 
tion as  regards  the  state  of  the  mines. 

Q.  The  Bank  of  California  is  supposed  to  be  a  banking 
institution,  is  it  not? 

A.  Well,  I  suppose  so. 

Q.  And  they  employed  you  to  render  a  report  of  the 
condition  of  the  mines? 


679 

A.  Yes,  sir.  They  emplo}~ed  me  through  their  agent, 
Mr.  Sharon,  to  examine  such  mining  property  as  they 
wished  to  have  examined. 

Q.  How  often  did  you  report  to  the  Bank  of  California? 

A.  Ever}-  day. 

Q.  Did  you  make  a  written  report  every  day  ? 

A.  Well,  for  the  first  two  years  I  made  a  written  report, 
as  soon  as  I  could  get  opportunity  to  complete  such.  Some- 
times it  took  me  three  days  to  make  one  report,  but  after- 
wards I  sometimes  made  a  report  every  two  days,  when 
there  was  nothing  new  to  report  upon. 

Q.  What  was  the  special  object  they  had  in  view,  in  em- 
ploying you  to  give  them  specific  information  about  the 
mines  or  condition  of  the  mines,  &c.? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Mr.  Chairman.  I  shall  object  to  the 
question,  unless  the  witness  first  states  he  knows  what 
object  they  had. 

Mr.  Sumo.  I  am  asking  the  witness  what  the  object 
was. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  He  has  not  stated  that  he  knew.  He 
can  only  know  by  their  telling  him. 

WITNESS.  I  have  my  opinion  about  it.  I  do  not  know 
what  their  object  was,  but  from  the  conversation  and  the 
injunctions  put  upon  me,  I  inferred  that  they  wished  to 
know  the  exact  truth  of  the  state  of  the  ores,  &c. 

Q.  Was  it  for  the  purpose  of  stock  operations? 

A.  Well,  I  could  not  say  that — what  it  was  for. 

Q.  What  interest  could  the  Bank  of  California  have  in 
sending  you  to  a  mine  in  which  they  had  no  interest  in 
getting  information  ? 

A.  Probably  the  interest  they  had  in  sending  me  there 
was  to  see  what  the  state  of  the  mine  was,  so  that  they 
might — these  parties  interested — buy  into  the  mine,  by 
stock,  or  obtain  ores  from  the  mine.  The  injunction  was 
put  upon  me,  when  I  was  employed,  to  keep  all  that  I 
saw  there  for  their  especial  benefit  and  no  one  else's. 

Q.  In  other  words,  you  were  to  keep  secret  all  jou  found 
out  about  the  mines,  and  report  to  them? 


680 

A.  That  was  the  purport  of  it,  I  suppose. 

Q.  You  say  you  made  written  reports  ?  How  many  writ- 
ten reports  do  you  think  you  made  during  that  five  years? 

A.  Oh,  well,  probably  nearly  a  thousand. 

Q.  A  thousand  reports  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Then  you  must  have  entered  these  different  mines, 
and  visited  them,  and  examined  them  in  all  their  details? 

A.  Oh,  yes,  sir;  certainly. 

Q.  That  made  you  very  familiar  with  those  mines  ? 

A.  Well,  yes,  it  did. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  any  other  person  who  had  as  much 
opportunity  to  study  those  mines  as  you  had. 

A.  I  do  not  know  of  anybody,  except  it  should  be  that 
each  superintendent,  or  each  foreman  of  each  mine,  was 
as  well  posted  as  regards  that  mine  as  I  was.  But  about 
the  entire  mines,  I  do  not  think  there  was  anybody  there 
that  had  the  advantages  I  had  of  becoming  posted. 

Q.  Is  there  any  person  living  who  had  as  much  oppor- 
tunity of  knowing  the  whole  condition  of  the  Comstock 
lode  as  what  you  do  ? 

A.  I  cannot  answer  that.  If  they  had  obtained  admis- 
sion to  those  mines,  they  had  the  same  opportunity  that  I 
had.  I  do  not  know  how  many  other  people  visited  the 
mines  besides  myself. 

Q.  How  did  you  gain  admission  to  those  mines  ? 

A.  By  an  order  to  the  superintendent  or  foreman  from 
*the  agent  of  the  Bank  of  California. 

Q.  Please  state  who  he  was. 

A.  Mr.  Sharon. 

Q.  Did  that  order  from  Mr.  Sharon  gain  you  admittance 
to  all  the  mines  ? 

A.  It  always  gained  me  admittance  where  he  gave  me 
an  order. 

Q.  Did  other  people  have  a  chance  to  go  into  those 
mines  any  time  they  pleased? 

A.  Not  as  a  general  thing. 

Q.  Then  you  were  rather  a  privileged  character  ? 


G81 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  In  other  words,  that  order  from  Mr.  Sharon  rather 
worked  as  a  charm,  did  it  not,  and  gained  you  admittance  ? 

A.  I  do  not  know  whether  it  was  a  charm  or  whether 
the  man  had  a  right  to  send  me  there. 

Q.  But  you  gained  admission  to  all  the  mines,  or  nearly 
all? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Now,  you  say  that  some  of  the  superintendents  knew 
about  their  own  mines  as  much  as  you  knew? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Are  any  of  those  superintendents  mining  engineers? 

A.  The  entire  time  I  was  on  the  Comstock  I  only  knew 
of  two  whom  I  would  suppose  to  have  any  knowledge  of 
being  mining  engineers. 

Q.  Are  they  there  now? 

A.  !N~o,  sir.  One  is  dead,  and  the  other  owns  a  mill 
there. 

Q.  They  did  not  want  to  keep  any  superintendent  there 
who  was  a  mining  engineer  did  they  ? 

A.  I  do  know  anything  about  that. 

Q.  You  say  that  there  were  but  two  all  the  time  that 
you  were  over  at  Virginia  City — but  two  mining  engineers 
in  charges  of  the  mines;  consequently  the  other  parties  who 
had  charge  of  these  mines  were  not  educated  mining  engi- 
neers ? 

A.  I  should  not 'take  them  to  be  such. 

Q.  How  do  you  account  for  it  that  men  were  placed  in 
charge  of  the  mines  who  were  not  educated  mining  engi- 
neers, while  the  Bank  of  California  employed  you,  an 
educated  mining  engineer,  to  give  them  private  informa- 
t^ion  ? 

A.  Well,  in  working  a  mine,  the  wa}'  mining  has  been 
carried  on  in  Washoe,  Virginia,  it  is  not  always  necessary 
to  have  a  mining  engineer  in  charge  of  a  mine.  A  practi- 
cal knowledge  of  handling  men  sometimes  is  preferable  to 
an  educated  mining  engineer.  That  is  the  reason  why. 

Q.  But  suppose  you  were  to  employ  a  mining  engineer 


682 

— one  who  possesses  those  qualities  you  speak  of— would 
he  not  be  preferable  ? 

A.  Oh,  unquestionably. 

Q.  Then  what  is  the  reason  they  do  not  employ  any  one 
there  having  those  acqui^ments? 

A.  That  I  do  not  know. 

Q.  Don't  you  account  for  it  by  the  fact  that  they  want 
men  who  are  connected*  with  them  in  a  manner,  so  as  to 
manage  affairs  to  suit  them  ? 

A.  I  think  that  mining  has  been  carried  on  in  Virginia 
City,  not  alone  for  the  purpose  of  developing  mines  and 
making  them  remunerative  institutions,  but  also  for  the 
purpose  of  stock  speculations. 

Q.  Then  the  Bank  of  California  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  they  required  some  private  information,  and  they  "re- 
quired an  intelligent  mining  engineer  to  give  it  to  them? 

A.  I  think  they  thought  so  from  the  fact  of  employing 
me  for  that  length  of  time. 

Q.  They  employed  you  for  how  long  ? 

A.  Nearly  five  years. 

Q.  And  you  visited  the  mines  from  day  to  day  ? 

A.  Yes.  sir. 

Q.  Did  you  visit  all  portions  of  those  mines;  not  only 
those  where  they  were  working,  but  those  that  had  been 
worked  before  and  had  been  abandoned?  : 

A.  Yes,  sir.  I  won't  say  all,  because  some  drifts  were 
impenetrable. 

Q.  But  all  those  portions  of  the  mine  where  you  could 
get  access  to — where  it  was  possible  to  get  access  to  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  In  making  a  report  upon  a  mine,  would  you  go  to 
work  and  visit  every  portion  of  that  mine,  try  to  get  intp 
every  drift,  take  out  samples  of  ore,  assay  them  in  that 
manner,  and  examine  the  mine  from  the  lower  level  to  the 
uppermost? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Then  the  reports  you  made  to  the  Bank  of  Cali- 
fornia at  that  time  must  possess  great  value? 


683 

A.  As  far  as  throwing  light  upon  the  conditions  of  those 
mines,  they  may  be  worth  something  as  records;  but 
whether  they  were  of  great  value,  that,  of  course,  those 
people  have  to  judge  of  who  read  them,  and  not  I,  who 
made  them. 

Q.  Suppose  they  wanted  to  ascertain  the  condition  o 
the  mine  at  this  time-*- — 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  You  can  buy  them  very  cheap,  Mr. 
Sutro,  if  you  want  them. 

Mr,  SUTRO.  Buy  what  cheap  ? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Those  reports. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  suppose  they  were  only  prepared  and  used 
for  temporary  stockjobbing  purposes,  and,  of  course,  they 
were  not  intended  to  be  of  value  afterwards. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  thought  you  considered  them  of 
grea;t  value. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  No  doubt  they  were  considered  very  valu- 
able at  the  time,  or  the  Bank  of  California  would  not  have 
employed  this  gentleman  to  make  them. 

Q.  What  I  want  to  know  is  this:  whether  these  reports 
are  not  of  a  high  value  as  giving  a  record  of  what  has  been 
done  in  those  mines — as  to  the  condition  of  such  portions 
of  the  mines  which  afterwards  caved  in,  or  were  filled  up. 

A.  They  were  certainly  useful  as  a  record. 

Q.  Do  they  not  give  you  information  as  to  the  existence 
of  bodies  of  low-grade  ores  that  were  left  behind,  which 
it  is  difficult  to  .obtain  now  ? 

A.  Some  of  them  do. 

Q.  Have  you  retained  copies  of  those  reports  ? 

A.  Probaby  one-third  or  one-half,  may  be.  I  reported 
for  a  year  without  taking  copies ;  and  very  often  after- 
wards I  did  not  take  copies. 

Q.  After  all  the  experience  you  have  had  on  that  Corn- 
stock  lode,  from  one  mine  to  the  other,  and  after  all  these 
examinations  you  have  been  making  for  five  years,  what 
conclusion  have  you  arrived  at,  as  regards  the  character  of 
that  lode  ? 


684 

•  A.  I  think  that  the  Com  stock  is  one  of  the  largest  sil- 
ver-bearing lodes  in  existence,  or  known. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  any  lode  of  which  we  have  any  re- 
cord in  history  that  was  of  equal  value  to  the  Comstock 
lode? 

A.  No,  sir;  not  in  so  short  a  space  of  time. 

Q.  Do  you  not  consider  it  the  most  valuable  lode  that  is 
in  existence  now,  of  which  we  have  any  record  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Do  I  infer  from  that,  that  you  consider  that  this  fis- 
sure vein  extends  downward  indefinitely? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  base  that  opinion  upon  these  repeated  investi- 
tions  and  examinations,  upon  geological  facts  which  you 
have  ascertained? 

A.  Yes,  sir.  ^ 

Q.  There  is  no  question  in  your  mind  about  that? 

A.  ISTo,  sir. 

Q.  Have  you  any  doubt  about  the  lode  being  ore-bearing  ? 

A.  I  think  it  will  be  found  to  be  ore-bearing  as  long  as 
work  is  done  upon  it. 

Q.  Or,  in  other  words,  as  far  as  you  can  reach  down  by 
mechanical  means? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  In  your  examinations  upon  that  lode,  have  you  found 
that  any  large  bodies  of  ore  have  been  left  behind,  being 
of  too  low  a  grade  to  be  worked  advantageously  under  the 
expensive  system  of  mining? 

A.  Oh  yes,  sir,  I  have.  f 

Q.  Can  you  form  any  estimate  of  the  extent  of  those 
bodies? 

A.  No,  sir.  I  do  not  think  it  is  possible  for  any  man  to 
estimate  the  quantity  of  low-grade  ore  that  is  yet  standing 
in  the  Comstock  above-  their  present  lowest  workings, 
because  these  ore  bodies  have  never  been  explored  suffi- 
ciently to  get  at  their  extent.  Still,  I  may  say  that  they 
are  very  large,  and  that  they  will  yield  immensely. 


685 

Q.  Is  it  possible  for  anybody  to  compute  in  dollars  and 
cents  what  that  ore  is  worth? 

A.  ~No;  it  would  be  guess  work. 

Q.  Don't  you  consider  it  almost  incalculable? 

A.  I  do  not  know  how  to  take  the  word  "incalculable." 
Figures  could  be  made. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  mean  immense. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  should  like  to  have 
the  witness  supply  his  own  words,  and  express  his  ideas 
and  opinions. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  The  witness  has  a  perfect  right  to  ask  for 
an  explanation.  He  has  a  right  to  inquire  as  to  what  is 
meant  by  the  question.  I  used  the  word  "incalculable," 
and  the  witness  simply  wants  to  know  what  I  mean  by  that 
word. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  You  have  no  right,  Mr.  Sutro,  to  sug- 
gest the  answer  to  the  witness. 

The  CHAIRMAN,  (Mr.  SESSIONS.)  He  is  your  witness,  Mr. 
Sutro,  and  the  objection  is  made  that  you  lead  him  too 
much.  Ask  him  a  question  and  then  let  him  answer.  He 
is  an  intelligent  man. 

WITNESS.  I  mean  to  say  that  ore  in  the  mine,  in  the  Corn- 
stock  lode,  is  of  large  extent — great  extent,  unquestiona- 
bly. But  I  would  not  undertake  to  estimate  its  quantity. 
I  think  the  same  number  of  tons  of  ore,  and  even  more, 
will  be  taken  out  of  the  mine  from  those  bodies  of  low- 
grade  ores  as  have  been  taken  from  the  richer  ores. 

Q.  What  do  you  call  low-grade  ores — going  down  as  low 
as  what? 

A.  I  call  low-grade  ores  anything  that,  up  to  the  time  I 
left  the  Comstock,  didn't  pay  for  working  under  the  sys- 
tem they  have  there. 

Q.  How  much  was  it  necessary  to  assay,  in  order  to  make 
it  profitable  to  be  worked  ? 

A.  Seventeen  dollar  ore.  Ore  that  assayed  $17,  was 
the  lowest  I  know  to  have  been  worked. 

Q.  How  much  would  that  yield? 

A.  That  would  yield  $10  per  ton. 


68G 

Q.  Would  it  pa}7  to  take  ore  out  of  the  mine,  send  it 
to  the  mill,  and  pay  $12  for  milling,  that  would  yield  $10. 

A.  I  do  not  say  it  paid  ;  I  only  say  that  ore  had  been 
taken  out  and  worked,  and  I  call  that  low-grade  ore. 

Q.  What  mill  was  it  sent  to;  was  it  one  of  the  Union  Mill 
and  Mining  Company's  mills  ? 

A.  That  I  do  not  know. 

Q.  Then  that  would  have  run  the  mine  in  debt  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  unquestionably. 

Q.  The  mill  would  have  made  the  money,  wouldn't  it? 

A.  The  mill  got  its  price  for  crushing. 

Q.  Then  the  mill  made  the  money  and  the  mine  lost? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  How  do  they  make  up  these  losses?  Suppose  a 
mine  runs  behind,  how  do  they  make  up  the  loss  ? 

A.  Put  on  assessments.  It  has  been  customary,  as  far 
as  I  know,  if  a  mining  company  sends  ore  to  a  mill  com- 
pany, to  have  the  mill  company  return  a  certain  percentage 
of  the  ore;  and  if  that  per  centage  from  the  assay  was  not 
given,  that  the  mill  company  should  pay  a  reclamation. 

Q.  Have  you  ever  known  of  the  Union  Mill  and  Mining 
Company  paying  any  reclamation  to  any  mining  com- 
pany ? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  You  do  not  know  of  any  ? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Who  owned  that  Union  Mill  and  Mining  Company? 
Who  are  the  parties  who  are  supposed  to  own  it? 

A.  Well,  if  you  ask  me  to  tell  you  who  the  parties  were, 
that  I  could  itot  tell  you,  because  I  never  inquired  into  the 
matter ;  but  it  was  the  general  opinion  that  it  was  owned 
by  those  parties  who  had  the  control  in  most  of  the  mines 
on  the  Comstock. 

Q.  Then  it  was  all  one  concern  pretty  much,  was  it 
not? 

A.  That  was  the  general  opinion.  I  did  not  inquire 
into  details.  I  followed  the  general  opinion.  I  had  nothing 
to  make  me  think  the  contrary. 


687 

Q.  Have  you  ever  known  any  men  over  there  who  are 
known  to  compose  the  "  California  bank  ring,"  who  had 
the  control  of  any  mine  that  they  did  not  own  any  stock 
in  ?  Did  you  ever  hear  of  such  a  case  ? 

A.  I  never  knew  of  such  a  case.     I  have  heard  of  it. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  want  the  witness  to  tell  only  what 
he  knows. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  That  is  what  I  am  endeavoring  to  have  him 
state. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  ISTo,  you  are  not  trying  to  get  that  out 
at  all. 

WITNESS.  Some  of  the  foremen  asked  me  at  various 
times  if  I  had  stock  on  such  and  such  a  mine,  and  I  asked 
them  why  they  wanted  to  know.  They  told  me  for  the  pur- 
pose of  getting  my  "  proxies." 

Q.  What  did  they  want  that  for? 

A.  To  facilitate,  I  suppose,  the  re-election  of  their  super- 
intendeut  or  themselves,  or  their  friends,  and  it  may  be  in 
that  way  that  the  control  of  the  mines  has  been  obtained 
at  tirmes  by  parties  not  really  owning  the  stock,' by  just 
voting  some  of  the  stock  by  proxy. 

Q.  Is  it  the  common  report  that 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  object  to  common  report. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Why  object  to  common  report?  We  have 
been  asking  every  witness  we  have  had  what  he  laiew  by 
common  report. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  If  that  be  true,  it  is  time  to  stop  it. 
That  is  all  I  have  got  to  say. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Why,  common  report  is  public  opinion,  and 
public  opinion  is  a  pretty  good  thing. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Mr.  Suto,  what  is  the  question  ? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  The  question  is,  "  Is  it  common  report  that 
the  Bank  of  California  has  been  manipulating  these  mines 
by  loaning  money  on  the  stock,  and,  without  owning  stock, 
by  getting  these  proxies,  they  put  in  their  men  as  trus- 
tees. 

The  WITNESS.  Yes,  sir;  that  was  common  report. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  move  to  strike  that  out. 


688 

Mr.  SUTRO.  You  move  to  strike  it  out;  why? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Yes,  sir.  It  is  certainly  not  legitimate 
testimony.  I  do  not  suppose  this  committee  wants  to  hear 
statements  that  are  not  testimony,  and  consume  time  here 
and  to  bankrupt  me,  as  far  as  I  am  concerned  in  taking 
down  all  this  testimony  and  the  printing  of  this  hook. 
Now  he  says  it  is  common  report  that  the  Bank  of  Califor- 
nia got  the  proxies,  loaned  money  on  stock,  and  by  that 
means  controlled  the  elections  where  they  did  not  own  the 
stock.  He  does  not  say  they  do  not  own  any.  Now  I  do 
not  know  that  there  is  any  criminality  in  loaning  money 
on  stocks,  or  getting  a  proxy  to  vote  stocks,  and  therefore 
it  is  immaterial  in  my  view.  It  is  not  evidence  of  anything 
to  commence  with,  and  in  the  next  place  it  is  immaterial. 
It  is  not  the  best  evidence,  even  if  it  was  material.  lie  does 
not  *know  whether  that  was  practiced  or  not  by  the  Bank 
of  California,  and  even  if  it  was,  it  is  wholly  immaterial  to 
any  issue  here.  It  does  not  make  the  Sutro  tunnel  any 
better  or  worse.  It  does  not  increase  the  necessities,  so  far 
as  the  Comstock  is  concerned,  for  running  the  tunnel. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Mr.  Chairman,  we  have  had  the  same  ex- 
hibition during  the  whole  of  the  examination.  Every' time 
we  touched  upon  anything  that  appertains  to  the  Bank  of 
California,  and  their  manipulations  and  doings,  Mr.  Sun- 
derland  objects. 

The  CHAIRMAN,  (Mr.  SESSIONS.)  He  did  not  object  to 
that.  He  objects  to  your  proving  from  common  rumor 
and  common  report. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  understand  that,  but  Mr.  Sunderland 
speaks  of  this  not  being  criminal  in  its  character.  No  one 
has  charged  that  it  is  criminal  at  all.  lie  excuses  himself 
before  he  is  accused.  We  certainly  have  not  charged 
him  or  any  one,  and  my  question  implied  nothing  of 
that  kind.  I  have  simply  asked  what  was  the  common 
report  in  regard  to  the  manipulation  of  the  bank.  It  is 
simply  impossible  to  get  at  the  positive  and  definite  facts 
about  the  manipulations  of'  that  bank  without  bringing 
their  books  here,  and  bringing  their  men  here,  and  swear- 


689 

ing  them ;  and  I  do  not  know  whether  we  could  get  the 
truth  out  of  them  even  then.  You  cannot  get  at  it  except 
by  common  report  of  the  whole  community.  The  inquiry 
is  pertinent  to  this  examination,  as  tending  to  show  the 
motives  of  the  opposition  to  this  tunnel. 

The  CHAIRMAN,  (Mr.  SESSIONS.)  You  may  ask  the  ques- 
tion, if  it  is  the  general  report  of  the  community. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  He  has  already  answered  the  question. 

The  CHAIRMAN,  (Mr.  SESSIONS.)  Proceed  to  something 
else,  then. 

Q.  I  want  to  ask  you,  if  low-grade  ore  is  sent  to  the  mills 
owned  by  these  parties,  this  Union  Mill  and  Mining  Com- 
pany, from  a  mine  in  which  they* do  not  own  much  stock, 
but  which  they  have  control  of,  whether  that  is  not  taking 
advantage  of  the  stockholders  of  that  mine  ? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  object  to  that,  because,  first,  before 
that  question  can  be  asked,  they  must  show  that  there  was 
truth  in  the  statement. 

The  CHAIRMAN,  (Mr.  SESSIONS.)  I  do  not  understand  the 
question. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  will  repeat  it.  My  question  is,  that  if  the 
trustees  in  charge  of  a  mine  in  which  they  may  have  but 
very  little  ownership,  or  none  at  all,  send  ore  to  mills 
which  belong  to  their  friends,  or  to  the  very  parties  who 
have  the  control,  which  ore  it  does  not  pay  to  mill,  whether 
they  are  not  taking  advantage  of  the  stockholders  of  that 
mine? 

The  CHAIRMAN,  (Mr.  SESSIONS.)  That  is  self-evident,  I 
suppose. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Therefore  he  should  prove  the  fact. 

The  CHAIRMAN,  (Mr.  SESSIONS.)  I  do  not  see  that  that  is 
material,  because  that  is  a  matter  of  argument.  You  may 
prove  the  facts. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  will  ask  the  witness  how  these  losses  in 
the  mines  are  made  up ;  how  they  retrieve  their  finances 
again  after  they  have  lost  a  good  deal  of  money  and  ex- 
pended a  good  deal  of  money  ? 

The  WITNESS.  How  do  you  mean  ? 
44 


690 

•Mr.  SUTRO.  How  do  they  raise  money  there  ?  How  do 
they  get  money  ? 

A.  By  assessments,  or  sometimes  by  borrowing  money,  I 
suppose. 

Q.  In  levying  assessments,  is  not  the  stock  sold  out  after 
a  given  time,  if  the  assessment  is  not  paid  ? 

A.  That  is  the  general  Yule.  It  is  advertised  in  the  pa- 
pers for  sale,  and  if  the  delinquency  is  not  paid,  the  stock 
is  sold. 

The  CHAIRMAN,  (Mr.  SESSIONS.)  Their  by-laws  authorize 
that,  do  they  not? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  The  statutes  do.  It  is  a  matter  of  pub- 
lic law.  « 

The  CHAIRMAN,  (Mr.  SESSIONS;)  I  supposed  so.  I  supposed 
the  statute  of  the  State  or  the  by-laws  authorize  it. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  It  is  wholly  immaterial,  and  has  noth- 
ing to  do  with  the  case  at  all. 

Q.  I  want  you  look  at  this  paper  "  THE  ALTA,"  published 
at  San  Francisco,  California,  in  which  there  is  a  delinquent 
list  advertised  of  the  Gould  and  Curry  Silver  Mining  Com- 
pany, a  mine  on  the  Comstock  lode.  Please  look  at  that 
advertisement,  and  tell  us  how  many  delinquencies  are  ad- 
vertised in  the  names  of  trustees,  and  bow  many  in  the 
persons  own  names? 

A.  That  would  be  quite  a  calculation,  as  opposite  the 
name  of  each  trustee  is  the  number  of  shares,  and  the 
same  with  regard  to  others  than  trustees. 

Q.  Please  look  at  it,  and  say  if  there  are  not  nine-tenths, 
or  five-sixths  at  least  that  are  under  .the  name  of  trustees  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

The  CHAIRMAN,  (Mr.  SESSIONS.)  These  are  delinquents 
who  refuse  to  pay  their  assessments. 

Q.  The  point  I  want  to  get  at  is,  in  whose  name  the 
stock  stands.  The  stock  transactions  are  made  without 
transfer  of  stock,  and  consequently  the  stock  remains 
standing  in  the  name  of  the  trustee. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  would  like  to  have  that  list  read;  it  is  a 
curiosity. 


691 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Put  in  the  whole  newspaper. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  No,  just  this  advertisement.  It  shows  how 
the  mines  are  manipulated. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  do  not  think  there  will  ever  he  an- 
other advertisement  of  that  kind. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Well,  I  will  not  read  it.  Do  you  know  any- 
thing ahout  the  difficulties  of  mining  'to  great  depth  on 
the  Comstock  lode  ? 

A.  I  think  that  some  difficulties  have  presented  them- 
selves already,  down  to  a  depth  of  less  than  2,000  feet. 

Q.  Will  you  tell  us  what  the  difficulties  in  mining  are  ? 

The  WITNESS.  Difficulties  in  mining  to  what  depth  ? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  To  a  great  depth. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Name  some  depth. 

The  WITNESS.  It  is  the  want  of  thorough  ventilation, 
expense  in  hoisting  water,  or  to  get  rid  of  the  water,  and 
the  expense  of  hoisting  ore. 

Q.  What  do  you  know  about  the  water  in  Comstock  lode. 
Would  you  consider  the  quantity  pumped  from  the  Gould 
and  Curry  mine  as  a  fair  average  of  the  whole  lode,  say  for 
each  1,000  feet  in  length? 

A.  Well  I  really  could  not  state  that,  because  at  this 
present  moment  I  do  not  know  what  quantity  of  water 
does  come  from  the  Gould  and  Curry. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  The  quantit}?  is  stated  in  the  report  of  the 
superintendent  at  3,500  gallons  per  hour, 

WITNESS.  No,  I  do  not  think  that  would  be  an  average. 
I  think  it  would  be  more  than  an  average. 

Q.  How  much  more  do  yon  think  it -would  be  than  an 
average  for  every  1,000  feet?  I  will  make  my  question 
plainer.  Suppose,  in  the  course  of  a  thorough  exploration 
of  the  Comstock  lode,  which  is  said  to  be  22,000  feet  in 
length,  a  shaft  be  sunk  every  1,000  feet,  how  much  would 
you  consider  the  proportion  of  water  in  each  one  of  those 
shafts  at  the  same  depth  as  the  Gould  and  Curry  mine 
is  at  the  present  time,  in  comparison  with  the  quantity 
pumped  out  of  the  Gould  and  Curry  mine  ? 

A.  I  tjrink,  if  I  understand  you  aright 


W2 

Q.  "Do  you  understand  my  question  ?  How  much  water 
would  you  get  in  each  shaft  1,000  feet  apart,  provided  there 
were  22  shafts  on  the  whole  lode?  Would  you  get  as  much 
as  you  get  in  the  Gould  and  Curry  mine  now  ? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  How  much  do  you  think  they  would  get,  comparing 
it  with  the  Gould  and  Curry  mine  ?  Would  they  get  three- 
fourths,  five-sixths,  or  one-half,  or  what  do  you  think  they 
would  get  ?  It  is  only  arriving  at  a  general  idea  from  your 
own  knowledge  of  the  country;  you  could  not  tell  posi- 
tively about  it,  but  how  much  do  you  think  there  would 
be? 

A.  I  think  they  would  get  about  one-third  of  that  in 
each  one  of  those  shafts,  because,  at  the  present  moment,  it 
drains  more  than  1,000  feet,  and  if  you  have  a  shaft  every 
,1,000  feet,  each  shaft  would  drain  horizontally  to  its  depth 
1,000  lineal  feet  to  the  depth  to  which  the  shaft  had 
been  sunk. 

Q.  Will  you  be  kind  enough  to  state  how  much  that 
would  come  to  at  your  figures,  if  22  shafts 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  object  to  any  supposition  about  the 
number  of  shafts. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  The  witness'  statement  is  upon  the  suppo- 
sition that  there  are  so  many  shafts  in  so  many  thousand 
feet,  and  he  is  making  hfs  figures  on  that. 

WITNESS.  That  was  the  question,  as  I  understood  it. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  In  the  first  place,  the  Comstock  is  not 
22,000  feet  long. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  My  question  is  supposing  that  the  lode  was 
worked  intelligently,  and  22  shafts  were  on  the  whole 
length  of  it — that  is  to  say,  one  every  1,000  feet  apart — how 
much  water  would  there  be,  in  all  probability,  in  each  one 
of  those  shafts,  as  compared  with  the  quantity  of  water  in 
the  Gould  and  Curry  mine  ? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  In  the  first  place,  the  Comstock  is  not 
22,000  feet  long. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  It  is  so  stated  in  the  commissioner's  report. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Hold  on;  let  me  get* through.    In  the 


693 

first  place,  there  are  no  22  shafts  there.  There  is  more 
than  half  the  distance  of  the  Comstock  found  to  be  abso- 
lutely barren,  from  the  prospecting  already  done,  without 
the  aid  of  Mr.  Sutro's  tunnel.  ITow,  what  is  the  use  of 
estimating  upon  shafts  that  never  will,  and  never  did  exist? 

Mr.  RICE.  Suppose  that  by  means  of  the  Sutro  tunnel 
we  develop  the  fact  that  there  is  ore  on  the  whole  length 
of  the  lode,  and  then  the  witness  should  assume  that  it  is 
necessary  to  have  a  shaft  every  few  feet;  then  it  would 
be  very  proper  for  us  to  get  at  the  amount  of  water  which 
would  come  through  all  these  shafts,  would  it  not  ? 

The  CHAIRMAN.  (Mr.  SESSIONS.)  Yes,  if  you  couid;  but 
I  do  not  think  that  you  have  any  data  to  go  upon.  The 
witness  might  state,  of  course,  how  far  apart  these  shafts 
should  be  to  work  the  lode  advantageously;  .and  how  you 
can  get  at  the  quantity  of  water,  assuming 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Mr.  Chairman,  we  have  a  gentleman  here 
who  probably  knows  more  about  the  Comstock  lode  than  any 
living  man.  For  five  years  he  has  been  at  these  mines; 
he  has  observed  every  fact  in  connection  with  them;  he 
knows  how  much  water  there  is;  and  if  we  are  ever  going 
to  arrive  at  any  opinion  in  regard  to  the  water,  why  the 
evidence  of  this  gentleman  is  more  valuable  than  that  of 
any  one  else. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  am  surprised,  if  he  is  so  valuable  to 
the  Comstock,  that  he  is  not  continued  at  it.  I  wonder 
that  his  services  have  not  been  secured  permanently,  at 
great  expense,  if  need  be. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  It  may  be  the  witness  did  not  care  to  stay 
there,  and  I  think  that  is  the  fact  in  the  case. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  It  is  not  worth  while  to  pass  any  such 
panegyrics  at  all  upon  the  witness. 

Mr.  RICE.  It  is  proposed  to  arrive  at  the  fact  by  the  same 
mode  of  figuring  that  the  commissioners  pursued.  The 
question  is  simply  this:  from  what  he  knows  of  the  water 
on  the  lode,  and  provided  that  the  lode  were  worked  its 
whole  length 


694 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Does  lie  state  how  much  water  there 
is  in  this  Gould  and  Curry  mine? 

Mr.  SUTEO.  It  is  contained  in  the  report  of  the  superin- 
tendent. He  has  stated  there  would  be  one-third  in  each 
one  of  these  22  shafts.  I  want  him  to  figure  out  how. 
much  that  would  be. 

•  Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  That  is  one  of  the  wettest  mines  on 
the  Comstock,  and  he  wants  to  figure  from  that. 
Mr.  RICE.  He  takes  one-third  of  the  amount  of  the  water. 
The  CHAIRMAN,  (Mr.  SESSIONS.)  How  does  the  amount 
of  water  in  the  Gould  and  Curry  compare  with  the  amount 
of  water  in  the  other  mines  on  the  lode  ? 

WITNESS.  There  has  been  more  water  there  than  in  any 
.of  the  other  mines. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  More  than  in  the  Ophir  mine  ? 
A.  More  than  in  any  of  the  other  mines,  from  the  fact 
that  the  explorations  and  drifts  in  the  Gould  and  Curry 
were  very  extensive,  and  deeper  than  in  any  of  the  other 
mines.  The  Gould  and  Curry  mine  had,  two  years  ago, 
more  water  than  the  Ophir. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  We  are  not  speaking  of  two  years  ago.  The 
superintendent's  report  was  made  last  September. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  That  is  what  the  witness  knows ;  he 
has  not  been  there  since. 

WITNESS.  I  was  answering  about  the  five  years  that  I 
had  been  there. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  And  we  are  basing  our  calculations  here 
upon  the  water  in  the  mine  last  September,  and  he  states 
there  are  3,500  gallons. 

WITNESS.  That  I  do  not  know  anything  about. 
Mr.  SUTRO.  At  the  end  of  two  or  three  dry  seasons 
there  were  3,500  gallons,  and  I  am  basing  my  calculations 
upon  that. 

WITNESS.  That  I  do  not  know  anything  about,  because 
I  was  not  there  to  see  it.  I  have  heard  that  the  water  has 
decreased  in  the  last  two  years.  During  the  time  I  was 
there  it  did  not  decrease  very  materially. 


695 

Mr.  SUTRO.  What  do  you  think  is  the  cause  of  its  de- 
crease ? 

WITNESS.  The  cause  of  the  decrease  of  the  water 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Do  you  think  it  is  caused  by  the  dry 
season  ? 

WITNESS.  That  has  a  great  deal  to  do  with  it.  I  think 
the  main  cause  is,  that  the  water  'in  the^Comstock,  so  far 
as  I  know,  exists  not  alone  in  the  bodies  of  ore  on  the 
bonanzas,  but  it  exists  in  pockets,  which  are  surrounded 
by  clay  seams,  and  when  these  pockets  are  cut,  the  water  is 
let  out.  Now,  as  people  generally  do  not  like  to  prospect 
in  barren  ground,  that  is  the  reason  why  I  do  not  think 
they  have  water,  because  they  have  not  prospected  suffi- 
ciently; whereas  on  the  upper  levels  they  had  ore  bodies. 
They  had  to  go  through  barren  ground,  in  which  they 
met  with  packets  of  water. '  Consequently  they  had  water. 
All  the  water  in  the  Comstock,  in  my  way  of  thinking, 
is  derived  from  the  surface.  I  wish  to  state,  therefore,  that 
if  there  are  a  great  many  dry  seasons  in  succession,  there 
will  be  less  water  in  the  mines  thereafter. 

Q.  Is  not  all  the  water  which  is  found  going  down  to 
the  Carson  river  derived  from  the  surface? 

A.  That  is  what  I  have  just  stated. 

Q.  Would  it  be  likely  that  there  would  be  as  much 
water  found  at  the  end  of  those  dry  seasons  as  there  would 
be  in  a  wet  season  ? 

WITNESS.  Near  the  surface? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  At  any  point. 

WITNESS.  There  would  be  less  water,  but  it  takes  some 
years  for  that  water  to  penetrate  to  that  depth.  A  few 
seasons  only  would  not  make  a  very  material  difference 
at  a  greal;  depth.  It  might,  close  to  the  surface;  it  would 
certainly  make  some  difference. 

Q.  Suppose  this  tunnel  to  be  constructed,  and  these  shafts 
which  now  exist  connected  by  bore-holes  with  the  tunnel; 
would  not  that  drain  off  all  the  water? 

A.  It  would  drain  off  all  the  water  of  those  water  cham- 


696 

bers  with  which  it  was  connected  by  these  bore-holes  or 
shafts. 

Q.  Would  it  not  drain  all  the  water  that  was  in  the 
shaft  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  certainly. 

Q.  Would  it  not  drain  all  the  water  that  flows  into  the 
shaft  ?  .  , 

A.  Certainly. 

Q.  Could  that  water  be  economized  by  being  carried 
down  pipes,  and  used  to  drive  water-pressure  engines  at 
the  tunnel  level  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir,  unquestionably. 

Q.  Have  you  ever  seen  that  done  in  the  mines? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Is  it  not  done  in  every  mine  where  miners  work 
intelligently,  and  where  they  have  been  able  to  make  an 
adit? 

A.  So  far  as  I  know  it  is,  and  there  are  lots  of  records 
to  show  it. 

Q.  Could  that  water  power  be  employed  for  pumping 
the  water  from  below  the  tunnel  level  ? 

A.  Certainly,  just  as  well. 

Q.  Could  it  be  employed  also  to  hoist  the  men  and 
lower  the  men — to  hoist  them  up  from  below  the  tunnel 
level? 

A.  It  could  be  employed  for  that  purpose. 

Q.  Could  it  not  also  be  employed  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
densing the  air,  and  driving  it  down  into  the  lower  levels  ? 

A.  Also. 

Q.  Would  not  that  be  a  very  economical  power  ? 

A.  More  economical  than  any  that  is  being  worked  with 
there  now.  .' 

Q.  After  the  machinery  was  once  erected,  would  there 
be  much  expense  connected  with  the  running  of  it? 

WITNESS.  Keeping  it  in  repair,  you  mean  ? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Yes,  sir. 

A.  Not  a  great  deal. 

Q.  Would  it  not  be  comparatively  a  perfect  trifle  ? 


697 

A.  Well,  it  would  he  very  small.  It  would  not  be  com- 
pared to  the  present  expenses  of  repairing  and  keeping 
machinery  in  order. 

By  the  CHAIRMAN.  Have  you  not  already  established  all 
these  facts  by  every  witness  that  has  been  sworn  ? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  "We  have  a  gentleman  here  who  knows  more 
about  it  than  all  the  witnesses  who  have  been  examined 
thus  far.  He  has  been  at  these  mines  year  after  year.  A 
doubt  has  been  thrown  upon  some  of  these  facts,  and  now 
I  want  to  have  them,  sustained  by  this  gentleman,  who  has 
conducted  mining  engineering,  and  who  has  been  em- 
ployed there  ,for  years,  and  has  had  a  vast  deal  of  ex- 
perience. His.  testimony  is  exceedingly  important  on  this 
point. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Have  not  all  the  witnesses  admitted  that 
this  water  could  be  pumped  out  and  used  for  a  power  for 
running  the  machinery  ? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  They  have ;  but  it  has  been  denied  by  the 
other  side  that  it  could  be  done,  and  consequently  we  de- 
sire to  establish  the  fact  by  as  many  witnesses  as  we  can. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  It  has  not  been  denied  by  any  witness 
who  has  been  sworn,  that  I  recollect  of. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  do  not  know. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  think  even  Mr.  Requa  and  Mr.  Bat- 
terman  swore  to  that;  also  Mr.  Raymond  and  the  commis- 
sioners. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Yes,  sir;  I  believe  they  all  did.  Well,  I 
will  leave  tbis  matter  about  the  water  power. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Then,  if  they  all  swore  in  that  way,  I 
think  you  have  pretty  well  established  the  fact. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Yes;  but  you  cannot  present  facts  too  strongly 
here,  in  view  of  the  opposition  we  have  to  meet.  The  par- 
ties who  oppose  us  have  denied  statements  which  have  been 
established  a  thousand  times. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  wish  still  to  dispute  this  claim,  Mr. 
Chairman ;  and  if  you  think  it  is  proper,  they  ought,  per- 
haps, to  be  allowed  to  introduce  any  proof  they  may  have 


698 

on  the  subject.  I  do  not  want  Mr.  Sutro  choked  off  in  re- 
gard to  any  matter. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  I  simply  made  a  suggestion  to  save  time, 
but  if  he  wishes  to  go  on  and  introduce  further  testimony 
on  this  point,  very  well. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  will  consume  very  little  time,  Mr.  Chair- 
man. In  fact,  I  will  drop  that  question  right  here.  I  want 
to  ask  the  witness  now  whether  it  is  not  considered  that 
the  tunnel  level  opens  up  a  new  base  of  operations  in  the 
mine? 

A.  I  think  so. 

Q.  Do  you  commence  entirely  new  operations  in  going 
down  ? 

A.  Well,  in  opening  an  adit  level  in  a  mine.  We  have 
a  great  many  different  methods  of  working  the  mine.  You 
have  better  methods  of  working  the  mine.  An  adit  level 
offers  a  great  many  facilities  to  work  a  mine,  which  a  ver- 
tical shaft  does  not. 

Q.  When  you  open  an  adit  level,  you  'don't  count,  as  a 
general  thing,  the  depth  of  any  mine  from  the  surface;  but 
you  count  from  the  adit  level  in  technically  speaking  of 
mines.  For  instance,  if  that  Sutro  tunnel  was  run  in 
there,  it  would  cause  all  those  mines  which,  were  down 
below  the  tunn,el  level  to  count  from  that  level  downward. 
*  A.  The  ores  from  all  the  upper  works  could  be  brought 
to  the  surface  at  less  expense  through  the  tunnel  than  they 
could  through  shafts. 

Q.  It  would  open,  as  you  say,  a  new  field  for  operations. 

A.  An  entirely  different  one  from  what  we  had  before. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  In  order  to  arrive  at  another  question  in  re- 
gard to  that,  I  will  read  from  a  little  work  called  Britain's 
Metal  Mines,  by  John  Kobert  Pike.  He  states — 

"The  depth  of -a  Cornish  mine  is  usually  estimated  in  fathoms,  and  if  a 
mine  be  stated  as  forty  fathoms  deep,  it  is  understood  that  the  depth  is  reck- 
oned below  the  adit  level,  and  not  from  the  'grass'  or  the  shaft's  mouth.  The 
adit  is  the  highest  level  in  a  mine,  and  has  many  practical  uses.  In  the  great 
majority  of  cases  they  are  driven  from  a  valley  into  more  elevated  ground, 
with  the  primary  object  of  intersecting  the  sett,  so  as  to  afford  a  starting  poirit 
for  regular  working,  and  in  order  to  ascertain  the  particular  character  of  the 
strata  and  lodes.  The  adit  is  useful  as  a  means  of  ventilation ;  it  receives  the 
water  from  the  pumps,  and,  in  some  instances,  the  stuff  from  the  '  kibbles,1 


699 

or  buckets.  It  is  obvious,  therefore,  from  what  we  have  stated,  that  the  depth 
of  any  adit  from  the  mouth  of  a  shaft  must  altogether  depend  on  the  position 
of  the  latter.  Every  mine  has  its  adit  level,  and  some  have  two — respectively 
called  the  deep  and  shallow  adits;  but  the  largest  work  of  this  description, 
and  which  partakes,  to  some  extent,  of  a  public  character,  is  the  'Great  Adit,' 
which  receives  the  waters  of  a  great  many  mines  in  the  Gweaap  and  Red- 
ruth  districts,  discharging  through  a  valley  into  the  sea  near  Falmouth.  This 
adit,  including  its  ramifications,  measures  about  thirty  miles  in  length,  and 
its  greatest  depth  below  the  surface  may  be  estimated  at  about  seventy 
fathoms." 
« 

Q.  They  always  construct  adits  ? 

A.  So  far  as  I  know  they  always  do. 

Q.  They  mean  by  an  adit  a  tuunel? 

A.  Yes,  sir ;  a  tunnel  is  called  in  England  an  adit. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  That  is  the  English  term.  Our  American 
term  is  tunnel.  The  Spanish  is  socabon. 

Q.  Well,  then,  in  running  this  tunnel  in,  it  would  be  very 
desirable  that  these  shafts  which  now  exist  should  be  con- 
nected with  that  tunnel  level  ? 

A.  I  think  so.  In  fact,  that  is  the  first  work  to  be  done 
that  they  should  be  connected. 

Q.  Do  you  know  about  the  heat  in  these  mines — have 
you  ever  been  in  very  hot  places? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  How  hot  was  it  in  any  place  where  you  have  ever 
been? 

A.  I  never  measured  it  but  once,  and  that  was  105°. 

Q.  Do  you  think  there  are  any  places  hotter  than  that 
even? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  How  hot? 

A.  I  could  not  state,  because  I  did  not  measure  it. 

Q.  Do  you  think  it  was  as  hot  as  120°  in  any  place  ? 
Do  you  think  it  is  as  hot  anywhere? 

A.  I  think  it  must  have  been  hotter  than  that. 

Q.  How  much  work  can  a  man  do  in  a  hot  place  like 
that,  compared  to  a  good  atmosphere  ? 

A.  Well,  he  certainly  could  not  do  near  as  much.  I  do 
not  think  he  could  do  one-half  as  much. 

Q.  Now,  suppose  that  a  tunnel  were  run  in,  and  lateral 
drifts  extended,  and  shafts  sunk  down  every  1,000  feet 


700 

on  that  lode,  connecting  'with  the  tunnel,  would  it  not  be 
very  easy,  then,  to  make  drifts  connecting  these  shafts  again 
at  every  level? 

A.  Certainly. 

Q.  Would  riot  that  ventilate  those  mines  to  such  a  de- 
gree as  to  reduce  the  temperature? 

A.  If  you  do  distribute  the  quantity  of  air — the  bulk  of 
air  that  goes  through  the  tunnel — if  you  distribute  that 
through  all  these  apertures,  you  won't  derive  much  benefit 
from  it. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  You  don't  appear  to  understand  my  ques- 
tion. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Yes,  he  does  perfectly,  and  has  an- 
swered your  question. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  will  put  my  question  in  a  plainer  form.  I 
have  asked  you,  provided  there  be  22  shafts  sunk  on  the 
Comstock  lode,  down  to  the  tunnel  level,  one  every  1,000 
feet,  and  drifts  were  made  between  these  shafts,  con- 
necting one  shaft  with  the  other,  every  100  feet  going 
down,  whether  the  ventilation  that  would  be  created  by 
that  going  through  these  drifts  would  not  cool  the  atmos- 
phere to  such  a  degree  that  the  capacity  of  the  men  would 
be  largely  increased? 

A.  Certainly. 

Q.  I  understood  that  you  wished  to  derive  all  the  air 
for  ventilation  through  the  tunnel? 

A.  No,  sir;  not  all  the  air.  That  would  be  only  a  por- 
tion of  the  air  coming  through  the  tunnel. 

Q'.  I  mean  to  say  that,  provided  all  these  shafts  were 
made  as  I  have  stated,  and  a  thorough  ventilation  brought 
about  in  the  manner  I  have  described,  would  not  that 
cool  the  atmosphere  to  a  very  large  extent? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  will  ask  you,  did  you  state  this  would 
thoroughly  ventilate  the  Comstock — this  tunnel? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  have  not  come  to  that  question  yet. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  He  has  presupposed  that  the  witness 
had  answered  the  question.  Now,  I  submit,  it  is  not  fair  to 


701 

the  witness,  nor  fair  to  any  bpdy,  to  go  upon  supposition. 
Mr.  Sutro  describes  a  mode  of  thoroughly  ventilating  the 
whole  Comstock,  when  the  witness  has  stated  directly  the 
contrary;  that  there  would  not  enough  air  pass  through  the 
tunnel,  if  it  were  distributed  through  all  the  openings  and 
apertures  in  the  Comstock,  to  be  of  any  considerable  bene- 
fit. Now  he  goes  on  and  supposes 

Mr.  SUTRO.  You  will  have  a  chance  to  examine  this  wit- 
ness when  I  get  through.  I  de  not  want  to  be  interrupted. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  ISTow  he  goes  on  and  says  the  Com- 
stock shall  be  thoroughly  ventilated  as  he  describes. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  will  presently  show  how  much  value  is  to 
be  attached  to  the  statement. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  propose  to  have  this  question  de- 
cided now  by  the  committee.  I  don't  like  to  see  a  witness 
misled,  (and  I  think  he  is  being,)  because  I  do  not  think 
Mr.  Luckhardt  wishes  to  say  that  this  tunnel  will  thorough- 
ly ventilate  this  mine. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  do  not  wish  to  be  interrupted.  Mr.  Sun- 
derland  will  have  a  chance  to  examine  this  witness  on  all 
these  points.  He  wants  to  draw  out  an  answer  from  this 
witness  that  the  witness  does  not  want  to  give.  He  don't 
understand  the  question,  and  Mr.  S.  is  trying  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  that. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  State  your  question  to  the  witness. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  He  has  answered  it.  I  was  trying  to  show 
this:  that,  if  this  tunnel  is  constructed,  it  will  be  possible, 
then,  to  make  a  great  number  of  shafts  along  the  whole 
lode,  connecting  them  with  the  tunnel,  for  the  simple 
reason  that  bore-holes  may  be  made  to  let  out  the  water, 
which  will  facilitate  the  construction  of  these  shafts ;  con- 
sequently these  shafts,  which  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
make  now,  on  account  of  the  expense,  will  all  be  made,  in 
order  to  bring'about  a  thorough  examination  of  the  Com- 
stock lode.  They  are  necessary,  in  order  .to  explore  the 
Comstock  lode.  After  these  shafts  are  constructed,  it  will 
be  possible  to  drift  from  one  shaft  to  another,  commencing 
at  both  shafts,  and  meeting  in  the  center,  drifting  500  feet 


702 

from  each  shaft,  and  thus  making  connections  "between  the 
two  different  shafts  at  every  100  feet,  which  will  afford  a 
thorough  exploration  of  the  mine.  The  question  put  to  the 
witness  was:  Suppose  we  make  all  these  shafts,  and  all 
these  connections,  whether  that  would  not  reduce  the  tem- 
perature; and  he  answered,  "Yes."  Now,  I  want  to  put 
another  question,  following  that  up :  What  do  you  consider 
an  average  temperature,  in  all  the  works  of  the  Comstock 
lode,  below  1,000  feet.  Make  a  general  average,  as  near 
as  you  can  ? 

WITNESS.  I  cannot  give  you  that. 

Q.  Do  you  think  it  would  be  105°? 

A.  I  do  not  understand  your  question. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  My  question  is,  what  is  the  average  of  all  the 
different  drifts  and  works  in  the  Comstock  lode,  below 
1,000  feet,  or  at  the  1,000-foot  level?  Take  all  the  drifts 
that  have  been  made. 

WITNESS.  Taking  in  this  ventilation  ? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Yes,  sir. 

WITNESS.  Oh,  I  cannot  tell.     I  would  have  to  guess. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Of  course  you  would  have  to  guess.  Your 
statement  about  it,  however,  will  be  as  valuable  as  any  we 
have  had,  and  probably  a  great  deal  more  so. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  More  compliments. 

WITNESS.  It  would  certainly  be  a  great  deal  higher  than 
it  is  on  the  surface.  I  cannot  give  any  figures,  because  I 
may  be  10°  or  15°  too  high,  or  10°  or  15°  too  low. 

Q.  What  is  the  average  heat  in  these  drifts  where  these 
men  are  at  work? 

A.  In  those  places  that  are  driven  ahead,  and  have  no 
out-let,  the  temperature  ranges  from  90  to  100  in  a  great 
many. 

Q.  Is  it  not  higher  than  that  in  some  places? 

A.  Sometimes  it  is. 

Q.  Often  higher  when  the  drifts  are  very  long? 

A.  In  stopes  that  have  connections,  (short  connections,) 
the  temperature  is  low.  I  have  seen  it  as  low  as  70. 

Q.  At  what  depth  ? 


703 

A.  On  the  800-foot  level  of  the  Jacket. 

Q.  Is  that  not  connected  with  Crown  Point? 

A.  That  was  connected  all  through. 

Q.  Now,  what  is  the  distance  between  the  "Yellow 
Jacket"  shaft  and  the  "Crown  Point"  shaft? 

A.  A  little  over  800  feet. 

Q.  That  is  the  very  point  I  want  to  get  at.  Suppose 
there  were  shafts  all  along  the  lode,  and  they  were  con- 
nected like  the  Crown  Point  and  Yellow  Jacket  are, 
where  there  is  a  strong  draught  and  the  temperature  has 
gone  at  once  as  low  as  70°,  whether  that  would  not  bring 
about  the  same  condition  of  affairs  all  along  the  lode? 

A.  If  you  take  the  air  from  one  shaft  down  the  drift,  and 
produce  an  artificial  current,  you  can,  through  these  drifts, 
and  to  all  those  shafts  of  which  you  speak,  to  the  best  of 
my  knowledge,  ventilate  that  entire  ground  thoroughly. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  That  is  precisely  what  I  want  to  get  a.t.  My 
question  was,  would  not  that  reduce  the  temperature  down 
to  70°  ? 

A.  That  I  could  not  say,  because  the  temperature  at  2,000 
feet  is  a  great  deal  higher  than  it  is  at  1,000.  'The  drag  of 
the  air,  in  going  up  from  2,000  feet,  on  the  surface  is  much 
greater  than  from  1,000. 

Q.  What  I  want  to  get  at  is  this :  Suppose  such  a  perfect 
system  of  ventilation  would  be  brought  about  as  could  be 
brought  about  after  these  shafts  have  been  put  down;  I 
want  you  to  state  whether  the  atmosphere  in  those  mines 
would  not  cool  off,  to  a  very  large  degree,  say  after  a  year 
or  two  ? 

A.  Unquestionably. 

Q.  That  is  what  I  desired  to  know.  If  you  reduce  the 
temperature  to  70°,  would  not  the  capacity  of  the  men  be 
doubled? 

A.  I  do  not  know  that  it  would  be  exactly  doubled.  Men 
would  work  vto  greater  advantage  and  do  more  work,  but 
I  do  not  know  whether  it  would  be  doubled. 

Q.  How  much  more  would  they  do  ? 

A.  Men,  when  they  are  working  in  the  temperature  of 


704 

70°,  I  think,  can  do  twice  as  much  work  as  when  they  work 
in  a  temperature  over  95°. 

Q.  That  would  be  double? 

A.  Yes;  but  I  do  not  know  whether  you  would  get  that 
temperature  down  to  70°. 

Q.  You  say  it  had  already  been  reduced  down,  in  the 
Yellow  Jacket  mine,  to  that  temperature  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Suppose  the  same  condition  exists  at  other  mines, 
would  not  it  be  reduced  to  the  same  temperature  too? 

A.  If  you  produce  the  same  conditions. 

Q.  It  has  beeen  stated  that  they  employed  3,000  miners, 
at  $4  per  day,  or  an  expense  of  $12,000.  Then  they  would 
save  $6,000  a  day,  would  they  not? 

A.  Yes,  sir,  at  that  rate. 

Q.  I  want  to  ask  you,  now,  what  is  the  cheapest  mode 
of  transportation  in  tunnels,  by  locomotives  or  stationary 
engines  ? 

A.  When  the  work  to  be  done  requires  four  animals, 
and  they  can  do  all  the  work  that  can  be  done  in  a  tun- 
nel, that  is  unquestionably  the  cheapest  method  of  trans- 
portation of  ore;  but  when  you  can  employ  more  and 
keep  them  at  work,  then  machinery  is  the  cheapest, 
and  of  all  kinds  of  machinery  I  think  stationary  engines 
d,o  the  work  the  cheapest;  and  I  will,  at  the  same  time, 
state  that  the  further  you  work  from  an  engine  the  cheaper, 
in  proportion,  will  be  the  work  which  you  wish  to  produce. 

Q.  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  the  longer  the  distance  you 
want  to  transport  your  ore  over,  the  cheaper  you  transport 
every  ton  of  ore  per  mile? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  you  must  not  go  beyond  a  limit,  which 
limit  is  arrived  at  by  a  calculation  of  the  strength  of  the 
rope  and  the  material. 

Q.  But,  then,  it  would  be  cheaper,  say,  for  instance,  to 
transport  ore  through  a  tunnel  4  miles  in  length,  than  it 
would  through  a  tunnel  1  mile  in  length,  for  every  100 
feet,  do  you  know?  * 

A.  Yes,  sir. 


705 

Q.  Do  you  see  any  difficulty  in  putting  in  a  stationery 
engine  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  and  having  a  wire-rope 
run  in  all  the  way? 

A.  That  depends  upon  how  wide  your  tunnel  is,  and 
how  heavy  you  wish  to  run  your  cars.  I  do  not  see  that 
there  is  any  difficulty  in  placing  a  stationery  engine  there, 
and  making  it  do  the  work  of  pulling  out  these  ores. 

Q.  Could  you  transport  a  very  large  quantity  in  that  way? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  but  you  would  have  to  keep  that  engine 
constantly  running — the  cars  going  in,  and  coming  out — 
because  the  benefit  which  you  derive  from  that  way  of 
working  is  by  never  stopping  your  engine  and  losing  time. 
Continually  working  makes  the  rate  of  transportation  less 
in  the  long  distance. 

Q.  Will  you  please  look  at  this  statement  made  by  Mr. 
Carlyle,  and  see  whether  that  is  a  fair  statement  of  the 
cost?  He  gives  the  cost  at  7  cents  per  ton  for  the  4  miles. 

A.  I  have  no  reason  to  doubt  that  statement,  only  I  think 
his  fuel  is  a  little  too  low;  but  I  think  his  5  per  cent,  per 
month  for  wear  and  tear  is  very  high,  so  that  would  cover 
the  deficiency  in  the  wood  question. 

Q.  You  would  consider  that  a  fair  statement,  would  you? 

A.  I  think  so;  yes  sir. 

Q.  Taking  3,000  tons  a  day  to  be  transported 

WITNESS,  (continuing  his  answer.)  He  cannot  put  that 
engine  there  with  the  rope  for  $50,000.  I  do  not  know 
whether  he  can  do  that  or  not.  I- see  he  makes  an  allow- 
ance in  this  calculation  for  that,  but  if  he  can  furnish  all 
the  ropes  for  $50,000 

Q.  Suppose  it  takes  a  little  more  than  that,  how  much 
difference  would  it  make.  A  cent's  difference  on  a  ton? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  and  make  a  little  over  a  cent,  but  in  the 
neighborhood  of  a  cent;.  I  think  that  would  cover  it. 

Q.  Would  8  cents  cover  it  pretty  fully — 8  cents  a  ton  ? 

A.  It  might. 

Q.  Do  you  see  any  difficulty  in  taking  ore  down  to  the 
tunnel  level  by  means  of  a  double  shaft,  the  car  going  down 
one  side,  with  the  brake  attached  to  it  on  top  ? 
45 


706 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  see  any  difficulty  in  putting  in  a  man-engine, 
or  fahrkunst,  to  take  the  men  up  or  down? 

A.  I  do  not  see  any  difficulty,  but  I  do  not  think  it  would 
be  advisable,  because  the  fahrkunst  is  an  institution  that 
goes  very  slow,  but  it  is  very  safe.  But  these  fahrkunst,  of 
late  years,  have  gone  very  much  out  of  vogue.  These  same 
machines — the  same  power  that  would  be  required  to  drive 
the  fahrkunst — could  be  employed  in  a  better  way  to  lower 
and  raise  men  than  by  that  means. 

Q.  Men  could  be  sent  up  in  empty  cars? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  I  want  to  ask  you  now  about  reducing  ores.  How 
much  do  the  mines  get  from  the  mills? 

A.  I  have  heard  various  statements.  I  think,  if  my  mem- 
ory serves  me  right,  that  from  60  to  65  per  cent,  is  assured 
by  the  mills  to  the  mines. 

Q.  Suppose  they  do  not  get  out  65  per  cent.,  do  they  pay 
any  reclamation  ? 

A.  That,  as  I  understand,  has  always  been  the  rule. 

Q.  Have  you  ever  known  the  Union  Mill  and  Mining 
Company  to  pay  any  reclamation  ? 

A.  I  only  know  of  two  persons,  with  whom  I  happen  to 
be  very  well  acquainted,  in  Virginia,  that  have  paid  recla- 
mations to  mining  companies. 

Q.  Mill  owners? 

A.  Yes,  sir,  that  had  paid  reclamations. 

Q.  Did  they  belong  to  the  Union  Mill  and  Mining  Com- 
pany's? 

A.  I  believe  not. 

Q.  Have  you  ever  heard  of  the  Union  Mill  and  Mining 
Company  paying  any  reclamations? 

A.  I  never  have  heard  that  they  did. 

Q.  So  they  do  not  seem  to  get  out  more  than  65  per 
cent,  of  the  assay  value  of  the  ore  which  is  returned  to  the 
mines  ? 

A.  I  think  that  a  great  many  people  there  say  that  they 
get  out  80  or  85  per  cent.,  and  1  think,  in  some  instances, 


707 

judging  from  the  character  of  the  ore  found,  that  it  is  pos- 
sible to  get  out  that,  but  not  as  a  general  thing,  because 
the  ores  of  the  Comstock  are  of  such  a  nature  that  any  man 
who  knows  the  nature  of  the  o.res,  or  knows  how  to  judge 
of  ores,  would  consider  it  to  be  a  preposterous  idea  to  get 
out  80  or  85  per  cent,  by  crude  amalgamation.  By  treat- 
ing .those  ores,  by  previous  processes  anterior  to  amalga- 
mation, you  may  get  out  from  80  to  85, per  cent.;  but  I 
think  from  60  to  65  per  cent,  is  the  general  yield  of  most 
of  the  ores.  *\ 

Q.  I  want  to  ask  you  whether  there  is  not  from  35  to 
40  per  cent,  of  silver  contained  in  these  ores,  in  such  com- 
binations with  the  base  metals — say  lead,  zinc,  copper, 
iron,  antimony,  and  even  with  sulphur— that  cannot  be 
taken  out  by  common  amalgamation  ?  Is  not  that  a  fact? 

A.  Well,  I  won't  say  that  35  to  40  per  cent.,  but  some- 
where near  there.  A  certain  percentage  of  that  35  or  40 
per  cent,  consists  of  amalgam,  which  goes  off  with  the  tail- 
ings. 

Q.  How  much  do  you  think  there  is  of  this  refractory  or 
rebellious  metal  contained  in  those  ores.  What  per  cent, 
exists  there  that  cannot  be  taken  out  by  ordinary  amalga- 
mation, taking  the  average  of  the  Oomstock  lode? 

A.  There  is  within  3  or  4  per  cent  of  that  which  is  not 
gotten  out;  or,  in  other  words,  to  make  myself  more  ex- 
plicit, suppose  you  get  out  60  per  cent,  of  the  silver,  there 
would  probably  be,  by  crude  amalgamation,  35  or  36  per 
cent,  of  the  silver  in  refractory  ores,  and  the  other  3  per 
cent,  would  be  as  very  fine  amalgam  in  the  tailings. 

Q.  Then  there  would  be,  according  to  that,  at  leafet  35 
per  cent,  of  refractory  ore  or  rebellious  metal  in  those  ores  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Cannot  that  be  taken  out  by  amalgamation? 

A.  Not  by  crude  amalgamation. 

Q.  Cannot  they  get  out  a  little  of  that  again  by  letting 
it  lay  exposed  to  the  air  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  all  that  is  required  of  those  tailings  is  to 


708 

get  silver  in  the  amalgamable  state,  oxydize  them,  then  all 
that  portion  which  is  oxydized  will  amalgamate. 

Q.  Now,  suppose  there  were  reduction  worlds  at  the 
mouth  of  the  tunnel — ordinary  amalgamating  mills  existing 
there,  which  I  helieve  use  the  most  approved  process  for 
that  class  of  ores — and  suppose  there  were  concentrating 
works  attached  to  those  mills,  on -an  extensive  scale  and  of 
the  most  approved  plan,  would  it  not  be  possible  to  take 
the  tailings  from  those  mills  and  run  them  through  that 
concentrating  machinery  and  get  out  to  90  per  cent,  of  the 
whole  ore;  that  is,  of  the  original  value  of  the  ore? 

A.  I  think  so. 

Q.  Then  would  you  not  get,  in  that  manner — in  a  con- 

•f centrated  form— this  rebellious  portion  which  cannot  be 

obtained  by  common  amalgamation  J     Could  not  that  be 

put  through  a  roasting  and  chlorodizing  process,  and  90 

per  cent,  obtained  again? 

A.  No;  I  think  but  80  per  cent,  could  be  obtained. 

Q.  Will  you  please  give  us  some  figures  now  as  to  how 
much  you  would  get  then? 

A.  I  made  a  calculation  here  on  the  low  grade  this  af- 
ternoon. The  ore,  which  assayed  $10  per  ton 

Q.  "Will  you  please  state  what  results  you  arrived  at? 

A.  I  arrived  at  this  result :  that,  taking  say  10  tons  as 
the  basis — I  say  that,  by  common  amalgamation,  $60  out  pf 
10  tons  could  be  obtained— that  would  be  $60  out  of  the 
value  of  $100,  and  the  tailings  could  be  concentrated  to 
one  ton,  of  the  value  of  $30,  causing  a  loss  of  10  per 
cent,  in  concentration.  I  think  if  steam  power  was  used, 
that  woujd  cost  $5  10;  and  if  water  power  was  used, 
it  would  cost  $4  10;  that  would  make  a  difference  of  $1 
between  water  and  steam  power.  I  mean  as  to  the  motive 
power.  Then  I  say  that  these  10  tons  or  nearly  10  tons  of 
tailings  which  you  get,  could  be  concentrated  to  1  ton,  at 
a  cost  of  $5,  by  these  concentrating  machines. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  They  would  have  $40  in  them? 

A.  They  ought  to  have  $40  in  them.     Fow,  I  allow  10 


709 

per  cent,  loss  in  concentration.     I  will  call  that  1  ton, 
of  the  value  of  $30— that  1  ton. 

Q.  That  is  25  per  cent,,  is  it  not? 

A.  That  is  10  per  cent,  loss  on  the  original. 

Q.  That  is  25  per  cent,  on  $40,  allowing  a  loss  of  25  per 
cent? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  if  that  was  roasted  and  amalgamated,  you 
could  obtain  at  least  80  per  cent. 

Q.  That  would  give  you,  then,  a  total  gain,  after  paying 
all  expenses  of  the  first  amalgamation,  concentration,  roast- 
ing, and  second  amalgamation — give  you  &  margin  of  $30, 
provided  you  pay  $60  for  the  ore? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  for  the  10  tons. 

.  Q.  Do  I  understand  you  correctly  now,  that  you  take 
out  first  60  per  cent.,  and  the  next  operation  30  per  cent., 
that  making  90,  and  the  whole  operation  can  be  performed 
on  $10-rock,  and  pay  even  a  profit? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  I  think  so. 

Q.  Now,  supposing  you  take  that  rock  and  crush  it  first, 
then  concentrate  the  ore  itself,  would  it  not  still  lessen  the 
expense  ? 

A.  !N"o,  because  you  have  to  crush  all  the  ores  in  the 
first  place  any  way,  in  order  to  concentrate  it.  You  are 
as  likely  to  lose  20  per  cent,  in  concentration  as  you  are  to 
lose  10.  The  higher  the  ore  is  in  precious  metals,  the  higher 
the  loss  in  concentration;  therefore  I  would  advise  one  to 
amalgamate  it  first,  and  then  concentrate  the  tailings. 

Q.  Supposing  we  had  reduction  works  at  the  mouth  of 
the  tunnel — amalgamating  works  driven  by  steam;  say 
we  could  get  coal  there  at  $12  per  ton,  by  making  a  branch 
railroad,  and  bringing  in  the  coal  from  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains there — suppose  we  have  these  reduction  works  driven 
by  steam,  would  the  tunnel,  in  your  own  opinion,  furnish 
sufficient  water  to  carry  on  this  concentrating  operation? 

WITNESS.  First  tell  me  how  much  ore  you  wish  to  con- 
centrate. 

Q.  How  much  water  do  you  think  would  issue  from 
that  tunnel  after  its  completion,  and  after  its  branches  are 


710 

completed,  and  shafts  connected  with  it?  What  is  your 
opinion  about  that  ? 

A.  I  would  have  to  guess  at  that. 

Q.  Do  you  think  there  would  be  10  cubic  feet,  at  the 
rate  say  of  4  miles  an  hour  ?  That  would  give  1,440 
inches. 

A.  I  think  that  less  than  half  that  you  could  depend 
upon. 

Q.  How  much  would  that  be  ?  How  many  inches  would 
you  consider  would  flow  out  ? 

A.  About  600  inches — 600  miner's  inches. 

Q.  Would  that  be  sufficient,  if  you  supply  steam  machin- 
ery to  drive  concentrating  works,  to  concentrate  say  1,000 
tons  a  day  ? 

A.  No,  hardly. 

Q.  Would  it  not  be  nearly  enough'? 

A.  I  would  not  like  to  say. 

Q.  Suppose  an  additional  supply  was  obtained  from 
other  sources,  say  from  the  Carson  river,  to  make  that  1,000 
inches.  Would  that  not  be  sufficient  to  reduce  1,000  tons 
of  ore  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Now,  suppose  those  concentrating  works,  and  those 
steam-mills,  should  be  erected  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel ; 
don't  you  think  that  we  could  pay  the  mine-owners  65  per 
cent,  for  their  ore,  without  any  charge  for  transportation  or 
milling,  and  receive  the  ores  right  at  the  foot  of  the  shaft 
- — or  at  the  mine? 

A.  I  think  you  could  pay  60  per  cent. 

Q.  Take  the  $40  ore — take  the  average  of  the  ore. 

A.  I  think  you  could  pay  65  per  cent. 

Q.  Then  take  say  $30-rock,  with  5  per  cent,  off,  that 
would  be  SI  50  a  ton,  would  it  not? 

A.  Five  per  cent.,  at  $30,  would  be  $1  50  a  ton. 

Q.  Then  would  not  the  mines  yet  save  the  whole  cost 
of  transportation  and  milling,  which  is  given  at  $12? 
Then  deduct  $1  50,  which  would  still  save  $10  50  on  every 
ton  of  ore  to  the  mine.  That  would  amount  in  a  year, 


711 

with  365,000  tons  at  $10,  to  $8,650,000.  "Would  not  that 
he  a  clear  saving  to  the  mine  of  $3,650,000  ? 

A.  If  you  make  that  arrangement  with  them,  I  do  not 
see  why  it  would  not. 

Q.  It  would  he,  if  you  figure  the  cost  of  reduction  at 
what  you  figure  it  there — $12 — and  that  is  counting  steam 
machinery,  not  counting  water  power. 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Now,  don't  you  think  that  quantity  of  ore  extracted 
from  these  mines  would  be  trebled  after  that  tunnel  is  in? 

A.  I  certainly  think  so. 

Q.  Then  the  saving  would  be  three  times  that  much — 
would  be  over  $10,000,000  per  annum  actually  saved  to 
the  mine-owners? 

A.  Provided  that  could  be  worked.  We  were  talking 
about  working  1,000  tons,  not  working  3,000. 

Q.  Provided  water  be  brought  in  there  sufficient  for 
concentrating  purposes? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

>  Q.  It  has  been  shown  here  by  Captain  Day,  (Surveyor 
General  of  Nevada,)  that  the  average  flow  of  water  on  the 
Carson  river,  provided  the  water  is  stored  up  in  the  winter 
time,  would  amount  to  508  square  feet.  Suppose  you  take 
off  from  that  508  square  feet  20  square  feet  only,  which  is 
the  twenty-fifth  part;  20  square  feet  would  give  us  2,880 
inches  of  water.  That,  in  addition  to  what  comes  out  of 
the  tunnel — would  that  be  sufficient  for  the  concentration 
of  all  these  ores  ? 

A.  Of  3,000  tons  a  day? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Yes,  sir. 

WITNESS.  At  the  rate  we  figured  before  it  would  not. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  It  would  be  more? 

WITNESS.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Then  taking  the  25th  part  of  the  water  in  that  river,  it 
would  give  enough  water  to  concentrate  even  thiee  times 
what  is  taken  out  now — or  3,000  tons  a  day? 

A.  I  do  not  know  whether  that  is  the  25th  part. 


712 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Yes,  sir,  according  to  the  statement  of  Gen- 
eral Day.  % 

A.  If  you  have  that  quantity  of  water  you  can  certainly 
concentrate  those  ores. 

Q.  Then,  to  repeat  the  statement.  By  erecting  steam 
mills  there,  and  large  concentration  works,  and  taking  the 
25th  part  of  Carson  ^iver,  it  would  enable  us  to  pay  60  per 
cent,  of  the  value  of  the  ore,  and  take  it  at  the  mine,  and 
•work  it  to  a  profit  ? 

A.  I  think  so. 

Q.  The  difference  between  using  water  power  and  steam 
power  would  not  be  a  considerable  item,  in  your  opinion  ? 

A.  No,  sir;  it  would  be  between  90  cents  or  $1  on  a 
ton.  I  made  my  calculation  from  the  following:  I  took 
a  20-stamp  mill,  requiring  40  horse-power.  I  estimated 
the  cost  of  the  engine  and  boiler  at  $10,000,  and  the  wear 
and  tear  at  7  per  cent.  I  then  calculated  that  down  to  a  day, 
which  gives  $2  a  day.  I  estimated  2  tons  of  coal  a  day  to  be 
$24;  I  estimated  the  lubricating  oil  at  $1 ;  two  engineers  at 
$10,  and  a  helper  at  $2  50.  That  gave  me  an  average  of 
$1  99  per  ton  for  power  for  a  20-stamp  mill,  in  which  I  could 
easily  crush  20  tons  of  ore.  On  the  other  hand,  I  calcu- 
lated a  water  power  for  20  stamps,  or  40  horse-power; 
allowing  cost  of  the  mill  and  dam  at  $12,000,  interest  at 
10  per  cent,  per  annum,  which  makes  $3  33  a  day;  allowing 
7  per  cent,  for  wear  and  tear,  giving  $2  33  per  day.  Three- 
fourths  of  a  ton  of  coal  for  creating  steam,  $9,  and  the  labor 
of  1  man,  $2  50;  making  an  aggregate  of  $1  per  ton,  allow- 
ing still  15  per  cent,  for  contingencies.  That  gave  me  $1 
against  $1  99,  counting  the  steam  I  have  to  use  in  amalga- 
mation. This  only  gives  the  power,  but  the  steam  for  amal- 
gamation I  added  to  the  water  power,  which  gave  us  $1 
against  $1  99. 

Q.  If  I  understand  you  correctly  now,  in  taking  a 
steam-mill,  you  use  the  waste  steam  for  heating  your 
amalgamating  pans,  while  in  the  water-mill  you  have  a 
boiler,  and  make  steam  on  purpose  to  heat  the  pans.  Con- 
sequently, the  water-mill  cannot  be  run  without  steam  ? 


713 

A.  No,  sir;  that  is  the  reason  I  added  the  wear  and  tear 
of  the  steam-mill,  and  the  boiler  and  the  coal,  and  the 
labor  to  create  the  steam  in  the  water-power  mill. 

Mr.  RICE.  But  that  is  not  for  power  at  all — that  steam  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  I  added  that  to  the  power  in  the  water-mill, 
because  the  cost  of  amalgamation  afterwards  will,  in  both 
cases,  be  the  same. 

Q.  I  will  ask  you  whether  you  know  of  any  single  mill 
in  that  country  there,  that  works  ores  from  the  Comstock 
lode,  that  does  not  use  steam  for  amalgamation  purposes? 

A.  No  good  mill. 

Q.  They  all  use  steam? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Consequently  every  water-mill  has  to  have  a  steam- 
boiler,  does  it  not? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  fti  order  to  supply  the  steam  for  these  amalgamating 
pans? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  I  want  to  ask  you  now  what  capacity  of  making 
steam  a  ton  of  coal  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  has,  as 
compared  to  wood?  How  does  it  compare  with  wood? 

A.  That  coal  from  the  Rocky  mountains,  you  have 
reference  to? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Yes,  sir;  does  it  equal  2  cords? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  think  that  the  Rocky-Mountain  coal  would 
be  equal  to  2f  cords  of  wood. 

Q.  Then  that  coal  at  $12  would  be  equal  to  wood  ,at 
about  §4— a  little  over  $4  a  cord?  The  coal  at  $12  would 
be  equal  to  wood  at  $4,  and  a  little  over  a  cord? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Now,  I  want  to  exhibit  to  you  a  map  here  of  the 
working  of  the  mines  in  the  Harz  mountains,  in  Germany, 
and  I  want  first  to  ask  you  whether  you  have  been  at 
those  mines  at  Claustahl? 

A.  Yes,  sir ;  I  have  been  at  Claustahl. 

Q.  How  long  have  those  mines  been  worked? 


714 

A.  Oh,  they  have  been  worked  for  a  number  of  years.  I 
do  not  recollect.  They  have  been  worked  for  centuries. 

Q.  Will  you  be  kind  enough  to  look  at  this  map  here, 
and  at  the  scale  that  is  given  here,  which  is  given  in 
Lachter,  and  state  what  depth  this  shaft  is — the  George 
Wilhelm  shaft?  How  much  it  measures  in  English  feet? 

A.  2,311Jfeet. 

Q.  American  feet? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Now  will  you  please  state  at  what  depth  the  Ernst 
August  tunnel  cut  that  shaft  when  they  constructed  it? 

WITNESS.  How  do  you  mean  ? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  This  tunnel  has  only  been  completed  within 
the  last  8  years. 

A.  I  do  not  know;  I  did  not  keep  a  record  of  it.  I 
judge  1,297  feet.  , 

Q.  Will  you  please  deduct  that  1,297  feet  from  the  2,311, 
which  would  give  us  the  depth  that  shaft  was  below  the 
tunnel  level  when  that  tunnel  was  made? 

A.  1,014  feet. 

Q.  Below  the  tunnel  level? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  You  say  that  extensive  works  below  that  tunnel  level 
are  in  existence  there  ? 

A.  Oh,  yes,  sir. 

Q.  Will  you  be  kind  enough  to  measure  the  depth  be- 
tween the  deep  George  tunnel,  and  the  Ernst  August' 
tunnel?  . 

A.  400  feet. 

Q.  The  deep  George  tunnel  is  stated  here  in  the  books 
to  be  6-J  miles  in  length;  and  the  "Ernst  August"  tunnel 
is  given  at  14  miles  in  length.  Then,  according  to  this, 
this  tunnel  14  miles  in  length  was  constructed  to  gain  an 
additional  depth  of  400  feet.  Is  that  correct? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  to  get  a  depth  of  400  feet  lower  than  what 
they  had  already. 

Q.  They  had  a  tunnel  in  existence  6J  miles;  and,  in 


715 

order  to  get  400  feet  deeper,  then  constructed  a  new  tunnel 
14  miles  in  length? 

A.  Yes,  sir.* 

Q.  So  they  gained  400  feet  in  pumping  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  And  400  feet  in  operating  the  mines  by  constructing 
that  tunnel? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  What  depth  do  they  get  on  the  Comstock  lode  by 
running  this  tunnel  in  4  miles? 

A.  2,000  feet. 

Q.  Now,  I  want  to  ask  you  whether  the  mines  in  the 
Harz  mountains  are  worked  with  intelligence? 

A.  The  government  always  employed  the  scholars  di- 
rectly from  the  mining  schools,  and  they  were  taken  in 
rotation,  if  they  made  application  to  the  government  for 
positions.  Of  course,  the  government  was  connected  with 
these  mining  schools,  and  the  government  was  interested 
in  the  mines;  and  it  was  for  the  government's  interest  to 
get  the  most  intelligent  managers  that  they  could  at  those 
mines. 

Q.  Is  any  one  employed  there  in  charge  of  those  mines 
who  is  not  a  thorough-going  engineer,  and  a  scientific  man? 

A.  I  do  not  know  of  one. 

Q.  Are  they  not  practical  men  ? 

A.  They  become  practical  men  from  the  mining  course 
they  have  to  go  through. 

Q.  And  don't  they  have  to  go  from  one  stage  to  an- 
other before  they  get  to  the  top  of  the  ladder  in  position? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  They  have  to  go  through  all  the  different  stages, 
commencing  first  as  a  common  miner,  do  they  not  ? 

A.  Ko,  sir.  In  the  mining  school,  where  he  receives 
his  tuition,  there  are  certain  days  in  the  week  when  he  has 
to  go  into  a  mine,  where  he  has  to  learn  how  to  survey,  not 
technically,  but  practically.  He  is  shown  all  through  the 
mine.  He  stands  by  the  men  and  sees  them  work,  and 
receives  instruction  and  explanation.  Then  he  is  taken 


716 

out  of  the  mines  in  the  same  way  that  the  men  get  out. 
He  is  taken  out,  then,  and  shown  how  the  ores  are  worked. 
In  fact,  everything  that  he  learns  there  is  taught  first  tech- 
nically, and  afterwards  practically. 

Q.  What  business  are  you  engaged  in  now? 

A.  I  have  an  office  in  San  Francisco,  California,  as 
mining  engineer  and  metallurgist,  for  the  purpose  of  assay- 
ing ores,  working  ores,  and  Amalgamating  ores,  and  I  some- 
times buy  ores. 

Q.  Have  you  an  establishment  for  metallurgical  treat- 
ment? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Do  not  people  send  ores  to  you  from  all  parts  of  the 
country,  in  order  to  arrive  at  the  correct  value  of  ores  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir.  That  is  what  I  depend  upon  for  my 
work. 

Q.  And  you  apply  the  most  perfect  treatment,  in  order 
to  arrive  at  the  most  correct  result  by  practical  working? 

A.  Yes,  sir.  It  is  our  business  to  examine  ores,  and 
afterwards  I  take  them  and  treat  them. 

Q.  I  want  to  ask  you  one  or  two  questions  now  about  the 
water  power  on  the  Carson  river.  I  want  to  ask  you,  if 
there  be  a  dam  constructed  say  at  the  Franklin  mill — a  dam 
only  30  feet  high — which  would  back  up  the  water  but  a 
short  distance,  and  that  water  taken  out  at  that  dam  and 
carried  near  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  which  would  give, 
according  to  General  Day's  statement,  100  feet  of  fall,  and 
adding  30  for  the  dam,  130  feet,  whether  that  would  not 
give  ample  power  to  propel  enough  mills  to  reduce  all  the 
ore  in  the  Comstock  lode? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  do  not  think  it  would. 

Q.  Suppose  dams  be  constructed  in  the  mountains,  and 
the  water  accumulated  there  in  the  winter,  and  let  down 
into  Carson  river,  do  you  think  that  would  give  an  ample 
supply  by  taking  the  water  out  under  the  circumstances  I 
have  stated? 

A.  I  think  it  might,  but  I  would  not  like  to  give  an 
opinion  on  that,  because  I  do  not  know  the  location  of  the 


717 

dam,  and  I  do  know  the  location  of  the  mouth  of  the  tun- 
nel exactly,  and. then  I  do  not  know  how  much  water  there 
is  in  there. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  We  have  these  statements  here  communi- 
cated by  General  Day,  and  you  not  having  gone  into  his 
figures,  and  it  being  late,  it  will  take  too  long.  I  will  not, 
therefore,  go  into  this  question  again  of  figuring  about  this 
water  power.  If  I  should  want  to  arrive  at  an  intelligent 
result,  I  would  have  to  submit  the  figures  and  let  Mr. 
Luckhardt  make  his  calculations,  which  will  probably  take 
another  hour,  and  therefore  I  will  close  here. 

Adjourned  to  meet  on  the  27th. 


HEARING  WEDNESDAY,  MARCH  27m 
Cross-examination  of  C.  A.  Luckhardt. 

By  Mr.  SUNDERLAND: 

Q.  What  was  your  first  employment  upon  the  Corn- 
stock? 

A.  In  Virginia  City  my  first  employment  was  as  assayer, 
with  Paxton  &  Thorn  burgh. 

Q.  How  long  did  you  remain  in  that  employment  ? 

A.  Three  months,  I  think. 

Q.  Where  were  you  next  employed? 

A.  I  was  next  emgtoyed  as  superintendent  of  the  Justis. 

Q.  What  year  wasThat  ? 

A.  I  am  not  quite  certain  whether  it  was  the  latter  end 
of  1864  or  1865. 

Q.  What  year  did  you  go  to  Virginia  City  ? 

A.  The  same  year  that  I  was  there  as  assayer. 

Q.  How  long  did  you  remain  in  the  Justis  ? 

A.  I  think  it  was  six  months. 

Q.  Did  you  get  out  any  ore  during  the  time  you  were 
there  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Where  was  it  milled  ? 

A.  It  was  milled  in  Mr.  Weston's  mill.  » 

Q.  What  percentage  was  saved  by  the  mill  and  returned 
to  the  mine  ? 

A.  Sixty  per  cent.  It  was  on  ore  that  I  sent  to  test  the 
quality  of  what  I  had  in  the  mine.  At  that  time  the  mill 
rate  was  higher  than  it  is  now,  and  I  was  trying  to  see  if  I 
could  make  that  mine  pay.  I  sent  this  ore,  therefore,  as 
as  a  test.  It  was  not  the  regular  working  of  ore  for  the 
company. 

Q.  How  much  ore  did  you  have  worked? 

A.  I  had  20  tons  worked  at  one  time  and  50  tons  at 
another,  I  think. 

718 


719 

Q.  Is  that  all  the  ore  you  had  worked  out  of  that  mine 
while  you  were  there? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Did  Mr.  Weston  pay  you  any  reclamation  ? 

A.  I  had  an  understanding  with  Mr.  Weston  at  the  time 
that  he  should  not  charge  me  any  mill  rate  in  case  the  ore 
did  not  pay,  because  the  Justis  Mining  Company  was  then 
in  rather  poor  circumstances,  and  I  was  trying,  as  super- 
intendent, to  do  my  best  to  reduce  the  expenditures.  I 
did  not,  therefore,  pay  him  the  full  price  for  the  working 
of  the  ore;  nor  did  he  pay  me  any  reclamation. 

Q.  Where  was  your  next  employment,  and  in  what  ca- 
pacity was  it  ? 

A.  I  was  engaged  by  the  Ophir  Company  to  act  as 
superintendent. 

Q.  How  long  did  you  continue  in  that  capacity? 

A.  I  cannot  tell  exactly  the  number  of  months.  I  stayed 
there  until  Mr.  Fair  took  charge. 

Q.  Was  there  anybody  else  in  Virginia  City,  during  the 
time  you  acted  as  superintendent,  who  had  charge  of  any 
business  in  the  Ophir? 

A.  The  President,  Mr.  Blanding. 

Q.  He  was  there? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  the  greater  portion  of  the  time. 

Q.  Was  he  not  acting  as  superintendent  himself? 

A.  I  do  not  know.  He  guve  me  entire  charge  of  the 
mine  and  all  its  appurtenances.  He  gave  me  charge  of 
furnishing  the  mills  with  a  certain  number  of  tons  of  ore  in 
a  certain  time  and  at  a  certain  rate;  and  he  gave  me  charge 
of  all  the  men  and  all  the  expenditures.  We  had  a  secre- 
tary and  superintendent.  He  limited  me  in  one  respect, 
as  regards  making  contracts  for  the  company. 

Q.  You  attended  to  all  the  contracts? 

A.  The  contracts  which  I  gave  out,  were  to  take  ore  out 
of  the  mine  and  the  old  dumps.  The  mine  was  behind  at 
the  time,  and  the  understanding  between  Mr.  Blanding 
and  myself  was,  that  I  should  get  his  consent  to  those 
contracts. 


720. 

Q.  Didn't  he  direct  to  what  mills  the  ore  should  be 
sent? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Did  he  contract  with  the  mills  as  to  the  rates  to  he 
charged,  and  what  percentage  should  be  guarantied? 

A.  He  had  already  an  agreement  with  the  Washoe  mill — 
that  I  did  not  order.  The  other  mill  we  sent  to  was  the 
Woodworth  mill,  belonging  to  the  Ophir  company. 

Q.  Who  owned  the  Washoe  mill? 

A.  I  do  not  know  who  was  the  owner  of  it.  George 
Atwood  had  charge  of  it,  or  leased  it. 

Q.  Wasn't  it  the  Ophir  mill  that  he  leased? 

A,  I  believe  so;  but  I  am  not  certain  who  was  the  owner 
at  the  time. 

Q.  Did  that  mill  ever  pay  any  reclamation? 

A.  At  the  time  I  was  in  the  Ophir  it  did  not,  to  my 
knowledge,  because  Mr.  Blanding  had  made  the  arrange- 
ment with  Mr.  Atwood,  and  I  do  not  know  what  it  was. 

Q.  Did  you  superintend  the  accounts  in  any  way?  Did 
you  have  any  supervision  of  them?  Did  you  see  what 
entries  were  made  in  the  books,  or  give  any  directions  to 
the  clerk  employed  by  Mr.  Blanding  in  the  office  there  ? 

A.  How  do  you  mean  ?  Did  I  give  directions  in  regard 
to  the  payment  of  the  men,  how  many  men  should  be  em- 
ployed, and  what  should  be  their  salaries? 

Q.  I  do  not  mean  that  at  all.  That  is  the  business  of 
the  foreman,  I  believe — to  employ  men  and  discharge 
them. 

A.  I  gave  directions  to  the  foreman,  not  to  the  secre- 
tary. 

Q.  The  business  of  the  foreman  is  to  have  the  time 
kept,  which  he  returns  to  the  office  of  the  Company.  That 
is  a  thing  with  which  the  superintendent  has  nothing 
to  do. 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Now,  did  you  take  any  charge  or  have  any  super- 
vision of  the  books  that  were  kept  bv  the  clerk  ? 

A.  No. 


721 

Q.  You  say  you  don't  remember  how  long  you  remained 
there? 

A.  I  do  not  remember.  I  cannot  say.  I  knew  that 
Mr.  Blanding  got  my  services,  because  he  was  troubled 
with  a  great  deal  of  water  on  one  of  the  mine  levels,  and 
his  foreman  and  men  could  not  stop  it.  He  asked  me  if  I 
was  acquainted  with  building  dams,  and  he  spoke  to  Baron 
Richthofen,  and  Baron  Richthofen  recommended  me  to 
him ;  and  that  is  the  way  I  came  to  have  charge  of  the 
mine. 

Q.  You  say  you  left  immediately  after  Captain  Fair 
came  in?  Did  I  understand  you  to  say  that? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  "Where  were  you  next  employed. 

A.  I  was  employed  by  the  Manhattan  company  in  Aus- 
tin. I  was  superintendent  of  their  mills  and  their  mines. 
They  were  the  New  York  company. 

Q.  Was  Mr.  Curtis  there  at  the  time? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  How  long  did  you  remain  there  ? 

A.  I  think  it  was  two  months.  The  mine  stopped  on 
account  of  indebtedness.  I  do  not  recollect  how  long  it 
was. 

Q.  What  year  were  you  there  ? 

A.  I  think  it  was  in  the  beginning  of  1866. 

Q.  When  were  you  superintendent  of  the  North 
American? 

A.  When  I  returned  to  Virginia  City. 

Q.  After  you  had  been  to  Austin  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  How  long  were  you  there? 

A.  I  was  employed  by  the  Bank  folks,  and  at  the  same 
time  I  had  the  superintendentship  of  the  North  American. 

Q.  What  time  in  1868  was  that,  or  was  it  in  1867? 

A.  I  think  it  was  in  1866.  I  forget  the  month.  I  had 
been  employed  by  the  Bank  some  six  or  eight  months,  may 
be  a  year,  when  I  took  charge  of  the  North  American. 

Q.  Did  the  North  American  ever  yield  any  ore  ? 
46 


722' 

A.  Not  at  that  time.  It  had  not  been  worked  for  a  num- 
ber of  years,  and  I  reopened  it.  I  developed  some  low- 
grade  ore  there,  but  it  wouldn't  pay  at  that  time. 

Q.  It  has  paid  since,  I  believe,  has  it  not? 

A.  Yes,  sir ;  some. 

Q.  Is  it  being  worked  now? 

A.  I  could  not  tell  you. 

Q.  Don't  you  know  it  has  been  worked  for  the  last  two 
or  three  years? 

A.  I  couldn't  say. 

Q.  Don't  you  know  that  Mr.  Hobart  has  been  working 
it  some  time? 

A.  I  don't  know  where  Hobart  worked.  He  took  out 
some  ore,  I  believe,  between  the  Overman  and  the  North 
American,  together  with  Hamlet.  I  don't  know  where  he 
took  it  from. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  have  any  connection  with  any  other 
mine  there? 

A.  No. 

Q.  Now,  I  understand  you  to  say  that  you  were  em- 
ployed by  the  Bank  of  California  as  a  mining  engineer. 
What  were  your  duties  under  that  employment  by  the 
Bank  of  California? 

A.  My  duties  were  to  go  into  the  mines,  examine  th^m, 
and  make  a  report  as  regarded  the  quality  of  ore  in  sight 
and  the  prospects  of  the  mines.  These  were  my  instruc- 
tions for  the  first  year  or  year  and  a  half;  but  as  that  took 
a  good  deal  of  time  and  a  good  deal  of  writing,  I  was  after- 
wards asked  to  make  concise  daily  reports  to  the  same 
purport. 

Q.  Cannot  duties  of  that  kind  be  performed  by  a  man 
who  is  not  a  mining  engineer? 

A.  A  man  who  is  not  a  mining  engineer  cannot  very 
well  have  an  opinion  as  to  where  ore  may  be  found. 

Q.  You  think  a  mining  engineer  can  tell  where  ore  can 
be  found  before  it  is  found  ? 

A.  In  some  instances  he  can.  He  can  calculate  as  re- 
gards the  quantity  that  he  sees  and  the  quality,  more  or 


723 

• 

less,  by  looking  at  it.  But  a  man  who  is  accustomed  to 
mines  there,  possibly  might  fill  the  same  position  as  regards 
the  quantity  that  is  in  sight,  and  such  a  man  could  prob- 
ably have  filled  the  position  I  did. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  any  better  judges  of  the  quality  of 
ore,  or  the  prospects  of  a  mine,  than  the  man  who  uses  a 
piek  and  shovel  in  the  mine-^-the  common  miner,  who 
works  in  the  mine  and  assorts  ore  ? 

A.  Decidedly:  every  mineralogist  is. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  know  any  instance  on  the  Comstock 
where  any  body  of  ore  was  discovered  by  a  mining  engin- 
eer? 

A.  As  mining  engineers  do  not  generally  go  into  the 
mine  with  a  pick  and  shovel,  it  is  the  man  that  does  the 
actual  manual  labor  that  discovers  it. 

Q.  Don't  you  know  that  Major  Gillis,  who  is  not  a  min- 
ing engineer,  was  employed  in  the  same  capacity  by  the 
Bank  of  California,  long  previous  to  the  time  that  you 
were? 

A.  I  heard  so — yes,  sir.    I  do  not  know  it  for  a  certainty. 

Q.  During  the  time  you  were  employed  by  the  Bank  of 
California,  did  you  ever  operate  any  in  the  stocks  of  the 
mines  that  you  were  in  ? 

A.  I  operated,  after  having  been  there  over  two  years, 
on  my  own  account,  without  connection  with  anybody  else, 
because  the  injunction  put  upon  me  verbally,  by  the  Bank 
of  California,  was  to  keep  whatever  I  saw — all  the  knowl- 
edge which  I  gained  through  having  access  to  these 
mines — to  myself;  not  to  make  it  known  to  anybody  else; 
and  for  that  reason  I  was  very  careful  how  I  speculated, 
for  I  had  given  my  word  as  a  man,  and  I  think  I  always 
have  kept  it, 

Q.  You  suggested  here  a  great  many  improvements  that 
might  be  made  upon  the  present  mode  of  mining  on  the 
Comstock,  I  believe,  did  you  riot,  last  night? 

A.  On  the  working  of  the  mines? 

Q.  The  mode  of  working  the  mines. 

A.  I  expressed  an  opinion  in  this  regard  that  I  thought 


724 

the  opening  of  a  new  tunnel — an  adit  tunnel — would  be  a 
great  benefit  to  these  mines,  and  would  open  up  a  new  area 
for  working.  It  would  make  mining  there  easier  than  it 
is  now.  I  did  not  suggest  anything;  I  merely  alluded  to  it. 

Q.  Didn't  you  speak  of  using  water  for  compressing  air 
to  send  down  into  the  mine? 

A.  I  was  asked  whether  water  could  be  used  for  that 
purpose,  and  I  believe  I  answered  yes. 

Q.  "While  you  were  in  charge  of  any  mine  upon  the 
Comstock,  did  you  make  any  change  in  the  mode  of  sink- 
ing the  mines  you  were  in  charge  of? 

A.  I  was  the  first  one  to  introduce  the  safety-cage  on 
the  Comstock. 

Q.  You  were? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Didn't  Mr.  M use  it  in  the  Potosi  mine  before 

you  suggested  it? 

A.  N"o,  sir. 

Q.  What  kind  of  safety  did  you  use  ? 

A.  I  used  the  old  English  safety-cage,  which  is  on  the 
principle  of  the  common  ice  hook.  It  is  the  same  as  they 
use  in  England. 

Q.  It  isn't  used  on  the  Comstock  now,  is  it? 

A.  No,  sir.     I  had  that  in  the  Justis  mine  the  first  one. 

Q.  Do  you  call  the  Justis  a  part  of  the  Comstock? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  What  evidence  have  you  of  that? 

A.  I  have  got  the  same  west  wall,  I  have  got  the  same 
character  of  ore,  and  I  have  the  same  east  wall.  I  see  a 
great  similarity  in  the  manner  of  occurrence  of  the  ore," 
and  I  •  believe  I  have  no  reason  to  doubt  that  it  is  a  part 
of  the  Comstock. 

Q.  How  far  is  the  Justis  from  any  other  mine  known 
and  conceded  to  be  a  part  of  the  Comstock? 

A.  Some  people  concede  that  the  Overman  is  a  part  of  the 
Comstock  and  the  North  American,  and  others  concede  the 
contrary;  but  they  all,  I  believe,  agree  that  the  Crown 
Point  and  the  Belcher  are  part  of  the  Comstock;  and  that 


725 

would  be  a  distance  of  I  couldn't  say  how  many  feet.  I 
should  have  to  guess  at  it.  It  would  be  certainly  nearly  a 
mile. 

Q.  If  the  Overman  and  North  American  are  a  part  of 
the  Comstock,  can  it  be  possible  that  the  Justis  is  a  part? 

A.  Yes^sir. 

Q.  How  so? 

A.  Because  we  know  by  analogy  that  a  vein  may  split 
just  as  well,  as  it  may  have  a  fault. 

Q.  "Well,  then,  you  concede  that  the  Justis  is  not  upon 
the  same  fissure  that  the  Overman  is  ? 

A.  I  do  not  know  what  you  mean  by  the  fissure.  You 
may  not  understand  the  meaning  of  a  fissure  as  I  do. 

Q.  Explain  it,  then,  as  you  understand  it. 

A.  I  think  that  the  Justis  is  the  out-runner  or  a  spur. 
That  may  not  be  the  technical  term,  I  do  not  know  the 
English  for  it;  but  just  as  the  Overman  is  a  part  of  the 
Comstock,  so  I  consider  that  the  Justis  is  a  part  of  the 
Comstock. 

Q.  That  is  a  matter  of  theory,  and  not  a  fact  demon- 
strated? 

A.  No,  sir.  It  would  be  demonstrated  by  our  actual  in- 
spection of  it,  by  running  a  drift  into  the  lead,  and  seeing 
that  the  same  vein-matter  that  we  find  in  the  Justis  goes 
into  the  Comstock,  and  at  the  same  time  trace  it  from  the 
Overman  into  the  Comstock. 

Q.  How  long  since  you  were  upon  the  Comstock  to  ex- 
amine any  mine? 

A.  Two  years,  I  think. 

Q.  Ain't  it  three? 

A.  Two. 

Q.  Only  two  ?     Will  it  be  three  next  May? 

A.  I  think  it  is  nearer  two  than  three. 

Q.  To  What  depth  had  any  mines  been  worked  when 
you  left  there? 

A.  Well,  I  couldn't  give  you  the  figures  exactly,  although 
there  is  not  a  drift  that  was  not,  as  I  may  say,  photographed 
in  my  mind.  For  two  years  I  never  thought  about  the  Com- 


726 

stock  any  more,  never  bothered  about  it,  never  have  given 
it  any  attention,  and  the  figures  have  escaped  my  memory. 
I  might  tell  you  100  feet  higher  or  lower;  I  couldn't  give 
you  the  figures  any  more  exactly.  If  I  were  to  run  over 
my  old  reports  and  study  them  up  two  or  three  days,  I 
would  then  be  able  to  give  you  all  the  figures  of  all  the 
drifts  and  all  the  depths. 

Q.  Do  you  think  any  of  them  were  1,000  feet  deep  when 
you  were  there  ? 

A.  Oh,  yes. 

Q.  What  mines? 

A.  The  Crown  Point  was  1,000;  that  I  recollect.  First 
let  me  ask  you  from  where  you  wish  me  to  start — from  the 
croppings  ? 

Q.  From  the  top  of  the  shaft. 

A.  The  Crown  Point,  Bullion,  and  Norcross  may  have 
been  that,  but  I  won't  be  certain;  I  wouldn't  like  to  state. 

Q.  W^re  you  in  the  habit  of  visiting  the  Norcross  while 
you  were  in  the  employment  of  the  Bank  of  California? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  All  the  time? 

A.  Not  all  the  time.  I  visited  the  Noreross  quite  a 
space  of  time  after  I  was  employed  by  the  Bank  of  Cali- 
fornia, not  at  first;  and  then  I  visited  it  for  a  great  num- 
ber of  months;  then  I  was  refused  admission,  and  I  visited 
it  no  more. 

Q.  You  were  asked  last  night  if  you  knew  what  object 
the  bank  had  in  employing  a  man  to  examine  the  mines 
and  report  upon  them  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  not  know  that  the  bank  was  in  the  habit  of 
loaning  money  to  these  mines  to  prosecute  any  work? 

A.  I  do  not  know  it.  I  have  heard  that  said.  I  know 
it  by  report. 

Q.  You  also  said,  in  connection  with  reclamations,  that 
you  never  knew  of  the  Union  Mill  and  Mining  Company 
having  paid  reclamations;  and  in  that  connection  you 
stated  that  the  Union  Mill  and  Mining  Company  belonged 


727 

to,  or  was  controlled  by,  parties  interested  in  the  Bank  of 
California. 

A.I  didn't  say  that  I  knew.  I  stated  that  I  knew  it 
from  general  report. 

Q.  "Well,  you  stated  that  you  never  knew  of  their  having 
paid  any  reclamations. 

A.  Neither  did  I. 

Mr.  SESSIONS.  Mr.  Sunderland,  will  you  explain  these 
reclamations  ? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  The  mills  guarantee  a  return  of  65  per 
cent,  of  the  assay  value  of  the  ore,  as  taken  by  the  mining 
company;  and  if  the  return  falls  below  65  per  cent,,  the 
difference  between  the  actual  return  and  the  65  per  cent, 
is  paid  by  the  mill  to  the  mining  company  as  reclamation. 
(To  the  witness.)  Did  you  occupy  any  such  confidential 
position  or  relations  with  any  mining  company,  or  the 
Union  Mill  and  Mining  Company,  as  to  be  authorized  to 
know  anything  aBout  their  business  at  all? 

WITNESS.  Of  course  not;  neither  did  I  say  that  I  knew 
that  they  paid  reclamations.  I  have  only  got  it  from  gen- 
eral report,  as  I  told  you. 

Q.  And  what  is  the  general  report  ? 

A.  The  general  report  was  that  the  Union  Mill  and 
Mining  Company  was  composed  of  the  same  parties  who 
had  more  or  less  control  of  the  ores  of  the  mines. 

Q.  lam  not  disputing  that  proposition .  at  all.  I  am 
now  talking  about  an  insinuation  that  the  Union  Mill  and 
Mining  Company  did  not  return  the  65  per  cent,  and  did 
not  pay  reclamations.  What  authority  have  you  for  say- 
ing that  the  Union  Mill  and  Mining  Company  did  not 
pay  any  reclamations  ? 

A.  I  said  they  did  not  pay  any  reclamations,  because  I 
do  not  know  of  their  having  paid  any. 

Q.  Then  do  you-  mean  to  say  that  you  do  not  know 
whether  they  did  or  not? 

A.  That  is  it. 

Q.  You  didn't  state  that  last  night? 

A.  That  is  the  sense  in  which  I  meant  it. 


728 

Q.  You  do  not  know  that  they  paid  any,  leaving  the 
impression  that  they  had  'not  paid.  You  were  not  in  a 
position  to  know  whether  they  paid  reclamations  or  not, 
were  you?  t 

A.  No. 

Q.  You  were  not  in  a  position  to  demand  access  to  their 
hooks  or  to  anything  ahout  their  business  ? 

A.  ISTo,  sir. 

Q.  When  were  you  connected  with  any  mine,  that  you 
had  any  right  to  know  the  business  relations  between  it 
and  the  mill  company  ? 

A.-  I  never  was. 

Q.  Is  it  usual  for  a  corporation  or  an  individual  to  ex- 
pose its  or  his  business  to  a  man  who  has  no  connection 
with  the  company  or  the  individual  ? 

A.  That  is  at  the  option  of  the  individual,  I  believe. 

Q.  It  ain't  usual  for  a  good  business  man  to  go  round 
and  tell  what  his  business  is  and  what  lie  is  doing? 

A.  I  cannot  say  whether  it  is  or  not.  It  is  left  to  the 
individual. 

Q.  What  salary  did  you  get  while  you  were  employed 
by  the  Bank  of  California  ? 

A.  $225  ,a  month. 

Q.  During  the  time  that  you  were  employed  by  the  Bank 
of  California,  did  you  ever  tell  Mr.  Kequa,  superintendent, 
and  Mr:  Donnelly,  foreman  of  the  Chollar  Potosi  mine, 
that  the  Sutro  tunnel  was  a  humbug? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Certain  of  that,  are  you  ? 

A.  I  am  certain  of  that. 

Q.  Haven't  you  told  them  so  a  great  many  times,  while 
in  the  Chollar  mine,  in  the  presence  of  both  ? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Haven't  you  denounced  the  Sutro  tunnel  as  a  hum- 
bug? 

A.  Not  that  I  know  of.     I  don't  think  that  I  ever  spoke 
with  Mr.  Requa  .or  Mr.  Donnelly  about  the  Sutro   tunnel/ 
in  my  life,  because  the  Sutro  tunnel  project  was  an  arrange- 


729 

ment  of  which  I  knew  hardly  anything;  and  it  was  stated 
while  I  had  so  much  to  do  in  examining  mines  that  I  always 
minded  my  own  business,  and  I  always  had  the  name  £f 
minding  my  own  business,  and  never  meddling  with  any- 
body else's  business.  I  was  very  friendly  to  Mr.  Requa 
and  Mr.  Donnelly,  but/I  did  not  know  anything  about  the 
tunnel,  and  I  do  not  think  I  ever  in  my  life  made  any  such 
an  assertion  as  that. 

Q.  You  mean  to  say  you  never  knew  of  but  two  mining 
engineers  to  be  employed  in  the  capacity  of  superintendent 
on  the  Comstock  ? 

A.  That  is  what  I  said ;  yes. 

Q.  Those  were  Mr.  Janin  and  Mr.  Bonner,  did  you  say? 

A.  I  didn't  mention  any  names,  but  those  were  the  ones. 
I  believe  they  were  educated  in  that  capacity. 

Q.  There  are  no  mining  engineers  on  the  Comstock  now, 
are  there? 

A.  I  do  not  know. 

Q.  Were  there  any  there  when  you  left,  employed  as 
superintendents  of  the  mines  ? 

A.  No,  I  believe  not ;  not  to  my  knowledge. 

Q.  Do  you  know  why  they  were  not  continued  there? 
Do  you  know  why  those  mining  engineers  were  not  em- 
ployed more  generally,  and,  when  employed,  why  they 
were  not  continued? 

A.  No,  sir.  I  know  that  Mr.  Bonner  was  employed  all 
the  time,  and  that  he  left  his  position  twice,  and  I  believe 
took  charge  again  after  an  absence  of  some  time.  I  do  not 
think  that  the  other  gentleman  needed  to  be  employed,  as 
he  had  other  business. 

Q.  Mr.  Janin? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  Don't  you  know  that  he  made  a  failure  of  his  admin- 
istration of  the  mine? 

A.  I  do  not  know  anything  about  his  business,  Mr.  Sun- 
derland,  I  never  inquired  into  it. 

Q.  Wasn't  Mr.  Palmer  a  mining  engineer  ? 


730 

A.  Mr.  Palmer  was  not  employed  in  any  mine,  to  my 
knowledge. 

Q.  Were  you  not  there  when  he  was'  superintendent  of 
the  Opjiir? 

A.  No,  sir ;  I  know  Mr.  Palmer  very  well.  He  is  a  per- 
fect gentleman,  and  I  have  the  greatest  faith  in  and  respect 
for  his  attainments  and  his  age.  I  do  not  know  his  capac- 
ity. I  do  not  know  anything  about  it.  I  do  not  know,  ex- 
cept from  hearsay,  that  he  was  superintendent  of  the  Ophir. 
I  never  saw  him  acting  as  superintendent. 

Q.  I  understood  you  to  say  that  the  mines  on  the  Oom- 
stock  were  worked  for  speculation  and  for  the  benefit  of 
the  stockholders.  Was  that  your  statement  ? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  What  was  it  ? 

A.  I  forget  exactly  what  the  question  was  and  what  my 
answer  to  it  was;  but  I  did  not  say  that. 

Q.  Give  it  as  near  as  you  can  remember. 

A.  I  couldn't  say.     I  forget  what  the  question  was. 

Q.  Well,  I  will  ask  you  now  if  that  is  the  case? 

A.  I  couldn't  answer  that. 

Q.  Cannot  answer  it  ?• 

A.  No,  sir;  because  I  do  not  know. 

Q.  I  understood  you  to  say  that  there  was  no  mine  or 
lode  anywhere  in  the  world  so  valuable  as  the  Comstock. 

A.  No.  I  may  have  worded  a  sentence  in  such  a  way 
that  that  construction  might  be  put  upon  it,  not  being  as 
well  versed  in  the  English  language  as  you  are,  but  I  did 
not  intend  it. 

Q.  Nobody  wants  to  place  you  in  any  position,  Mr. 
Luckhardt,  that  you  are  not  willing  to  place  yourself  in. 
If  you  want  to  make  any  correction,  make  it  at  any  time. 

A.  The  sen&e  I  wanted  to  convey  is  this,  Mr.  Suncler- 
land:  that  I  thought  there  was  no  mine  in  existence  that 
had  yielded  in  so  short  a  time  the  amount  of  money  which 
the  Comstock  has  yielded;  and  that  is  my  true  belief. 

Q.  Isn't  that  in  great  part  owing  to  the  energy  with 
which  it  has  been  worked  ? 


731 

v  A.  It  is,  it  is  true,  owing  to  the  energy  and  capital  em- 
ployed there,  and  it  is  also  owing  to  the  richness  of  the 
ore  that  has  been  found  there ;  and  I  think  the  last  is  the 
main  item  of  it. 

Q.  Are  there  any  mines  in  Mexico  and  South  America 
that  have  yielded  vastly  more  in  the  aggregate  than  the 
Comstock  ? 

A.  Oh,  yes;  there  was  the  Potosi  mine,  that  has  yielded 
five  times  as  much.  / 

Q.  How  much  have  the  Potosi  and  Bolivia  yielded  ? 

A.  I  do  not  recollect.  I  happened  to  recollect  the  other, 
because  I  read  in  Humboldt  a  memorandum  about  it.  The 
Potosi  is  known  as  one  of  the  oldest  mines,  and  it  has 
yielded  very  largely.  I  forget  the  sum.  I  think  it  was 
£120,000,000  sterling. 

Q.  That  was  up  to  about  1800,  according  to  my  calcula- 
tain? 

A.  That  was  up  to  1842. 

Q.  Now,  what  mines  in  Mexico  have  yielded  a  larger 
sum  in  the  aggregate  than  the  Comstock  ?  Any? 

A.  I  do  not  know.  There  are  very  rich  mines  in  Sinaloa 
that  have  yielded  for  years  and  years,  but  they  kept  no 
record  of  their  mines  there;  they  are  generally  fighting; 
and  nobody  can  keep  track  there  of  anything. 

Q.  You  say  that  low-grade  ores  are  left  in  the  mines  on 
the  Comstock,  which  cannot  at  present  be  worked,  owing 
to  the  expensive  mode  in  which  the  working  is  done? 

A.  I  believe  so;  yes,  sir.  m 

Q.  Is  there  any  change  that  you  would  suggest  in  the 
mode  of  working  the  ores  from  the  present  *nethod? 

A.  That  question  is  too  indefinite.  I  cannot  answer  it. 
There  are  three  questions  connected  with  it.  I  might  sug- 
gest an  improvement. 

Q.  What  improvement  or  improvements  would  you  sug- 
gest in  the  present  mode  of  working  ? 

A.  I  think  it  would  be  an  improvement  to  crush  those 
ores  finer  than  they  have  been  in  the  habit  of  crushing  them, 
to  amalgamate  them  in  the  same  way  that  they  are  amalga- 


732 

mated  now,  and  concentrate  the  tailings  by  the  most  im- 
proved methods  of  concentration,  of  which  there  area  great 
many,  and  take  the  concentrations  and  treat  them  in  such 
manner  as  the  character  of  the  ore  requires,  so  that  you 
can  get  at  the  precious  metals  that  are  contained  in  them. 

Q.  By  tailings  do  you  mean  what  we  designate  as  tail- 
ings, or  do  you  include  slimes,  which  pass  off? 

A.  I  term  tailings  everything  but  the  amalgam. 

Q.  Everything  that  leaves  the  mill? 

A.  Everything  that  leaves  the  mill. 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  any  attempt  has  been  made 
to  work  the  slimes  without  drying  them? 

A.  I  won't  be  certain;  but  I  believe  Janin  tried  it;  but 
with  what  results  I  do  not  know.  He  was  experimenting 
a  good  deal,  and  he  probably  did  not  like  to  communicate 
to  others  the  experience  he  gained. 

A.  Do  you  know  whether  he  experimented  for  the  Gould 
and  Curry  Company,  while  he  was  there  ? 

A.  No.  At  the  time  of  which  I  speak  he  had  a  mill  of 
his  own  below  the  Gould  and  Curry. 

Q.  He  sold  that,  didn't  he  ? 

A.  I  do  not  know. 

Q.  Hadn't  he  parted  with  it  when  you  left  there? 

A.  I  do  not  know. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  any  success  in  working  slimes  from 
the  Comstock  ore  in  any  manner  except  by  drying? 

A.  I  do  not  think  it  has  ever  been  tried  sufficiently 
round  Washoe  to  get  at  any  result. 

Q.  Well,  you  can  state  whether  you  know  of  any  one 
instance  wheipe  there  was  a  successful  trial,  can't  you  ? 

A.  I  do  not  know  that  anybody  ever  was  successful. 

Q.  Dori't  you  know  that  they  have  been  worked  success- 
fully by  first  drying  them  and  then  simply  amalgamating 
them  in  the  pan  ? 

A.  I  have  heard  so;  yes,  sir.     I  do  not  know. 

Q.  Was  not  Mr.  Park  working  successfully  when  you 
left  there  ? 

A.  I  do  not  know  what  he  was  doing. 


733 

Q.  He  was  running  a  mill,  wasn't  he  ? 

A.  I  do  not  know  anything  about  his  b.usiness. 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  he  was  running  a  mill  or  not  ? 

A.  No,  sir ;  I  do  not. 

Q.  Ever  pass  up  and  down  the  canon  there  close  to  Mr. 
Janin's  mill,  and  see  another  mill  running  there — a  tailings 
mill — below  the  Gould  &  Curry  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Whose  mill  was  that? 

A.  I  do  not  know  whose  that  was. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  Birdsall's  mill  as  a 
tailings  mill  at  Dayton  ? 

A.  No. 

Q.  You  speak  of  these  immense  quantities  of  low-grade 
ores.  In  what  part  of  the  Comstock  are  they  ? 

A.  They  are  in  the  Succor,  Lucerne,  Justis,  N"orth 
American,  Overman,  and  that  ground  between  the  Justis 
and  the  Belcher.  'The  names  of  the  little  companies  I  do 
not  recollect.  Up  the  hill  there  are  two  or  three  small 
companies,  of  which  I  do  not  recollect  the  names.  Then  I 
think  there  are  low-grade  ores  in  the  Belcher. 

Q.  I  will  ask  you,  in  reference  to  those  you  have  already 
named,  what  benefit  would  the  Sutro  tunnel  be  to  them  ? 

A.  The  Sutro  tunnel  would  be  a  benefit  to  them  in  this 
respect:  after  it  is  connected  these  ores  can,  in  my  estima- 
tion, be  taken  out  through  it  with  a  profit.  I  think  that 
that  can  be  done  in  some  day  to  come.  It  may  not  be 
possible  now.  I  do  not  think  that  these  ores  ever  will  be 
taken  out  without  they  are  taken  out  through  a  tunnel  of 
some  kind. 

Q.  You  think  they  never  will  be?  Do  you  know  whether 
they  are  at  work  on  the  Succor? 

A.  I  do  not  know. 

Q.  The  Lucerne? 

A.  I  do  not  know. 

Q.  The  Justis? 

A.  I  do  not  know  whether  they  are  or  not. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  hear  it  was  proposed  to  extend  the  Su- 


734 

tro  tunnel  down  to  these  mines  ?    Did  you  ever  hear  a 
proposition  of  that  kind  made? 

A-  No.  You  asked  me  what  benefit  the  Sutro  tunnel 
would  be  to  it. 

Q.  Well,  if  you  never  heard  of  the  Sutro  tunnel  going 
there,  how  can  the  Sutro  tunnel  benefit  these  mines? 

A.  There  is  no  reason  why  the  tunnel  should  stop  at  the 
limit  set  for  the  extension  of  its  drifts.  There  is  no  rea- 
son why  the  tunnel  should  not  be  extended  1,000  feet 
north  or  south,  or  a  mile  north  or  south,  if  the  tunnel  is  in 
there.  In  my  estimation  it  will  certainly  be  done.  The 
tunnel  cannot  be  of  any  benefit  to  these  mines  unless  com- 
nected  with  them. 

Q.  So  far  as  known,  the  ores  in  the  Succor,  Justis,  Lu- 
cerne, North  American,  and  Overman  are  at  or  near  the 
surface,  are  they  not — those  low-grade  ores  ? 

A.  As  far  as  I  know  those  I  have  reference  to.  How 
far  down  they  extend  I  do  not  know. 

Q.  Could  you  connect  the  Sutro  tunnel  with  the  sur- 
faces of  those  mines,  so  as  to  make  it  profitable  to  let  that 
ore  down  on  to  the  level  of  the  tunnel;  and,  if  so,  I  want 
to  know  how  you  are  going  about  it  ? 

A.  You  asked  me  in  a  general  sense  if  the  tunnel  would 
ever  be  of  any  benefit  to  those  ores.  I  answered  you  yes. 

Q.  I  want  to  know  in  what  way. 

A.  I  believe  that  these  ores,  and  'ores  that  will  be  found 
below  them  will  be  taken  out  through  that  tunnel  when 
it  is  connected.    How  to  make  it  profitable  now  I  couldn't 
say;  I  couldn't  make  those  ores  pay  now  anyway. 
.  Q.  Anywhere? 

A.  No;  you  can't  make  them  pay. 

Q.  Suppose  you  had  the  tunnel,  could  you  make  them 
pay? 

A.  If  you  had  the  tunnel  connected,  and  had  the  im- 
provements of  which  I  have  spoken,  and  to  which  refer- 
ence has  been  made,  and  the  tunnel  opened,  I  do  not 
see  why  these  ores  could  not  be  made  to  pay;  because,  in 


735 

my  estimation,  when  the  tunnel  is  ran  and  connected,  this 
ore,  which  assays  $10  a  ton,  can  be  worked  with  a  profit. 

Q.  Your  proposition  is,  not  to  amalgamate  the  ore  after 
first  crushing.  Which  ores  would  you  concentrate  before 
unuilganjation,  and  which  after? 

A.  If  I  found  ores  of  such  specific  gravity,  (in  the  silver, 
ore,  or  matter  that  comes  with  the  ore,)  as  to  allow  of  a 
speedy  concentration,  I  would  concentrate  the  ores  at  the 
start,  then  roast  them  and  amalgamate  them;  thereby  I 
would  save  a  great  deal  more;  but  if  the  silver  in  the  ores 
is  in  such  a  state — for  instance,  in  the  shape  of  polybasite 
or  stephanite — where  the  specific  gravity  is  -not  so  great, 
why,  tfyen,  I  would  certainly  amalgamate  the  ores  first, 
because  the  loss  in  concentration  would  not  be  so  great. 

Q.  You  do  not  pretend  to  say  that  we  have  got  any  ste- 
phanite in  the  Comstock,  do  you  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Where  abouts? 

A.  It  has  been  found  from  the  surface  all  through  the 
Mexican,  Ophir,  Gould  and  Curry,  and  Yellow  Jacket.  I 
took  some  out  of  the  700-foot  level. 

Q.  Xow,  then,  you  say  you  would  roast  the  ore  at  some 
stage  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  How  would  you  roast  it  ? 

A.  I  would  roast  it  by  the  most  improved  method ;  and 
thex>iily  one  I  know  of  is  by  the  Stetefeldt  furnace. 

Q.  What  does  it  cost  per  ton  to  roast  it  by  that  furnace? 

A.  That  all  depends  upon  the  cost  of  fuel.  It  costs  from 
$8  to  $10  a  ton. 

Q.  You  would  have  to  dry  it  before  you  put  it  in  the 
furnace,  would  you  not?  Can  you  handle  wet  crushed  ore 
in  the  Stetefeldt  furnace  ? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Then,  after  you  concentrate  it,  you  have  got  to  dry  it? 

A.  You  dry  it  in  the  dust  chambers.  That  could  be 
arranged  very  easily. 


736 

Q.  That  all  requires  handling — manual  labor — does  it 
not? 

A.  There  are  machines,  elevators,  that  take  these  ores, 
without  any  manual  labor,  right  out  of  the  heap  and  carries 
them  up. 

Q.  But  after  it  is  concentrated,  how  do  you  put  it  on  to 
your  chambers  for  drying  ?  Do  you  do  that  by  machinery? 

A.  Yes ;  I  would  take  it  after  it  is  dried.  I  would  have 
those  elevaters  take  it  to  the  top  of  the  furnace,  and  there 
is  a  machine  made  on  purpose  to  feed  that  furnace  regu- 
larly without  any  manual  labor. 

Q.  When  you  estimate  the  cost  of  roasting  in  that  fur- 
nace at  from  $8  to  $10,  what  price  do  you  fix  upo^n  fuel, 
and  what  kind  of  fuel  do  you  use  ? 

A.  'You  can  use  coal  or  you  can  use  wood  in  the  Stete- 
feldt  furnace,  and  the  price  of  roasting  is  according  to 
what  you  use. 

Q.  When  you  say  from  $8  to  $10,  what  do  you  estimate 
the  fuel  to  cost? 

A.  I  estimate  it  to  cost  $4  or  $5  a  cord — wood.  The 
cost  of  roasting,  however,  has  not  so  much  to  do  with  the 
fuel  as  it  has  to  do  with  the  character  of  the  ore.  The 
richer  the  ore,  the  less  you  can  feed;  if  the  ore  is  poor  in 
sulphur,  the  quicker  you  can  feed.  If  the  ore  is  very  rich 
in  sulphur,  you  would  have  to  feed  slower,  because  the  ore 
is  roasted  by  simply  falling  through  a  stack  that  is  red 
hot;  it  falls  through,  and  it  has  to  roast  while  passing 
from  the  top  to  the  bottom. 

Q.  If  you  have  a  good  deal  of  sulphur  in  the  ore,  the 
sulphur  itself  helps,  and  makes  the  expense  for  fuel  very 
slight? 

A.  Certainly;  but  then  it  is  the  quantity  you  could  work. 
You  understand  me.  If  you  only  roast  50  tons  in  the  fur- 
nace, of  rich  rock,  it  costs  a  pro  rata  per  ton  more  than  if 
you  roast  100  tons  of  poor  rock. 

Q.  I  understand;  but  isn't  the  principal  item  of  expense 
in  roasting  in  the  Stetefeldt  furnace  the  fuel  to  make  the 
heat? 


737 

A.  Oh,  certainly;  there  is  none  other,  excepting  the  feed- 
ing machines. 

Q.  If  you  have  a  class  of  ores  filled  with  sulphur,  and 
the  sulphur  supplies  the  place  of  fuel,  although  the  process 
may  he  slower,  what  is  it' that  makes  it  cost  so  much 
more  ? 

A.  Because  you  do  not  put  the  quantity  through. 

Q.  You  said  something  last  night  about  the  bank  loan- 
ing money  upon  stock,  and  getting  proxies  from  the  own- 
ers of  stock,  in  order  to  control  the  elections? 

A.  I  do  not  think  I  said  that. 

Q.  What  did  you  say? 

A.  I  didn't  say  that  the  bank  loaned  money  on  stock, 
because  I  have  no  right  to  say  so.  I  do  not  know. 

Q.  Then  you  mean  to  say  now  that  you  do  not  know 
anything  about  their  having  done  that?  Is  that  what  you 
mean  to  say  ? 

A.  I  said  that  I  didn't  say  that  they  loaned  money  on 
stock. 

Q.  Then  you  do  not  know  that  they  ever  did  procure 
proxies,  or  loaned  money  on  stocks? 

A.  i  know  that  a  party  came  to  me  who  was  author- 
ized, as  I  understood  it,  to  get  proxies  in  order  to  keep 
the  then  Administration  in,  and  he  asked  me  if  I  had 
stock,  as  it  was  for  that  purpose.  That  happened  once  or 
twice. ,  As  for  their  loaning  money  on  it,  I  do  not  know. 

Q.  Isn't  that  a  very  usual  thing,  both  in  San  Francisco 
and  Virginia  City,  for  different  parties  to  go  round  and 
collect  all  the  proxies  they  can  get? 

A.  I  do  not  know  whether  it  is  or  not. 

Q.  You  say  the  means  of  raising  money  by  a  mining 
company  is  by  assessments  and  by  borrowing.  Is  there 
any  other  possible  means  of  a  mining  company  raising 
money  when  they  have  got  no  ore  in  the  mine  ? 

A.  !N"o,  I  believe  not. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  know  a  mining  company  on  the  Corn- 
stock  to  fail  to  borrow  all  the  money  required  for  working 
47 


738 

the  mine,  if  they  preferred  that  mode  to  making  assess- 
ments ? 

A.  I  did  not  inquire.     I  do  not  know  of  any. 

Q.  You  said  that  the  difficulties  of  mining  upon  the 
Comstock  are  the  want  of  ventilation,  and  the  expense  of 
hoisting  ore  and  water.  I  believe  that  was  your  state- 
ment, wasn't  it? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  I  will  ask  you  first  if  you  know  what  the  size  of  t^e 
Sutro  tunnel  is  to  be? 

A.  I  only  know  from  what  I  have  been  told. 

Q.  Who  told  you? 

A.  I  forget.     I  was  told  14  feet  by  12. 

Q.  Didn't  Mr.  Sutro  tell  you  ? 

A.  I  won't  say  that  he  did.     I  have  heard  it. 

Q.  You  do  not  know  what  the  contract  was  between 
Mr.  Sutro  and  the  mining  companies  by  the  law  of  Con- 
gress ? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Nor  the  act  which  is  now  pending  before  Congress? 

A.  No,  sir. 

A.  What  size  would  it  be  necessary  to  make  that  tunnel, 
in  order  to  answer  the  purpose  for  which  it  is  proposed? 

A.  I  think  the  size  given  would  be  large  enough. 

Q.  How  many  square  feet  would  a  section  of  that  tun- 
ijel  give? 

A.  14  by  12  multiplied— 168  feet. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Then  you  have  got  to  deduct  the  timber 
from  that? 

A.  That  answers  the  question. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Suppose  a  tunnel  were  run  in  there 
with  100  square  feet  instead  of  168,  would  that  furnish 
sufficient  air  for  ventilating  the  whole  of  the  Comstock? 

A.  It  all  depends  upon  what  portion  of  the  Comstock 
you  meant  to  ventilate. 

Q.  Well,  I  say  the  whole  of  it. 

A.  It  is  too  indefinite  a  question.  I  cannot  tell  you 
that.  You  may  have  1,000  drifts,  and  you  may  have  10,000 


739 

drifts;  and  if  you  take  that  quantity  of  air  and  distribute 
it  into  10,000  drifts,  of  course,  it  would  not  be  sufficient. 
If  you  had  but  1,000  drifts,  it  might. 

Q.  You  consider  the  Justis  on  the  Comstock? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  And  the  Lucerne  ? 

A.  I  consider  that  a  part  of  the  Comstock. 

Q.  How  far  was  that  from  the  Sierra  Nevada  ? 

A.  As  near  as  I  can  come  at  it,  it  was  about  23,000  feet, 
because  it  runs  in  a  crooked  line,  the  way  these  measure- 
ments are  taken. 

Q.  That  is,  from  the  Lucerne  to  the  Sierra  Nevada?  That 
was  my  question. 

A.  I  thought  you  said  the  Justis.  The  Lucerne  would 
be  2,000or  3,000  feet  farther. 

Q.  Well,  that  is  almost  5  miles  is  it? 

A.  Yes;  but  not  quite. 

Q.  Now  you  understand  what  I  mean  by  the  whole 
Comstock.  Suppose  you  had  this  tunnel  in  now,  with  a 
section  of  100  square  feet,  would  that  give  you  air  enough 
to  ventilate  the  whole  of  the  distance  from  the  Lucrene  to 
the  Sierra  Nevada? 

A.  If  the  tunnel  were  simply  run  in  there,  or  if  it  were 
connected  the  way  it  is  proposed  by  these  shafts,  do  you 
mean? 

Q.  I  am  ignorant  of  how  it  is  proposed.  I  do  not  know 
what  the  proposition  is.  I  will  get  you  to  explain  it.  What 
is  your  proposition  now  to  ventilate? 

A.  To  ventilate  all  that  ground  would  require  at  least 
a  number  of  shafts  at  convenient  distances  from  each 
other,  along  the  Comstoc.k  and  connected  by  drifts,  and 
these  shafts  also  connected  with  the  longitudinal  drifts  run- 
ning from  the  tunnel,  then  the  tunnel  would  furnish  a  cer- 
tain quantity  of  air,  and  these  different  shafts  could  be 
connected  in  such  a  way  with  the  addition  of  artificial  ven- 
tilation as  to  cause  thorough  ventilation  of  the  entire  work; 
but  I  do  not  think  that  all  the  drifts  on  the  lode  would  all 
require  to  be  ventilated  at  one  time. 


740 

Q.  What  distance  apart  would  it  be  necessary  to  sink 
these  shafts  along  the  line  of  the  Comstock? 

A.  If  you  wish  to  ventilate  the  entire  length,  you  would 
have  to  sink  these  from  1,000  to  1,200  feet  apart. 

Q.  Wouldn't  that  be  a  very  heavy  expense  through  the 
barren  part  of  the  Comstock? 

A.  These  shafts,  if  you  would  start  in  with  this  sole  pur- 
pose in  sinking  them,  would  cost  more  than  if  you  would 
make  them  during  the  progress  of  working,  because  they 
could  be  made  of  portions  of  the  stopes,  and  the  old  work- 
ings. You  wouldn't  need  to  penetrate  the  entire  moun- 
tain and  run  them  all  in  a  bee-line. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  any  shaft,  or  drift  anywhere  in  the 
Comstock  that  has  remained  in  place  any  considerable 
length  of  time  without  constant  repairs  ? 

A.  Where  ventilation  was  good,  it  has.  There  is  the  shaft 
60  feet  southwest  from  the  Crown  Point  shaft.  That  shaft 
is  300  feet  deep,  and  was  as  good  when  I  saw  it  last  as  the 
day  that  it' was  made. 

Q.  What  was  that? 

A.  That  was  the  shaft  which  had  no  name.  It  was  not 
in  use  then. 

Q.  Hawkeye,  wasn't  it  ? 

A.  No ;  I  forget. 

Q.  What  shaft  did  that  connect  with  to  ventilate  it? 

A.  It  connected  with  the  Crown  Point  mine. 

Q.  Don't  you  know  that  all  these  shafts  on  the  Comstock, 
in  fact,  have  to  be  repaired  two  or  three  times  a  year,  on 
account  of  the  swelling  of  the  clay  through  which  the  shaft 
is  sunk? 

A.  It  is  not  the  clay  alone  that  makes  repairs  necessary. 
Wherever  they  are  run  through  clay,  they  need  repairing 
oftener  than  two  or  three  times  a  year. 

Q  How  often  do  they  require  re-timbering,  or  timbers 
absolutely  taken  out  and  new  ones  put  in, through  the  clay? 

A.  Very  frequently. 

Q.  For  what  reason  is  it  necessary  to  repair  often  ? 


741 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Mr.  Sunderland,  I  do  not  see  wh;it  that  has 
to  do  kith  flic  tunnel,  whether  you  repair  the  shafts'  or  not. 

WITNESS.  There  is  a  natural  sagging  of  the  wood  in  such 
a  long  distance,  where  they  are  framed  together,  and  that 
makes  repairing  necessary.  Imperfect  ventilation  very  often 
causes  wood  to  rot  quicker  than  it  would  if  thoroughly 
ventilated. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  "Well,  now,  if  this  tunnel  were  in,  and 
connected  with  these  different  shafts,  as  they  exist  on 
the  Comstock,  I  want  to  ask  you  whether,  in  12  months, 
without'  repairs,  every  one  of  those  shafts  would  be  so 
closed  that  not  a  particle  of  air  would  get  through. 

A.  Any  piece  of  a  mine  of  course  needs  repairing,  or  it 
goes  to  rack  and  ruin. 

Q.  Is  it  not  necessary,  in  the  majority  of  the  drifts  in  the 
Comstock,  to  re-timber  and  to  keep  the  timbers  from 
treading  and  the  drifts  closing  up  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir.  When  the  drifts  are  run  through  mater- 
ial that  swells,  of  course  they  need  repairing,  because 
wood  will  rot  and  must  needs  be  renewed. 

Q.  Is  it  any  unusal  thing  there  to  see  timbers,  before  they 
have  been  in  6  months,  and  while  they  are  apparently  new, 
crushed  all  to  pieces  in  the  drifts? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  I  have  seen  timbers  8  feet  high  crushed 
in  8  months,  the  absolute  strength  of  the  wood  destroyed, 
fibre  knit  in  fibre  and  telescoped. 

Q.  Last  night,  I  believe,  you  described  how  these  pockets 
or  reservoirs  of  water  were  formed  on  the  Comstock.  did 
you  not  ?  If  you  did  not,  I  will  get  you  to  state  it  now,  how 
the  water  is  held  by  these  clay  seams? 

A.  The  fact  of  finding  the  water  in  pockets  on  the  Com- 
stock, and  not  universally  distributed  through  the  whole* 
lode,  made  me  think  that  it  occurred  in  this  wise :  We  have, 
as  you  well  know,  in  the  Comstock  productive  and  barren 
portions,  and  the  barren  portions  so  far  have  been  found 
in  the  majority,  and  one  of  the  component  parts  of  those 
barren  portions  is  very  easy  of  decomposition,  or  rneta- 
morphism,  and  as  these  barren  portions  are  something  that 


742 

has  fallen  into  the  vein,  coming  as  I  suppose  from  the 
eastern  wall,  these  portions  as  they  went  had  to  trave}  with 
a  great  deal  of  velocity,  and  that  velocity  created  heat,  and 
that  heat  was  sufficient  to  decompose  the  feldspathic  por- 
phyry and  form  clay,  because  the  basis  of  clay  is  feldspar, 
and  as  they  passed  through  the  vein  matter  they  got  coated 
on  all  sides  with  clay,  leaving  of  course  at  places  some  open- 
ings, or  else  the  water  would  not  have  got  in.  The  water 
penetrated  either  in  these  intersections  or  surrounded  them, 
wherever  it  formed  two  of  these  clay  seams  joined  together 
forming  a  pocket  where  the  water  would  stay,  it  would 
not  get  out  until  you  tap  it,  although  you  might  come 
within  an  inch  of  it  and  there  might  be  standing  thousands 
of  gallons. 

Q.  Isn't  it  likely  that  as  you  get  deeper  there  may  be 
fewer  of  these  intrusions  hanging  from  the  wall,  and  con- 
sequently fewer  reservoirs  and  less  water? 

A.  The  existence  of  the  pockets  has  nothing  to  do  with 
the  quantity  of  water  that  exists.  If  these  pockets  did  not 
exist,  the  water  would  be  universally  distributed  through 
the  vein,  in  my  way  of  thinking,  so  that,  at  the  place  where 
these  pockets  would  cease,  the  water  would  be  universally 
throughout  the  vein,  and  would  be  a  great  deal  more 
trouble  and  bother  to  contend  with  than  if  it  stayed  in 
pockets,  because,  when  it  is  in  pockets,  you  tap  it  and  it 
is  done  with,  while  where  you  have  got  it  universally  dis- 
tributed it  makes  ore  extraction  a  good  deal  more  difficult. 

Q.  Won't  there  be  fewer  pockets  as  you  penetrate  to  a 
greater  depth?  Won't  the  vein  be  more  uniform? 

A.  The  vein  won't  be  more  uniform.  The  vein  matter 
will  have  a  more  uniform  character. 

Q.  In  other  words,  the  hanging  wall  will  be  more  fixed, 
and  more  likely  to  be  in  place? 

A.  That  won't  necessarily  follow. 

Q.  Will  it  not?     What  is  your  opinion? 

A.  I  think  that  at  greater  depth  there  will  be  less  of 
these  intrusions  in  the  vein  matter. 

Q.  Those  intrusions  come  from  the  east  wall  ? 


743 

» 

A.  That  is  my  opinion. 

Q.  Then,  if  the  vein  is  more  regular  after  you  get  down 
to  a  low  depth,  and  the  intrusions  less,  won't  the  east  or 
hanging  wall  be  more  regular? 

A.  That  don't  necessarily  follow.  The  east  wall  is  a 
very  indefinite  boundary,  as  far  as  we  have  explored  the 
Comstock — as  far  as  I  know,  at  least. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  any  east  wall  anywhere? 

A.  Oh,  yes. 

Q.  Where? 

A.  I  know  what  we  term  the  east  wall  is  where  we  leave 
all  quartz  and  go  into  feldspathic  porphyry. 

Q.  What  does  that  wall  consist  of? 

A.  Generally  of  a  very  heavy  body  of  clay. 

Q.  Do  you  call  the  clay  the  wall,  or  the  rock  beyond  it? 

A.  The  rock  beyond  it;  the  boundary  is  the  clay.  The 
east  wall  is  in  very  few  places  very  well  defined,  but  we 
have  to  take  it  as  the  east  wall,  and  have  to  call  it  the  east 
wall.  We  have  got  to  get  some  terminus  on  the  east. 
These  eastern  explorations  that  have  been  made  further 
and  further,  striking  more  ore  and  clay,  made  the  bound- 
ary line  indefinite. 

Q.  With  these  reservoirs  or  pockets  in  different  portions 
of  the  Comstock,  would  the  running  of  the  tunnel  drain 
the  Comstock  at  all — the  simple  running  of  the  tunnel — con- 
sidering these  pockets  and  the  formation  of  the  Comstock? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  if  these  intrusions  occurred  less,  and  the 
pockets  occurred  less,  and  the  water  was  universally  dis- 
tributed through  the  vein  matter,  you  only  need  to  tap  the 
vein  in  one  place,  and  all  the  water  would  drain  off. 

Q.  I  am  not  talking  about  that.  Anybody  knows  that. 
I  want  to  know,  in  the  present  condition  of  the  Comstock, 
whether  the  running  of  the  tunnel  through  the  lode  would 
drain  any  considerable  portion  of  it? 

A.  It  would  drain  all  those  portions  that  are  connected 
\\ith  it.  That  I  know.  It  would  drain  all  those  portions 
that  are  connected  with  the  tunnel  and  the  rock  through 
which  they  pass. 


744 

Q.  "Would  it  assist  in  draining  that  portion  of  the  Corn- 
stock  that  will  be  worked  to  a  depth  below  the  tunnel  level? 
In  other  words,  can  you  make  water  run  up  hill? 

A.  You  can  make  it  run  up  hill  if  you  use  the  right  im- 
plements to  do  it? 

Q.  You  can  pump  it  up? 

A.  !N"o;  it  will  run  up  itself. 

Q.  How  else  can  you  get  it  up  except  by  pumping? 

A.  I  can  make  water  run  up  hill  very  easily. 

Q.  How? 

A.  By  putting  up  a  syphon,  and  carrying  it  over  a  hill 
where  the  height  of  the  hill  is  greater  than  the  surface  of 
the  water,  and  that  would  give  it  impetus  enough  to  set 
the  syphon  going. 

Q.  Now,  Mr.  Luckhardt,  we  are  talking  about  practica- 
ble things.  I  will  ask  you  whether  you  have-any  idea  now 
of  applying  that  to  raising  this  water  from  the  Comstock 
below  the  level  of  the  tunnel? 

A.  "No.  You  asked  me  if  I  could  make  water  run  up  hill, 
and  I  told  you  I  would  answer  the  question. 

Q.  That  ain't  making  it  run  up  hill.  It  is  taking  it  to  a 
point  below  the  source.  You  spoke  last  night  about  the 
tunnel  being  a  new  basis  of  operations.  Cannot  you  put 
in  stations  now  in  every  mine,  at  a  depth  of  1,500  or  2,000 
feet,  and  put  in  compressed-air  engines  to  work  the  mines, 
making  that  a  new  base  of  operations,  and  then  go  on 
again  1,500  or  2,-000  feet  below  that? 

A.  I  suppose  you  could.  You  can,  unquestionably;  but, 
at  the  same  time,  you  couldn't  do  it,  in  my  estimation,  at 
the  cost  of  working  through  the  tunnel,  from  the  fact  that 
you  have  everything  to  hoist  from  the  tunnel  level  to  the 
surface,  which  you  avoid  by  using  the  tunnel.  The  hoisting 
from  below  the  tunnel  would  cost  the  same,  whether  you 
take  compressed  air  from  the  surface  down  to  the  ma- 
chinery vertically  or  horizontally.  The  difference  is  some, 
but  it  is  not  great. 

Q-.  Then,  as  I  understand  you,  the  difference  would  be 


745 

in  hoisting  from  the  tunnel  level  to  the  surface?  Am  I 
right  ? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  You  spoke  last  night  of  the  average  temperature 
of  the  Comstock,  below  the  1,000-foot  level,  as  from  90° 
to  100°.  How  many  mines  were  below  the  1,000-foot 
level  when  you  were  there? 

A.  I  stated  that  in  the  beginning  of  the  report.  I  do 
not  remember  the  figures  exactly.  I  stated  that  I  thought 
that  the  Bullion  and  the  Crown  Point  and  possibly  the 
fforcross  were  down  to  1,000  feet,  may  be  a  few  feet  more. 

Q.  Were  you  ever  in  the  Bullion? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  How  many  times? 

A.  A  couple  of  dozen  times. 

Q.  How  long  before  you  left  Virginia  City  were  you  in 
the  Noi cross? 

A.  I  couldn't  say  exactly.     I  did  not  keep  a  record 

of  it. 

Q.   Were  blowers  used  in  these  mines?  • 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Was  this  temperature  that  you  speak  of,  which  aver- 
aged from  90°  to  100°,  in  the  headings  and  in  the  stopes 
where  men  were  at  work? 

A.  I  was  asked  what  the  average  temperature  was.  The 
headings  and  stopes-the  upper  portions  of  the  stopes— 
-were  always  hotter  than  where  the  drifts  were  connected 
with  the  shafts,  from  the  fact  of  the  hot  air  rising. 

Q.  Do  you  think  the  average  temperature  where  the 
men  were  at  work  while  you  were  there  was  from  90°  to 

A.  I  said  from  80°  to  100°. 

Q.  I  understood  you  to  say  that,  if  the  temperature  were 
reduced  to  70°,  the  capacity  of  the  men  to  work  would  be 
doubled.  Was  that  your  opinion  ? 

A.  I  think  so. 

Q.  Do  you  think  it  possible  to  reduce  the  temperature 
70°  there  ? 


746 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  That  includes  the  sinking  of  a  shaft,  as  I  understand 
you,  along  the  line  of  the  Comstock,  every  1,000  feet,  to 
that  tunnel  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir,  and  connect  them  with  one  another,  and 
make  proper  use  of  all  the  air  which  they  command,  and 
make  the  most  judicious  use  of  machinery. 

Q.  In  addition  to  the  sinking  of  the  shafts  and  connect- 
ing them  by  drifts,  you  would  have  to  apply  artificial  means 
for  injecting  fresh  air  into  the  stopes  and  drifts.  I  so  under- 
stood you,  did  I  not? 

A.  If  you  go  beyond  a  certain  point — beyond  the  limit 
of  the  air  you  demand — then  you  will  have  to  find  air  from 
the  surface.  That  is  the  only  way  in  which  I  can  answer 
that  question. 

Q.  "Would  the  sinking  of  the  shafts  and  their  connection, 
and  the  running  of  the  tunnel  reduce  the  temperature  to 
70°? 

A.  That  question  is  not  definite  enough,  Mr.  Sunderland, 
because  you  may  have  150  miles  of  drifts.  That  question 
is  not  definite  enough;  I  cannot  answer  it. 

Q.  Would  your  drifts  and  stopes  in  the  Comstock  be 
any  cooler  than  they  are  on  the  surface  ? 
.  A.  If  there  is  moisture  in  the  mine 

Q.  I  would  like  to  have  the  question  answered. 

A.  I  will  answer  it  in  this  way :  If  the  timbers  for  some 
distance  were  wet,  or  if  the  rock  was  wet  and  the  warm 
air  would  cause  the  water  to  evaporate  and  form  steam  or 
vapor,  it  would  reduce  the  temperature  in  the  mine  from 
that  which  is  on  the  surface.  If  that  is  not  the  case,  prac- 
tical experience  has  shown  that  the  temperature  increases 
from  2J°  to  3°  Fahrenheit  for  every  100  feet  in  depth  as  you 
go  down;  also  the  heat  is  increased  by  the  men  working, 
the  carbonic  acid  they  exhale,  and  the  miasma  they  leave 
behind,  and  the  corrosion  of  vegetable  matter  in  the  mine. 

Q.  Well,  now,  what  is  the  heat  on  the  surface  in  the 
summer  season  in  the  Comstock? 


747 

A.  Sometimes  it  is  very  warm,  and  sometimes  it  is  only 
moderate. 

Q.  How  hot? 

A.  I  really  couldn't  say.  I  kept  a  record  of  it  for  a  friend 
of  mine  here  in  Washington  at  one  time — kept  my  barom- 
eter and  the  thermometer.  I  kept  it  up  for  three  months, 
but  I  really  forget  what  the  average  was. 

Q.  It  isn't  rare  there  to  have  the  thermometer  from  90° 
to  100°,  is  it? 

A.  Oh,  no;  I  never  saw  it  over  100°,  I  think. 

Q.  I  say  from  90°  to  100°.     Is  that  unusual  at  all  ? 

A.  "Well,  it  is  very  warm.  Of  course  it  is  hotter  than 
it  is  generally,  .when  it  goes  above  92°  or  93°,  as  far  as  I 
recollect. 

Q.  I  understood  you  to  say  last  night  that  you  never 
took  your  thermometer,  to  ascertain  the  heat  in  any  mine 
but  once? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Now,  sir,  you  can  give  the  average  heat  in  the  mines 
by  taking  one  observation ;  and  yet,  having  kept  records 
for  a  long  time — having  taken  your  observations  on  the 
surface — you  cannot  remember  what  that  average  is  ? 

A.  I  know  by  the  way  I  felt  in  the  mines.  I  know  how 
I  experienced  the  heat,  and  it  was  oppressive.  I  was  wise 
enough  to  know  when  I  got  under  ground,  and  I  have 
found  the  same  temperature  I  have  got  on  the  surface.  I 
wouldn't  feel  any  warmer. 

Q.  Isn't  the  heat,  at  the  same  degree,  much  more  op- 
pressive in  a  mine,  where  there  is  no  circulation  of  air  or 
ventilation,  than  it  is  on  the  surface? 

A.  It' you  have  a  still  hot,  day,  and  the  air  not  stirring, 
it  is  just  as  oppressive  on  the  surface  as  it  is  under  ground. 

Q.  Is  there  ever  a  day  on  the  surface  on  the  Cornstock 
that  there  is  not  some  movement  in  the  air? 

A.  iSTo;  I  don't  think  there  is. 

Q.  I  will  get  you  state  whether  on  the  Carson  river  it 
is  not  hotter  in  the  summer  time  than  it  is  in  the  Corn- 
stock  on  the  surface? 
I 


748 

A.  That  I  could  not  say.  "When  I  Was -at  thw  Carson 
river,  I  was  generally  on  horseback,  and  I  became  hot 
from  riding.  I  didn't  notice. 

Q.  If  the  heat  increases  2J°  to  3°  every  100  feet  in  depth, 
and  your  thermometer  stands  at  90°  on  the  surface,  how 
are  you  going  to  reduce  the  temperature  at  the  level  of  the 
tunnel  to  70°? 

A.  Exactly  as  I  told  you.  If  your  air  passes  moist  sub- 
stances arid  has  any  motion  to  it  at  all,  it  will  evaporate 
the  water  and  cool  the  air.  Then,  where  air  is  moving,  the 
temperature  is  continually  changing. 

Q.  What  is  the  cause  of  the  change? 

A.  "Where  air  is  moving  fast,  you  cannot  get  a  thermom- 
eter to  stand  at  the  same  point  for  more  than  two  or  three 
seconds  at  a  time.  It  is  moving  continually.  It  is  the 
change  in  the  temperature.  I  know  of  no  other  way  to 
account  for  it,  except  that  it  is  impossible,  even  in  a  heated 
room,  to  have  a  uniform  temperature. 

Q.  I  will  ask  you  if  the  same  degree  of  heat  in  a  moist 
atmosphere  is  not  much  more  oppressive  than  in  a  dry  at- 
mosphere ? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  Then  if  the  atmosphere  in  the  mines  should  be  re- 
duced, by  evaporation  of  the  water  there,  or  by  moisture, 
to  25°  or  30°  below  what  it  is  on  the  surface,  would  the 
heat  be  less  oppressive,  or  more  than  it  is  on  the  surface? 
You  spoke  of  reducing  the  atmosphere  in  these  mines  to 
70°,  while  on  the  surface  it  was  shown  that  the  thermom- 
eter frequently  rises  above  90°,  and  in  addition  to  the  90°, 
there  is  the  increase  of  2J°  every  100  feet  as  you  go  down. 
You  go  down  say  from  1,600  to  1,800  feet;  adding  the  in- 
crease of  that  to  the  90°,  and  you  make  it  over  100°  on  the 
surface,  and  you  propose  to  reduce  it  to  70°  in  the  mines, 
and  you  reduce  it  by  the  pressure  and  resistance  in  the  at- 
mosphere in  the  mines.  I  want  to  ask  you  if  the  existence1 
of  the  moisture  there  will  not  make  the  heat  quite  as  op- 
pressive as  it  is  on  the  surface  at  90°  ? 

A.  If  the  air  you  get  into  the  mine  goes  in  at  a  temper- 


749 

i 

ature  of  100°,  I  don't  suppose  that  there  is  a  possibility  of 
reducing  it  in  the  mines  to  70°,  I  may  say.  There  is  a  limit 
to  ail  things,  and  so  there  is  a  limit  to  the  reduction  of  the 
temperature  by  latent  heat. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  How  many  days  in  a  year  does  the  ther- 
mometer go  up  to  90°  in  Virginia  city? 

A.  I  have  kept  a  record  for  three  months  at  one  time, 
but  I  do  not  recollect;  90°  is  very  warm. 

Q.  Are  there  five  days  in  a  summer  that  the  temperature 
rises  to  90°,  as  far  as  you  recollect? 

A.  I  do  not  recollect.  I  might  as  well  say  95°  or  85°. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Now,  when  you  get  your  tunnel  start- 
ed, and  the  connections  made  with  the  shaft,  how  are  you 
going  to  get  the  air  to  circulate  down  in  the  mines  that 
are  below  the  level  of  the  tunnel? 

A.  That  is  a  very  easy  matter. 

Q.  How  do  you  do  it? 

A.  Warm  air  has  less  specific  gravity  than  cold  air. 
Light  air  will  rise,  and  cold  air  will  sink.  If  you  take  air 
at  a  temperature  say  of  80°  on  the  surface,  and  you  have 
it  at  the  bottom  of  a  shaft  90°,  which  may  possibly  be  the 
case,  you  can  form  a  vacuum  where  the  90°  are,  very  easily, 
and  make  the  80°  follow  it.  If  you  get  that  current  once, 
going  at  the  rate  say  of  only  10  feet  a  second,  you  may 
then,  for  quite  a  while,  change  the  temperature,  have  80° 
in  the  mine  and  90°  on  the  surface,  and  the  90°  will  follow 
as  long  as  the  impetus  which  the  air  has  got  lasts.  You 
cannot  do  it  but  to  a  certain  extent.  When  the  impetus 
which  the  air  has,  once  ceases,  then  it  wTfll  operate  to  the 
contrary.  When  you  construct  ventilators,  you  must  always 
be  careful,  if  you  have  an  impetus  and  a  change  should 
take  place,  to  keep  that  impetus  up  by  artificial  means. 

Q.  If  that  can  be  done  below  the  tunnel  level,  why  can- 
not it  be  done  through  the  shafts  now  just  as  well? 

A.  Because  I  believe  that  the  tunnel,  if  you  make  a  prop- 
er use  of  the  air  that  comes  through  it,  will  greatly  facili- 
tate matters,  and  two  or  three  degrees  are  a  great  deal  in 
temperature  and  in  ventilation.  Let  me  give  you  an  ex- 


750 

ample.  I  happened  to  figure  the  other  day,  by  a  formula 
given,  as  to  the  velocity  of  air,  and  I  figured  on  9°  at  2,000 
feet,  and  I  found  that  a  difference  of  9°  will  give  the  air  a 
velocity  of  258  feet  per  second,  or  a  pressure  of  33J  pounds 
to  the  square  foot.  That  is  equal  to  over  two  atmospheric 
pressures. 

Q.  Now,  what  application  has  that  to  anything  here? 

A.  It  has  this:  that,  if  the  temperature  down  in  the 
shaft  should  by  some  chance  fall  so  as  to  stop  this  cur- 
rent which  creates  ventilation,  the  tunnel  will  give  you 
sufficient  air  to  keep  the  circulation  going. 

Q.  Then  you  go  upon  the  presumption,  tbat  the  air  in 
the  tunnel  will  be  colder  than  that  in  the  surface  at  the  top 
of  the  shaft?  Is  that  your  idea  ? 

A.  The  air  in  the  tunnel  for  a  distance  of  I  cannot  say 
how  many  feet  will  certainly  be  colder  than  it  is  on  the 
surface. 

Q.  Why  so? 

A.  From  the  fact,  as  I  told  you,  because  the  tunnel 
always  accumulates  moisture  in  some  way.  If  it  comes 
from  the  ground,  the  air  passing  through  reduces  the 
temperature. 

Mr.  PAYNE.  The  witness  has  stated  that  the  increase  of 
temperature,  as  you  descend  from  the  surface,  is  from  2° 
to  3°  to  every  100  feet  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  Fahrenheit. 

Q.  So  that  the  increase  per  1,000  feet  would  be  from 
20°  to  30°? 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  Now,  what  I  want  to  know  is,  to  what  temperature 
this  increase  is  to  be  added,  to  the  temperature  at  the 
surface  for  the  time  being,  or  to  some  given  temperature 
for  the  whole  year  round? 

A.  Added  to  the  temperature  as  it  is  on  the  surface? 

Q.  For  the  time  being  ? 

A.  No;  because  you  cannot  change  the  temperature  in 
the  mine.  If  the  temperature  were  say  90°  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  we  would  get  a  northwest  wind  which  would 


«  751 

cool  the  temperature  15°,  as  sometimes  happens  on  the 
surface,  it  wouldn't  change  the  temperature  in  the  mine 
near  as  suddenly,  not  prohably  in  a  month.  In  other 
words,  the  temperature  in  the  mine  in  winter  is  pretty 
nearly  the  same  as  it  is  in  summer,  where  there  is  no 
ventilation — no  strong  ventilation. 

Q.  Then,  do  you  mean  to  say  that,  if  the  temperature 
at  the  surface  would  he  100°,  the  temperature  1,000  feet 
below  it  would  be  120°  or  130°? 

A.  No,  I  won't  say  so.  If  I  filled  the  mine  with  air, 
at  a  temperature  at  100°,  from  the  surface,  it  would  in 
time  rise  to  120°  in  there. 

Q.  Then  the  temperature. would  be  higher  at  a  depth  of 
1,000  feet,  if  the  temperature  at  the  surface  were  100°, 
than  it  would  if  the  temperature  at  the  surface  were  only 
70°?  Does  the  temperature  above  at  the  surface,  in  other 
words,  make  any  material  difference  in  the  temperature  at 
a  depth  of  1,000^  feet? 

A.  No,  unless  you  carry  it  down  there. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  want  to  ask  you  one  question:  Is  there 
any  change  in  the  temperature,  summer  or  winter,  after 
you  get  down  60  feet  into  the  earth? 

A.  That  is  what  I  have  just  said.    I  don't  think  there  is. 

Q.  Isn't  it  generally  assumed  that  at  a  depth  of  60  feet 
there  is  not  any  change  in  temperature,  without  any 
draught  going  through? 

A.  No,  sir;  there  will  be  no  change  down  there. 

Adjourned  to  March  28th,  at  the  same  place. 


HEARING  THURSDAY,  MARCH  28m 
Cross-examination  of  C.  A.  Luckhardt  continued. 

Mr.  SUNE-ERLAND.  I  think  you  stated,  Mr.  Luckhardt,  on 
your  direct  examination,  that  it  would  be  4  miles  from  the 
mouth  of  the  tunnel  to  the  mine  ? 

A.  That  is  the  way  I  stated  it  from  what  I  read  and 
what  I  heard. 

Q.  What  would  be  the  distance  from  the  mouth  of  the 
tunnel  to  the  south  end  of  the  Comstock? 

WITNESS.  Which  way  do  you  mean  ? 

Q.  Going  through  the  main  tunnel  of  the  Comstock,  and 
then  going  off  to  the  branch  tunnel  to  the  south  end  of  the 
Comstock  ? 

A.  The  wayl  understand  it,  the  Sutro  tunnel  is  to  strike 
the  Savage  mine.  From  the  Savage  to  the  Justis  is  iu  the 
neighborhood  of  2  miles,  and  the  length  of  the  tunnel 
would  be  nearly  6  miles,  to  the  south  end  of  the  Comstock. 
If  you  take  the  Justis  as  the  south  end  of  the  Comstock — 
or  the  North  American  as  the  south  end  of  the  Comstock — 
there  would  be  some  difference  in  the  length.  The  dis- 
tance to  the  North  American,  as  far  as  the  Comstock  has 
been  developed,  would  not  be  quite  so  much. 

A.  You  stated,  on  your  direct  examination,  that  the  men 
at  work  in  the  mines  could  be  sent  up  in  empty  cars.  Will 
you  explain  that  again  ?  Did  you  make  that  statement  ? 

A.  I  do  not  recollect.  I  think  that  men  could  be  sent  up 
in  the  empty  cars  when  the  loaded  car  was  coming  clown. 

Q.  Would  you  recommend  that  for  the  working  of  the 
Comstock  ? 

A.  That  would  depend  upon  the  manner  in  which,  and 
velocity  with  which,  ore  was  sent  down.  If  the  men  had 
to  wait,  it  would  cause  loss  of  time,  and  in  that  case  I  would 
not  recommend  it;  and  if  the  ore  was  sent  down  from  the 
upper  portions  of  the  mine  to  the  tunnel  level,  and  suffi- 

752 


753 

cient  ore  was  sent  down  at  the  time  when  the  men  go  to 
work,  why  I  should  certainly  say  that  that  could  be  done. 
I  would  recommend  it  in  that  way,  but  otherwise  not,  be- 
cause it  would  cause  loss  of  time. 

Q.  You  say  you  are  intimately  acquainted  with  the 
Comstock,  and  the  manner  of  mining  there.  Considering 
the  condition  of  the  Comstock,  and  the  mode  of  mining, 
would  you  recommend  in  any  case  that  men  should  be 
sent  up  in  a  cage,  where  there  was  weight  in  another  cage 
going  down. 

A.  I  would  recommend  it,  if  safety-cages  were  used. 

Q.  Don't  you  know  that  every  mine  on  the  Comstock 
uses  safety-cages  ? 

A.  Not  every  mine. 

Q.  What  mine  does  not  use  a  safety-cage  ? 

A.  I  have  gone  down  in  the  Crown  Point  at  times  when 
I  had  no  safety-cage,  when  they  were  hoisting  ore.  They 
didn't  use  the  safety-cage,  because  it  was  too  heavy. 

Q.  How  long  ago  was  that? 

A.  That  happened  at  times.  It  was  the  time  when  I 
was  there. 

Q.  When? 

A.  A  little  over  two  years  ago. 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  they  use  safety-cages  in  all 
the  compartments  of  that  shaft  now? 

A.  No,  I  do  not. 

Q.  Do  you  know  any  mine  in  the  Comstock  that  is  not 
now  using  safety-cages  in  each  compartment  of  the  shaft  ? 

A.  I  do  not  know  what  they  are  using  now,  because  I 
have  not  been  there  lately. 

Q.  You  stated,  in  your  direct  examination,  that  you  only 
knew  of  two  mills  that  paid  reclamations,  and  that  they 
did  not  belong  to  the  Union  Mill  and  Mining  Company. 
Please  state  what  two  mills  you  refer  to. 

A.  I  meant  to  imply  that  I  knew  of  two  individuals  who 
owned  mills  in  Washoe,  and  knew  of  their  having  paid 
reclamations.  I  do  not  know  how  many  more  paid  recla- 
mations. I  do  not  know  whether  the  Union  Mill  and 
48 


754 

Mining  Company  ever  paid  any  reclamations  or  not,  I 
was  only  stating  what  I  absolutely  knew  to  be  the  fact.  I 
do  not  wish  to  convey  the  idea  that  the  Union  Mill  and 
Mining  Company  never  paid  any  reclamation ;  neither  that 
any  of  the  other  mill  companies  paid  no  reclamation.  Those 
that  I  knew  who  paid  that  reclamation,  were  the  persons  I 
referred  to. 

Q.  You  stated,  on  your  direct  examination,  that  there 
are  from  30  to  35  per  cent,  of  silver  in  the  ores  on  the 
Comstock,  so  mixed  with  base  metals  as  not  to  amalgamate. 

A.  No,  sir;  I  did  not  state  that.  I  did  not  state  35  per 
cent,  of  silver,  because  there  is  no  ore  on  the  Comstock 
that  contains  35  per  cent,  of  silver.  I  stated  that  of  the 
assay  value  of  the  ore,  35  per  cent,  of  that  assay  value  was 
contained  in  such  a  way  in  the  ore,  that  it  would  not  amal- 
gamate by  crude  amalgamation. 

Q.  What  becomes  of  that? 

A.  It  stays  in  the  tailings,  and  passes  through  the  set- 
tlers, and  is  sometimes  saved  for  after-treatment,  and  some- 
times it  is  allowed  to  run  to  waste. 

Q.  Where,  on  the  Comstock,  and  from  what  mill  or 
mills,  is  any  part  of  the  tailings  allowed  to  run  to  waste? 

A.  I  do  not  know  what  they  are  doing  now,  but  I  have 
seen  tailings  run  to  waste  for  years  there  to  such  an  extent 
that  the  people  have  washed  the  galches  through  which 
the  tailings  have  run,  in  order  to  get  the  amalgam  that 
ran  off  with  the  tailings. 

Q.  From  what  mills? 

A.  I  saw  tailings  run  away  from  nearly  every  mill  through 
Gold  Hill.  Some  were  saving  none,  others  were  saving 
very  little,  while  some  again  wore  saving  nearly  all.  I  do 
not  recollect,  exactly,  what  mills  they  were,  but  the  water 
that  was  running  down  Silver  City  indicated  that  a  great 
deal  of  it  was  running  away. 

Q.  Don't  you  know  that  all  was  caught  before  it  reached 
the  Carson  river? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  do  not 


755 

Q.  Do  yon  know  anything  of  a  reservoir  in  the  upper 
part  of  Dayton,  at  the  mouth  of  the  canon? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  I  have  seen  several  reservoirs  there,  built 
for  the  purpose  of  catching  the  tailings. 

Q.  Didn't  they  catch  all  the  tailings? 

A.  !N"o,  sir;  not  at  the  time  I  was  there. 

Q.  Where  did  the  tailings  go  to  after  they  left  the  reser- 
voir? 

A.  In  the  river. 

Q.  At  what  point  ? 

A.  That  I  do  not  know ;  I  cannot  describe  the  point. 

Q.  Well,  if  you  knew  where  they  went  into  the  river,  I 
should  like  to  have  you  name  the  point  where  they  entered 
the  river? 

A.  I  cannot  state  it  exactly. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  see  any  tailings  go  into  the  Carson  river 
from  that  canon  ? 

A.  That  canon  extends  so  far  down  that  a  great  many 
tailings  stopped  there  before  they  got  to  the  river. 

Q.  The  question  can  be  very  easily  answered,  Mr.  Luck- 
hardt.  Did  you  ever  see  any  tailings  from  that  canon 
run  into  the  Carson  river? 

A.  All  that  I  call  tailings — yes.  I  have  seen  the  water 
colored  with  such.  I  have  seen  such  run  over  the  flat  and 
run  into  the  river. 

Q.  Where  abouts? 

A.  I  saw  tailings  run  from  Yarrington  mill,  and  run 
into  the  river. 

Q.  Is  Yarrington  on  that  canon  that  runs  through  Sil- 
ver City? 

A.  I  cannot  say  that  I  saw  the  tailings  run  in  there,  but 
I  have  seen  tailings  lay  close  to  the  shores  of  the  river  and 
all  through  the  canons;  so  they  must,  at  some  period, 
have  run  in  there. 

Q.  Was  there  not  a  succession  of  reservoirs  along  that 
canon  to  catch  the  tailings? 

A.  As  I  stated  before,  I  saw  some  reservoirs  there,  but 
the  water  gets  so  muddy  that  they  cannot  catch  them  all, 


756 

and  some  will  run  away,  because  the  reservoirs  were  not 
large  enough  to  allow  the  water  to  part  with  all  its  tailings 
there:  it  would  carry  off  the  tailings. 

Q.  How  large  is  that  reservoir  at  the  mouth  of  the  canon 
at  Dayton? 

A.  I  could  not  give  any  dimensions;  I  never  measured 
it,  neither  did  I  pay  any  particular  attention  to  it. 

Q.  How  high  were  the  embankments  making  or  form- 
ing the  reservoir? 

A.  I  could  not  state  that.     I  did  not  measure  that. 

Q.  Don't  you  know  that  Mr.  Birdsall  has  been  working 
for  years  on  the  tailings  in  that  reservoir? 

A.  I  understood  so.     I  have  been  told  so. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  And  could  not  get  it  out?  He  stopped  last 
summer  for  six  months. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  He  got  out  enough  to  make  him  very 
rich.  I  know  that  much. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  That  shows  there  was  something  left  in  the 
tailings. 

Q.  I  understood  you  to  say  that  60  per  cent,  was  got  out 
by  the  first  working,  and  36  to  37  per  cent,  of  the  remain- 
ing portion  was  rebellious.  "Was  that  your  answer? 

A.  No;  I  stated  that  I  thought  that  60  per  cent,  could 
be  fully  depended  upon,  and  in  some  cases  even  65  per 
cent. ;  and  that  ore  had  been  amalgamated  to  as  high  as  80 
per  cent,  of  the  assay  value;  but  I  stated  that  the  average 
should  be  taken  between  60  and  65  of  that,  and  that  re- 
maining within  a  few  per  cent,  was  rebellious,  and  that 
some  of  a  small  percentage  was  amalgam,  which  had 
been  carried  off  with  the  slimes. 

Q.  What  facilities  did  you  ever  have  to  know  what  any 
mill  yielded? 

A.  I  was  well  acquainted  with  Mr.  Janin,  and  we 
spoke  frequently  about  the  treatment  of  the  ores.  He  had 
very  many  new  ideas,  and  we  exchanged  our  ideas,  and  I 
got  his  results  in  that  wise. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  have  charge  of  the  mill,  or  work  in  the 
mill,  and  know  what  yield  the  mill  gave? 


757 

A.  I  never  had  charge  of  any  mill. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  work  in  any  mill,  so  as  to  know  what 
yield  the  mill  made? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  What  mill? 

A.  I  worked  in  the  Central  mill. 

Q.  Who  was  the  superintendent  of  that  mill? 

A.  A  young  man  hy  the  name  of — I  cannot  recqllect 
his  name.  He  was  superintendent  for  Atwood. 

Q.  Did  Atwood  ever  run  the  Central  mill? 

A.  Not  that  I  know  of.  I  do  not  know  whether  he  owned 
it  or  whether  he  simply  leased  it. 

Q.  What  ore  did  he  work  ? 

A.  Ore  from  the  Comstock.  From  what  mine  I  can- 
not recollect. 

Q.  What  position  did  you  occupy  in  the  mill? 

A.  Roaster. 

Q.  What  process  was  used  in  that  mill  ? 

A.  The  common  mill  process,  and  the  process  of  roast- 
ing, both.  Both  processes  they  used  there. 

Q.  What  year  was  that  ? 

A.  I  do  not  recollect.  It  was  the  time  when  I  returned 
from  Austin.  I  cannot  recollect  the  year  exactly. 

Q.  How  long  were  you  in  the  mill  ? 

A.  I  worked  there  as  roaster  for,  I  think,  eight  or  ten 
days  and  then  I  was  employed  by  the  bank. 

Q.  Did  you  clean  up  while  you  were  there  ? 

A.  I  did  not  clean  up. 

Q.  Was  there  any  cleaning  up  while  you  were  there. 

A.  Oh  yes,  sir. 

Q.  Is  a  roaster  in  a  mill  entitled  to  know  the  yield  of  the 
ore? 

A.  Not  as  a  general  thing,  but  I  was;  because  circum- 
stances compelled  me  to  work  as  a  roaster.  I  was  not 
there  exactly  as  a  laborer,  although  I  performed  the  duties 
of  a  laborer.  I  changed  the  method  of  roasting  somewhat, 
and  made  some  suggestions  in  the  mill  to  the  foreman. 

Q.  What  per  centage  did  you  get  out  of  the  ore  there? 


758 

A.  I  do  not  think  I  can  answer  that,  because  1  do  not 
remember.  We  were  talking  about  it;  I.  knew  that  the 
ore  would  mill  60  and  65  crude  amalgamation,  and  when 
it  was  roasted  it  would  mill  80  or  82,  along  there.  I  was 
told  this,  and  truthfully  told,  because  my  opinion  was 
asked  by  the  superintendent  about  the  method  of  working 
and  how  to  improve  it,  if  improvements  could  be  make. 

Q-  Mr.  Atwood  is  a  scientific  man  is  he  not  ? 

A.  I  have  seen  him  work  in  his  laboratory,  in  Washoe 
valley.  I  do  not  know  whether  he  is  a  scientific  man  or 
not. 

Q.  Was  the  young  man  that  you  speak  of  a  scientific 
man? 

A.  He  was  not. 

Q.  Did  you  crush  dry? 

A.  We  crushed  dry  at  times,  and  crushed  wet  at  times. 

Q.  And  yet  you  cannot  say  what  percentage  of  the  assay 
value  of  the  ore  you  got  out? 

A.  I  could  not  state  any  exact  figure.  I  have  given  it 
as  near  as  I  recollect  it. 

Q.  Don't  you  know  that  the  mill  was  a  failure,  and  had 
to  be  shut  down  long  before  you  left  Virginia? 

A.  I  know  that  it  was  shut  down  long  before  I  left  Vir- 
ginia, but  I  did  not  know  of  its  having  been  a  failure 
through  not  working  the  ores  properly.  I  do  not  know 
why  the  mill  was  shut  down. 

Q.  It  was  a  failure,  though? 

A.  That  I  do  not  know.  I  do  not  know  why  it  was  shut 
down, 

Q.  How  long  since  that  mill  was  shut  down? 

A.  I  cannot  recollect. 

Q.  Haw  was  it  that  they  did  not  save  more  than  60  per 
cent,  in  that  mill  ? 

A.  In  the  first  place,  I  did  not  say  that  they  did  not  save 
more  than  60.  I  say  it  ran,  as  far  as  I  recollect,  from  60 
to  65,  with  crude  amalgamation. 

Q.  Why  was  not  there  a  larger  per  cent,  saved? 


759 

A.  Because  the  silver  was  in  such  a  state  iii  the  ore  that 
it  could  not  be  amalgamated. 

Q.  What  percentage  did  you  save  by  dry  crushing  and 
roast  ? 

A.  From  80  to  85. 

Q.  Then,  if  that  is  the  only  experience  you  have  had  in 
milling,  and  the  only  opportunity  you  have  had  of  know- 
ing what  percentage  is  saved  from  the  assay  value  of  the 
Comstock  ores,  how  can  you  state  tl*at  they  only  saved 
from  60  to  65  per  cent? 

A.  Because  I  have  so  frequently  assayed  those  ores,  and 
I  know  their  character  so  well ;  I  know  what  will  amalga- 
mate, and  what  will  not  amalgamate,  that  is  just  as  good 
proof  to  rne  as  if  I  had  stayed  in  the  mill  and  worked  there 
for  twenty  years. 

Q.  But  you  do  not  know  the  actual  returns  from  any 
mills  that  worked  the  Comstock  ores? 

A.  I  never  inquired  for  any  from  any  mill  man,  especi- 
ally to  show  me  his  return. 

Q.  You  have  no  means  of  knowing  the  actual  returns  ? 

A.  Well,  I  have  frequently  talked  with  mill-men  about 
it,  and  I  always  claimed  that  they  held  therr  percentage 
too  high. 

Q.  In  other  words,  that  the  mill-men  did  not  tell  the 
truth. 

A.  They  might  have  told  the  truth.  I  do  not  wish  to 
convey  that  idea  at  all,  but  they  might  not  have  known  any 
better. 

Q.  The  mill-men,  then,  are  too  ignorant  to  know  what 
returns  they  make  to  the  mines. 

A.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  either.  The  idea  I  wish 
to  convey  is  this :  that  it  sometimes,  and  very  often,  has 
been  the  case  that  ores  have  been  assayed  when  they  come 
from  the  mine  and  turned  into  the  mill,  and  the  allowance 
for  moisture  was  made  by  the  mine  to  the  mill ;  that  the 
moisture  was  only  jumped  at;  and  very  often  that,  when 
the  ore  was  rich,  would  make  a  material  difference  in  the 
assay  value  of  the  ore. 


760 

Q.  State  any  ease  that  you  know  of  where  any  allowance 
was  ever  made  for  moisture. 

Q.  When  I  was  in  the  Ophir,  we  always  used  to  make 
an  allowance  for  moisture,  and  I  took  it  for  granted  that 
the  balance  also  made  allowance  for  moisture. 

Q.  What  allowance  did  you  make  in  the  Ophir  mine 
for  moisture  ? 

A.  I  made  an  allowance  of  from  2J  to  3  and  3J  per 
cent. 

Q.  Was  not  all  the  ore  from  the  Ophir,  while  you  were 
in  that  company,  reduced  at  the  company's  mills  ? 

Q.  If  you  take  it  in  one  sense  .of  the  word,  the  mill  in 
the  Ophir  canon,  I  "believe,  was  the  property  of  the  Ophir 
company,  but  had  been  leased  to  other  parties,  and  these 
other  parties  worked  the  ore  at  a  given  rate ;  and  there 
allowance  had  always  to  be  made  for  moisture,  because  it 
stands  to  reason  that  if  you  take  ore  that  is  wet,  and  send 
it  to  the  mill,  and  give  the  mill  10  tons,  and  have  in  that 
105.40  pounds  of  water,  and  the  ore  was  then  sent  to  the 
assayer  to  be  assayed,  and  he  pulverizes  it  and  weighs  it, 
the  ore  becomes  dry  during  that  manipulation,  even  if  he 
does  not  dry  it  previous  to  weighing  it,  to  make  his  assay; 
then,  of  course,  the  assayer  will  give  a  higher  assay,  not 
with  an  intent  to  defraud  anybody,  but  will  give  a  higher 
assay  than  the  ore  was  when  it  came  originally  out  of  the 
mine,  and  was  weighed,  and  went  to  the  mill. 

Q.  Is  not  the  sample  or  assay  from  the  mine  always 
dried  before  it  is  pulverized? 

A.  As  a  general  thing,  as  long  as  I  have  assayed,  I  have 
always  dried  it. 

Q.  Don't  you  know  that  the  mills  guaranty  to  the  min- 
ers 65  per  cent,  of  the  assay  value? 

A.  I  have  heard  so. 

Q.  Now,  how  is  it,  if  there  is  so  large  a  percentage  of 
the  ores  from  the  Comstock  rebellious,  and  that  will  not 
amalgamate,  that  you  can  get  90  per  cent,  of  the  assay 
value  from  the  ores  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel? 

A.  That  I  will  explain.     I  stated,  I  believe,  that  it  was 


761 

my  opinion  that  ore  could  be  worked  up  to  nearly  90  per 
cent,  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  or  near  the  mouth  of  the 
tunnel,  or  at  a  place  where  facilities  for  working  were.  In 
this  wise  that — by  the  improved  method  of  concentration 
which  I  know  to  exist  and  of  which  we  have  got  data  by 
employing  this  method  of  concentration — the  rebellious 
portion  of  the  ore  could  be  concentrated,  and  afterwards 
properly  treated  by  roasting,  chloridizing,  amalgamating, 
smelting,  or  whatever  process  should  be  necessary,  and 
it  could  be  worked  to  very  nearly  90  per  cent,  in  that  way. 

Q.  ]N"ow  I  understand  your  proposition  to  be  to  first 
work  the  ores  as  they  are  now  worked  ? 

A.  That  depends  upon  the  character. 

Q.  State  your  exceptions,  and  state  your  process?* 

A.  I  have  stated  the  process.  I  do  not  say  that  in  all 
cases  I  would  suggest  the  amalgamation,  as  it  is  done  now, 
as  the  first  operation  to  be  undertaken. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  That  was  my  understanding. 

WITNESS.  That  does  not  hold  good  in  every  case. 

Q.  State  the  exceptions,  then? 

A.  The  exceptions  are,  if  the  ore  is  in  such  a  state  where 
the  percentage  of  refractory  metal  is  not  so  great  as  30  or 
35  per  cent.,  then  I  would  certainly  suggest  their  being 
amalgamated  first.  But  if  the  percentage  should  be  in- 
creased, as  we  have  ores  on  the  Comstock  that  even  con- 
tain more  than  35  per  cent,  the  of  refractory  metals,  why, 
then,  I  certainly  should  not  suggest  a  preliminary  amalga- 
mation anterior  to  concentration. 

Q.  Then,  in  any  case,  you  would  suggest  concentration, 
either  before  amalgamation  or  after  amalgamation  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  And  then  roasting? 

A.  Either  before  or  after  amalgamation. 

Q.  The  concentration — the  roasting  of  the  concentra- 
tion— either  before  or  after  amalgamation  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir,  in  case  you  wish  to  apply  the  method  of 
amalgamation  for  the  benefication  of  the  precious  metals. 
!"here  are  three  different  methods. 


762 

Q.  Go  on  and  make  your  own  suggestions.  I  am  simply 
getting  at  your  ideas. 

A.  I  am  answering  the  questions  as  fast  as  you  are  put- 
ting them. 

Q.  Would  you  in  all  cases  roast  the  concentrations? 

A.  No,  sir;  not  in  all  cases. 

Q.  What  are  the  exceptions? 

A.  I  have  just  stated  the  exceptions  are,  that  ores,  for 
instance,  such  as  tnose  that  exist  in  the  north  portion  of 
the  Ophir,  would  work  more  readily  by  being  smelted  than 
by  being  amalgamated :  ores  of  that  character  I  would  not 
roast  and  amalgamate,  but  I  would  smelt  them,  provided 
the  percentage  of  the  silver  would  admit.  The  concentra- 
tion from  near  the  outcrop,  from  these  low-grade  ores, 
where  the  percentage  of  silver  was  a  very  low  one,  and  the 
percentage  of  gold  predominated,  those  ores  I  would  not 
roast.  Those  I  ores  would  roast  by  chlorination,  and 
extract  the  gold  from  them  in  that  manner.  The  others 
I  would  roast  after  the  concentration,  and  then  amalgamate 
them. 

Q.  What  qualities  have  those  ores  that  you  speak  of 
smelting,  necessary  to  smelt  them  ? 

A.  Those  ores  that  contain  Galena  zinc,  antimony,  for 
instance.  I  would  smelt  those,  providing  the  percentage  of 
silver  would  justify  the  smelting  operation.  I  wish  to  con- 
vey this  idea;  I  am  not  saying  that  those  ores  that  are  at 
present  in  the  North  Ophir  will  admit  of  such  a  process, 
but  that  ores  that  will  are  liable  to  occur  in  it. 

Q.  Now,  what  would  it  be  necessary,  if  anything,  to  add 
to  the  ores  to  smelt  them;  what  will  make  flux? 

A.  All  ores  are  not  smelted  alike.  If  the  ore  concen- 
trated contains  20  per  cent,  of  lead,  for  instance,  they  will 
smelt  without  additional  flux.  The  addition  of  flux  is  one 
thing,  and  the  mixing  or  charging  of  ores  is  another.  When 
you  smelt  you  never  can  work  by  one  given  rule.  You  must 
always  smelt  according  to  the  character  of  the  ore:  for  in- 
stance, the  addition  of  iron,  in  some  cases,  is  necessary. 


763 

Q.  If  you  have  a  great  deal  of  antimony  your  process  in 
smelting  would  be  nearly  the  same? 

A.  The  process  would,  but  the  manipulations  in  the  fur- 
nace would  be  a  little  different.  You  would  concentrate 
those  ores  on  those  concentrators  to  such  an  extent  that 
they  would  not  require  much  flux,  much  addition  other 
materials. 

Q.  Taking  the  base  metals  in  the  ores  in  the  Cornstock, 
where  these  base  metals  exist  that  you  speak  of,  that  will 
not  amalgamate,  would  you  have  to  add  ^anything  to  them 
after  concentration  to  smelt?  If  so,  what  percentage  would 
you  have  to  add? 

A.  I  cannot  give  you  the  exact  percentage,  because,  as 
I  told  you,  it  all  depends  on  the  character  of  the  ore;  some- 
times you  would  have  a  higher  percentage  of  antimony, 
and  sometimes  you  would  have  a  higher  percentage  of 
lead.  You  cannot  work  by  a  given  rule  in  smelting;  if 
you  smelt  Galena  ores  of  20  per  cent,  lead,  and  40  per  cent, 
gangue,  and  20  per  cent  oxide  of  iron  ore,  and  20  per  cent, 
of  lime,  you  do  hot  need  any  flux  at  all. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  would  like  to  know  what  this  smelting 
operation  has  to  do  with  the  tunnel. 

Q.  Is  there  any  ore  in  the  Comstock  that  you  would  con- 
centrate, so  as  to  have  20  per  cent,  lead  ? 

A.  There  is  ore  in  the  North  Ophir  which  could  be  con- 
centrated to  20  per  cent,  of  lead. 

Q.  Would  it  have  any  lime  in  it? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  "Would  you  then  have  to  add  lime  ? 

A.  No,  sir ;  I  gave  you  an  example  only  of  where  the 
smelting  is  very  easy;  it  is  not  necessary  to  add  lime. 

Q.  What  would  be  necessary  in  concentrated  ore — what 
would  it  be  necessary  to  add  to  the  concentrated  ores  from 
Ophir  to  smelt  them  ? 

A.  Some  of  the  concentrations  obtained  from  the 
southern  portion  of  the  Comstock  are  very  rich  in  sulphu- 
sets  of  iron. 


764 

Q.  What  mines  have  any  considerable  sulphurets  of 
iron  ? 

A.  All  of  them;  all  of  them  have  a  certain  percentage^ 
and  in  concentrating  them  of  course  they  all  come  into  the 
concentration;  if  you  take  50  tons  of  ore  and  concentrate 
them  down  to  1  ton,  and  you  only  have  1  per  cent,  of  sul- 
phurets, it  would  make  the  percentage  of  sulphurets  very 
high  iri  that  1  ton  of  concentration. 

Q.  You  have  spoken  of  chloridizing? 

A.  Yes,  sir.     j 

Q.  "What  is  that  process  ? 

A.  I  suppose  you  refer  to  chlorination.  That  process 
is  used  for  all  those  ores  where  the  percentage  of  silver  is 
a  low  one,  and  it  consists  in  this :  that  the  ore  is  finally  pul- 
verized, moistened,  first  placed  in  vats  arid  chlorine  gas  in- 
jected so  that  the  gold  is  formed  into  a  chloride,. which  is 
afterwards  leached  out  with  warm  water,  and  the  gold  pre- 
cipitated by  sulphate  of  iron. 

Q.  Is  that  intended  to  save  the  gold  alone  or  tbe  silver 
as  well? 

A.  That  saves  the  gold. 

Q.  State  if,  as  that  furnace  is  operated  at  present,  there 
is  not  great  loss  of  gold  ? 

A.  You  have  reference  to  the  Stetefeldt  furnace? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Yes,  sir. 

WITNESS.  I  do  not  know  how  to  take  that  question. < 
Please  to  repeat  it. 

Q.  In  roasting  the  ores  containing  gold  and  silver  in  the 
Stetefeldt  furnace  is  there  not  great  loss  of  gold? 

A.  That  depends  upon  the  percentage  of  the  gold  in  the 
ore.  In  ore  that  contains  a  small  percentage  there  is  great 
loss;  in  ore  that  contains  a  high  percentage  there  is  hardly 
any. 

Q.  Suppose  it  contains  one-third  gold  in  value  to  the 
silver — one  third  of  the  whole,  I  mean — what  would  be  the 
loss  then? 

WITNESS.  In  the  Stetefeldt  furnace  ? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Yes,  sir. 


766 

A.  It  is  amalgamated  to  91  per  cent.,  in  the  trials  which 
have  been  made  at  Reno. 

Q.  I  understood  you  to  say  that  ores  assaying  $10  could 
he  worked  with  profit  from  the  Comstock  by  the  Sutro 
tunnel ;  first  give  the  items  of  cost  of  mining,  precipitation, 
transportation,  and  beneficiating  in  any  one  you  choose  ^to 
give  it  in  regard  to  ? 

A.  I  stated  that  it  was  my  opinion  that,  when  the  tunnel 
was  constructed  and  the  different  mines  were  connected 
with  the  tunnel,  and  the  proper  machinery  was  constructed 
at  the  tunnel,  or  near,  the  tunnel,  that  $10  ore  could  be 
worked  with  a  profit  of  90  cents  per  ton. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Did  you  not  state,  Mr.  Luckhardt,  that  if  it 
was  sold  to  the  company  owning  the  mill  there,  they 
could  buy  that  ore  and  pay  60  per  cent,  for  it  at  the  mine  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir ;  and  the  figures  are  before  me. 

Q.  Before  going  into  those  figures,  I  want  to  ask  you 
one  or  two  questions,  and  then  I  will  have  you  refer  to  the 
figures.  What  does  it  cost  on  the  Comstock  to  mine  the 
ore,  and  in  that  cost  include  the  expenses  attending  the 
organization  of  a  company,  and  the  dead  work  of  prospect- 
ing connected  always  with  mining  ? 

A.  I  have  seen  a  great  many  estimates  made. 

Q.  I  want  you  to  make  your  own  estimate. 

A.  I  cannot  make  any  estimate  of  what  it  costs  now,  be- 
cause I  have  not  been  over  it  for  two  years. 

Q.  If  you  cannot  make  any  estimate  of  the  cost  of 
mining  ores,  how  can  you  make  an  estimate  on  ores  assay- 
ing $10  per  ton,  so  as  to  make  a  profit? 

A.  Because  those  ores  that  assay  $10  per  ton  could 
be  worked  by  the  tunnel  company,  and  I  stated  that  they 
could  be  worked  with  a  profit,  if  the  tunnel  company 
bought  them  from  the  mining  companies,  at  the  bottom  of 
these  shafts,  at  the  rate  of  60  per  cent,  of  their  assay 
value. 

Q.  Then  you  mean  to  say  that  there  would  be  a  profit 
to  the  tunnel  company,  and  not  to  the  mine  ? 

A.  The  question  was  put  to  me  by  Mr.  Sutro,  and  the 


766 

statement  I  made  in  relation  to  this  was  in  the  following 
manner :  "  Could  not  those  ores  be  made  to  pay  if  65  per 
cent,  of  their  assay  value  was  paid  at  the  bottom  of  the 
shaft  by  the  tunnel  company?"  and  in  relation  to  that  I 
gave  that  answer  to  which  you  have  reference. 
'  Q.  If  ores  are  mined  upon  the  Comstock,  and  delivered 
at  the  bottom  of  the  shaft,  the  ores  assaying  $10  per  ton, 
can  there  be  any  profit  to^the  mining  company? 

Q.  That  all  depends  upon  how  the  mining  company 
works.  In  some  instances,  I  think,  they  could. 

Q.  What  does  it  cost  to  mine  ores  on  the  Comstock  ? 

A.  The  present  cost  I  do  not  know.  I  have  not  been 
there  for  two  years,  and  kept  no  account. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  know  what  it  cost  to  mine  ores  on  the 
Comstock  ? 

A.  I  think  I  did, 

Q.  What  did  it  cost  ? 

A.  In  some  of  the  mines  it  cost  $2  50,  and  in  others  it 
cost  as  high  as  $9. 

Q.  In  what  mine  did  you  ever  know  ores  to  be 
mined  at  $2  50  a  ton. 

A.  I  have  mined  at  the  Ophir,  ore  that  did' not  cost  me 
more  that  $2  50  a  ton.  There  was  ore  taken  out  of  the 
croppings  along  the  lode;  and  the  other  figure  of  $9 1  take 
as  a  maximum,  because  J  have  seen  statements  from  dif- 
ferent companies,  varying  from  $6  50  to  $7,  $7  50  to  $8  a 
ton  for  a  year's  estimate. 

Q.  Those  ores  you  mined  in  the  Ophir  were  on  the  sur- 
face? 

A.  ]N~ear  the  surface. 

Q.  They  were  raised  to  the  surface  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  In  the  estimate  that  you  make  of  $2  50  per  ton,  you 
do  not  include  the  dead  work  that  was  being  done  in  the 
mine  for  prospecting  at  the  time,  but  simply  the  expense 
of  taking  out  that  ore  ? 

A.  Certainly  not. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Let  me  ask  the  witness  a  question  right 


767 

here :  Have  you  seen  ore  mined  about  Gold  Hill  at  $1  a 
ton,  where  there  was  no  difficulty  about  water,  or  any  ex- 
traordinary mining  difficulty? 

A.  I  had  to  answer  Mr.  Sunderland's  question.  He 
asked  me  what  I  iknew.  I  bad  my  opinion  about  that. 
If  he  asked  me  what  my  opinion  was,  then  I'would  have 
told  him  that  ore  had  been  mined  at  Gold  Hill  for  much 
less  than  $2  and  $2  50,  because  it  was  laying  right  on  the 
surface,  and  it  only  required  blasting. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Suppose  there  was  no  extraordinary  mining 
difficulty,  could  not  the  ore  be  mined  and  let  down  to  the 
tunnel  at  $1  a  ton  ? 

A.  That  I  could  not  say. 

Q.  If  no  machinery  was  required? 

A.  It  could  certainly  be  lowered  down  at  a  much  less 
expense  than  it  would  cost  to  hoist  it  to  the  surface. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Suppose  the  ore  is  on  the  surface,  to 
commence  with,  can  it  be  lowered  any  cheaper  than  taken 
from  the  surface? 

A.  It  all  depends  on  the  distance. 

Q.  This  ore  you  mi^ned  in  the  Ophir,  could  that  be  low- 
ered any  cheaper  than  raised  to  the  surface? 

A.  No,  sir ;  M>elieve  not,  because  this  ore  that  you  have 
reference  to  in  the  Ophir,  it  being  mined  for  $2  50,  if 
connections  were  made,  could  be  lowered  for  the  same 
price;  but  it  would  never  pay,  because  that  class  of  ore 
was  of  such  a  nature  that  the  less  you  handled  it  the  better 
it  was,  because  it  was  very  rich.  If  you  had  sent  it  down 
a  long  chute  it  would  have  crumbled  and  spread  about  in 
such  a1  way  that  a  great  deal  of  the  ore  would  have  been 
lost.  But  I  hold  it  costs  less  to  lower  ore  than  it  does  to 
hoist  it,  if  you  make  proper  connections — make  your  work 
easy  by  your  connections. 

Q.  You  do  not  mean  to  say  that  ore,  generally,  on  the 
Comstock,  that  assays  $10,  could  be  mined  at  a  profit  to 
the  mining  company  and  sold  to  the  tunnel  company  at 
60  per  cent. — that  is  to  say,  $6  a  ton — considering  all  the 

:pense  attending  the  mine,  including  the  expense  of  keep- 


768 

ing  up  the  corporation,  the  expense  of  prospecting  to  find 
ore,  and  all  dead  work  necessarily'connected  with  the  mines? 

A.  That  all  depends  on  circumstances.  I  could  not  tell 
you  that  without  going  into  figures,  and  calculating  'all 
that  it  amounted  to.  I  hold  that  there  a*re  plates,  and  will 
unquestionably  places  be  found,  where  ore  cannot  be  mined 
for  that,  and  carried  to  that  tunnel  level.  I  do  not  know 
of  any  place  now. 

Q.  Don't  you  know  that  to  find  ore  in  the  Comstock 
costs  a  great  deal  of  money? 

A.  Well,  of  course  it  costs  money  to  prospect. 

Q.  Then,  is  it  not  necessary,  after  going  to  all  the  ex- 
pense to  prospect  to  find  a  body  of  ore,  that  you  shall  get 
ore  that  will  pay  you  more  than  the  expense  of  mining  and 
milling  together  even  ? 

A.  Certainly. 

Q.  You  have  got  to  pay  for  milling  and  mining;  and, 
more  than  that,  to  get  even  on  the  prospecting? 

A.  I  say  it  has  to  pay  the  expenses  of  extraction  out 
of  the  ground,  and  the  extraction  of  the  precious  metals. 

Q.  Now,  I  understood  you  to  say  that  the  steam  power 
necessary  for  the  reduction  of  ores  at  the  mouth  of  the 
tunnel  would  be  $5  per  ton.  • 

A.  That  is  the  estimate  I  made. 

Q.  Is  that  the  steam  power  alone,  or  is  it  the  expense  of 
reducing  ore  by  steam?  That  is  what  I  want.  Is  it  sim- 
ply the  power,  or  the  whole  expense  attending  the  reduc- 
tion of  ores  by  steam  power? 

A.  Five  dollars  is  the  entire  expense  of  milling  and  the 
cost  of  power  to  crush  and  to  amalgamate;  and  of  that  $5 
$1  99  is  the  cost  per  ton  of  the  steam  power. 

Q.  How  much  wood  or  coal  do  you  consider  necessary 
to  reduce  a  ton  of  ore  ? 

A.  I  hold  that  two  tons  of  coal  will  work,  crush,  and 
reduce  twenty  tons  of  ore. 

Q.  Does  that  include  the  running  machinery  for  con- 
centrating? 

A.  No,  sir. 


769 

Q.  What  additional  expense  would  it  be  to  concentrate? 

A.  I  looked  over  the  notes  I  got  from  Germany,  and 
that  have  been  taken  for  years  in  those  concentrating 
works,  and  I  made  the  allowance  of  the  difference  in  labor 
and  the  difference  in  prices  of  everything  as  it  is  here,  and 
I  came  at  the  figure  of  50  cents  a  ton,  but  I  made  an  allow- 
ance of  75  cents  a  ton  for  concentration. 

Q.  Then  would  that  be  $5  75  ? 

A.  '$5  75. 

Q.  Using  steam  power  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  What  dp  you  estimate  that  coal  to  cost  ? 

A.  $12  a  ton. 

Q.  At  what  points? 

A.  At  the  point  where  the  concentrating  works  are  going 
to  be  put  up.  The  way  I  understood  it,  they  were  going 
to  be  put  up  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  tunnel.  And  I 
understood  that  coal  could  be  furnished  there  at  $12  a  ton. 

Q.   Who  informed  you  that  it  could  ? 

A.  Mr.  Sutro. 

Q.  You  base  most  of  your  calculations  upon  what  Mr. 
Sutro  has  told  you? 

A.  JSTo,  sir. 

Q.  What  would  the  water  power  cost  to  reduce  ore  there  ? 

A.  I  calculated  the  water  power  at  the  same  ratio  that 
I  calculated  what  it  would  cost  to  produce  40  horse  power 
by  water,  at  those  figures.  I  calculated  how  much  horse 
power  it  took  to  run  these  three  consecutive  machines,  and 
from  them  I  made  my  calculation. 

Q.  What  was  your  calculation;  what  was  the  result? 

A.  The  result  was  a  little  over  50  cents,  but  I  allowed 
an  additional  50  per  cent,  for  contingencies,  and  I  called 
it  75  cents. 

Q.  Seventy-five  cents  a  ton  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir.  Of  course  all  these  machines  are  self-act- 
ing. 

Q.  I  understand  you  to  say  that,  by  water  power,  ore 
49 


770 

could   be   worked  at   or  near  the   mouth  of  the  tunnel 
for  75  cents  a  ton  ? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  do  not  say  that.  I  said  that  the  ore,  after 
it  was  crushed  to  a  proper  state,  could  be  concentrated  for 
75  cents  a  ton. 

Q.  I  want  you  to  state  now  what  ore  could  be  worked 
for  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  by  water  power. 

A.  It  was  a  dollar  less  than  what  it  cost  for  steam  power. 

Q.  That  would  be  $4  75. 

A.  Yes,  sir;  $4  for  working  by  the  ordinary  process ;  that 
is,  crushing  and  amalgamating,  and  afterwards  concen- 
trating, at  75  cents  a  ton.  I  do  not  wish  you  to  misunder- 
stand me.  I  do  not  say  that  the  ore  can  be  taken  and 
crushed  and  concentrated  for  75  cents  a  ton,  but  after  it 
is  in  a  proper  state,  then  it  can  be  concentrated  for  75 
cents  a  ton. 

Q.  Then,  after  you  have  the  tailings  concentrated  from 
ten  tons  to  one,  I  believe  your  proposition  is,  what  will  it 
cost  to  work  those  concentrations? 

A.  I  allowed  that  the  beneficiatious  of  the  concentra- 
tions would  be  $8  a  ton  at  the  maximum. 

Q.  You  stated  that,  by  running  the  ore  from  the  tunnel, 
the  ore  from  the  Comstock  would  be  triple|in  value  ? 

A.  I  believe  I  stated  that  it  was  my  opinion  that,  when 
the  tunnel  was  in  there,  a  great  deal  more  ore  would  be 
produced:  I  do  not  know  that  I  stated  treble.  I  Stated 
that  it  was  my  opinion  that  more  ore  would  be  gotten  out 
if  the  tunnel  was  in  and  the  shafts  all  connected. 

Q.  Did  you  state  that  the  saving  to  the  mines,  by  the 
running  of  the  tunnel,  would  be  over  $10,000,000? 

A.  I  did  not  state  any  figures.  I  merely  said  I  thought 
the  saving  would  be  considerable. 

Q.  I  understood  you  to  say,  that  one  ton  of  the  Rock 
.Mountain  coal  will  be  equal  to  2f  cords  of  wood  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  How  long  have  you  had  an  office  in  San  Francisco? 

A.  A  little  over  15  months. 


771 

Q.  How  many  tons  of  ore  have  you  worked  since  you 
have  bad  that  office  there  ? 

A.  Quite  a  number.  * 

Q.  About  how  many  ? 

A.  Over  100  tons.  I  have  worked  lots  there  of  100 
pounds.  That  would  involve  the  same  amount  of  work 
as  if  I  had  worked  5  tons. 

Q.  Since  you  have  established  yourself  in  San  Francisco, 
what  has  been  the  extent  of  your  business  or  employment 
as  a  mining  engineer  ? 

A.  I  have  been  employed,  off  and  on,  at  various  times, 
to  make  reports. 

Q.  What  mines  have  you  examined  and  reported  upon? 

A.  I  have  reported  on  quicksilver  mines,  silver  mines, 
and  gold  ipines,  hydraulic  works,  gravel  diggings,  &c. 

Q.  "What  silver  mines  have  you  reported  upon? 

A.  I  have  reported  upon  the  silver  mines  situated  in 
Owen's  valley. 

Q.  What  do  you  know  of  the  proposed  dam  on  the  Car- 
son river? 

A.  Nothing. 

,     Q.  At  whose  instance  did  you  come  here  to  testify  in 
this  case? 

A.  At  the  instance  of  a  friend  of  mine  in  San  Francisco. 

Q.  Who? 

WITNESS.  Have  I  got  to  state  that  ?  I  reckon  I  might  as 
well  state :  Mr.  Sharon. 

Q.  IIo\v  much  do  you  get  for  coming  here? 

A.  My  expenses  paid. 

Q.  Nothing  else? 

A.  No,  sir. 

By  Mr.  Sumo : 

When  they  got  into  difficulties  in  their  mining 
operations,  did  they  not  employ  you  in  many  instances  in 
order  to  advise  them  ;  to  bring  their  operations  into  shape 
again? 

WITNESS.  Who  do  you  mean? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Some  of  the  mining  companies  on  the  Com- 


772 

stock  lode.  Did  they  not  send  for  you  at  the  Ophir  mine, 
the  Justis  mine?  Have  you  gone  there  when  they  could 
not  get  along  bj^themselves? 

A.  I  got  my  position  in  the  Ophir  mine  through  the 
recommendation  of  Mr.  Eichthofen  and  Mr.  Janin.  They 
suggested  I  could  stop  their  water,  which  was  troubling 
them  at  the  time. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  the  expense  of  raising 
water,  independently  of  the  actual  cost  in  raising  water.  I 
mean  the  expense  attending' the  working  in  water,  and  the 
difficulties  of  being  troubled  by  water,  while  you  were 
there  ?  I  want  to  know  whether  there  is  expense  incurred 
in  having  much  water  in  the  mine,  independently  of  hoist- 
ing the  water  out  or  pumping  it  out? 

A.  Where  there  is  much  water  there  is  always  a  great 
retardation  in  the  work. 

Q.  Is  not  that  a  greater  expense  than  actual  pumping? 

A.  Oh,  to  be  sure.  The  pumping  itself  is  the  least  of 
the  expenses  of  getting  rid  of  the  water. 

Adjourned  to  meet  March  29th,  at  the  same  place. 


HEARING  FRIDAY,  MARCH  29TH. 
Charles  A.  Henry  called  and  examined. 

By  Mr.  SUTRO  : 

What  connection  have  you  with  the  coal  mines  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains? 

A.  I  am  the  general  manager  of  the  Rocky  Mountain 
Coal  and  Iron  Company  of  Wyoming  and  Yarrington. 

Q.  Where  are  those  mines  located? 

A.  Located  on  the  boundary  line  of  Utah  and  Wyoming, 
75  miles  east  of  Ogden,  Utah. 

Q.  Have  you  supplied  the  different  stations  of  the  Cen- 
tral Pacific  Railroad  with  coal  ? 

A.  We  have  supplied  them  with  all  they  have  used. 

Q.  Have  you  ever  delivered  any  coal  at  Reno? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  for  the  last  year  and  a  half. 

Q.  At  what  price  have  you  delivered  it? 

A.  Well,  it  has  varied  in  price  according  to  the  variation 
in  freights.  It  is  being  delivered  now  for  $12  and  at  $12  50 
a  ton. 

Q.  Would  you  agree  to  contract  and  deliver  a  large 
quantity  of  coal  per  annum  at  that  price  at  Reno? 

A.  A  large  quantity  is  indefinite. 

Q.  Would  you  agree  to  deliver  20,000  tons  a  year? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  we  would  contract  to  deliver  100,000  tons 
a  year. 

Q.  Are  you  acquainted  with  the  topography  of  the  coun- 
try between  Wadsworth  and  the  mouth  of  the  Sutro  tun- 
nel? 

A.  No,  sir;  only  a  portion  of  it.  I  have  not  been  ovei 
there. 

Q.  Are  you  aware  there  is  a  gap  in  the  mountains,  con- 
necting the  Truckee  valley  with  the  Carson  valley  at  that 
point? 

A.  I  have  been  told  so  by  the  engineers. 

773 


774  ^ 

Q.  Have  you  an  idea  of  the  approximate  distance  from1 
"Wadsworth  to  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel? 

A.  I  have  understood  some  80  miles. 

Q.  So  far  as  you  know,  is  not  it  a  level  country? 

A.  My  knowledge  of  the  country  across  there  is  what 
I  have  gathered  from  engineers  of  the  Central  Pacific  road? 

Q.  What  is  that? 

A.  I  got  the  impression  from  these  parties  that  there 
was  no  elevation  of  any  importance  between  Carson  City 
and  Wadsworth. 

Q.  Could  a  branch  of  the  Pacific  railroad  be  constructed 
from  that  point  to  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel? 

A.  I  suppose  if  they  had  enough  money  to  do  it,  they 
could  build  it. 

Q.  How  much  does  it  cost  a  mile  to  build  the  road? 

A.  It  is  impossible  for  me  to  state  accurately  a  thing  of 
that  kind. 

Q.  After  you  cross  over  from  Truckee  river  to  Carson 
valley,  that  is  known  to  be  level,  is  it  not? 

A.  I  do  not  know  that  of  my  own  knowledge.  I  sup- 
pose it  to  be  an  average  level  country. 

Q.  You  are  familiar  with  railroads.  Can  you  tell  me 
the  approximate  cost  per  mile  of  constructing  a  road 
through  that  country,  without  including  the  rolling  stock? 

A.  My  judgment  would  be  that  §20,000  a  mile  would  be 
a  liberal  estimate  for  a  country  with  fajr  grades. 

Q.  Or  less? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  §15,000  a  mile  will  about  cover  all  the  ex- 
penses except  grading  and  bridging;  that  is,  without  roll- 
ing-stock and  stations.  It  is  impossible  to  estimate  the  ex- 
pense of  rolling  stock,  from  the  fact  I  do  not  know  how 
much  rolling  stock  you  would  want. 

Q.  How  much  would  that  be  for  30  miles? 

A.  §600,000. 

Q.  Suppose  that  road  be  constructed,  could  that  coal  be 
delived  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  at  the  same  cost  it  could 
be  delivered  at  Keno,  or  less? 


775 

A.  That  would  depend  entirely  upon  the  tariff  hy  the 
parties  who  huilt  the  branch  road. 

Q.  Suppose  the  Central  Pacific  company  were  given  a 
contract  to  deliver  it  there,  .would  they  not  deliver  it  there 
at  the  same  price  they  could  deliver  it  at  Reno,  or  at  less 
price  ? 

A.  It  would  not  cost  any  more  for  the  Central  Pacific, 
if  they  had  a  road  to  the  Sutro  tunnel,  to  deliver  coal 
per  ton  from  Ogden  than  it  costs  them  now  to  Reno. 

Q.  Suppose  the  Sutro  tunnel  received  the  coal  at  Wads- 
worth  ? 

A.  It  would  make  a  difference  of  50  cents  a  ton  from 
receiving  it  at  Reno.  It  is  80  miles. 

Q.  Now,  I  want  to  ask  you  how  you  would  estimate  the 
heating  power  of  coal,  as  compared  with  the  Sierra  Nevada 
wood,  for  the  purposes  of  making  steam? 

A.  Well,  with  the  fire-boxes  constructed,  and  the  grates 
set  for  burning  coal  in  place  of  burning  wood,  the  differ- 
en<^e  between  the  coal,  which  we  mine,  and  the  wood, 
which  is  delivered  at  Virginia  City,  is  about  in  the  propor- 
tion of  1  to  2J,  or,  in  other  words,  1  ton  of  coal  to  2  J  cords 
of  pine  wood. 

Q.  Suppose  that  a  railroad  be  constructed — this  branch 
road — could  any  reasonable  quantity  of  coal  which  would 
be  required  be  delivered  there  ? 

A.  Our  works  at  present  will  deliver,  without  erecting 
any  additional  machinery,  1,500  tons  of  coal  in  a  ten-hour 
.shift. 

Q.  How  much  do  you  get  for  your  coal  at  the  mine  ? 

A.  From  $2  25  to  $3  a  ton;  $3  to  private  parties,  and 
$2  25  on  contract. 

Q.  Do  you  know  that  all  the  mills  in  the  Washoe  coun- 
try use  steam,  which  are  propelled  by  engines,  as  well  as 
those  which  are  propelled  by  water  power? 

A.  I  know  that  all  about  the  Comstock  lodes  are  oper- 
ated by  steam,  but  on  the  Carson  river  the  mills  are 
worked  by  water. 


776 

Q.  Do  not  those  water  mills  require  steam  for  heating 
the  amalgamating  pans? 

A.  I  have  the  impression  they  do,  but  I  am  not  positive 
about  it. 

Gross-examination. 

By  Mr.  SUNDERLAND  : 

You  say  that  the  Central  Pacific  would  deliver  coal 
.at  Wadsworth  at  50  cents  per  ton  less  than  at  Keno? 

A.  That  would  be  about  the  difference.  The  distance 
is  35  miles,  and  the  rates  about  a  cent  and  a  quarter  per 
ton  per  mile. 

Q.  What  difference  is  there  in  their  charges  between 
Ogden  and  Reno  and  Ogden  and  Sacramento  ? 

A.  $2  00.  « 

Q.  What  do  you  deliver  coal  at  Sacramento  for? 

A.  $18  25.  Allow  me  to  explain,  in  that  connection, 
the  reason.  There  is  only  a  difference  of  $1  a  ton  in  price 
between  coal  at  Sacramento  and  at  Reno.  Although  there 
is  a  difference  in  the  rate  of  the  Central  Pacific  of  $2 
more  to  Sacramento  than  to  Reno,  the  Union  Pacific 
charges  about  75  cents  per  ton  more  for  coal  to.  be  delivered 
at  any  point  east  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  from  our  mine  to 
Ogden  than  they  do  for  coal  delivered  to  Sacramento  west. 

Q.  Is  not  the  great  expense  in  transportation  of  coal 
from  Yarington  west  across  the  Sierra  Nevada?  I  mean 
the  expense  to  the  railroad  company. 

A.  Yes,  sir,.in  about  the  proportion  of  1  to  5  per  mile 
between  Wadsworth  and  Sacramento,  as  compared  with 
the  road  between  Humboldt  and  Wadsworth. 

Q.  Do  not  the  stockholders  in  the  Central  Pacific  Rail- 
road Company  own  and  control  a  majority  of  the  stock  in 
your  mine? 

WITNESS.  The  stockholders  of  the  Central  Pacific  ? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Yes,  sir. 

WITNESS.  No,  the  stockholders  of  the  Central  Pacific  do 
not  own  a  majority  of  the  stock.  They  own  stock  in  our 
company. 


777 

Q.  Do  not  the  parties  who  control  the  Pacific  Railroad 
Company  control  the  coal  mine  ? 

A.  None  of  them  are  officers  of  the  coal  company — either 
directors  or  officers. 

Q.  That  was  not  the  question  I  'asked.  State  the  name 
of  your  coal  company. 

A.  The  Rocky  Mountain  Coal  and  Iron  Company. 

Q.  Now  I  will  get  you  to  state 

A.  All  the  business  operations  of  the  Rocky  Mountain 
Coal  Company,  from  its  organization,  have  been  made  by 
me,  as  the  managing  contractor.  I  have  not  been  controlled 
by  any  party  connected  with  the  Central  Pacific,  in  direct- 
ing the  operations  of  the  company.  As  the  question  of 
freights  is  the  most  important  one  we  have  had  to  encoun- 
ter, we  have  had  to  come  in  direct  collision  with  the  views 
and  notions  of  the  owners  of  the  Central  Pacific,  in  helping 
to  procure  a  reduction  of  rates  for  coal. 

Q.  I  understand  you  to  say  that  1  ton  of  this  coal,  for 
steam  purposes,  is  equal  to  2J  cords  of  wood,  of  the  Sierra 
Nevada  pine  wood — of  the  ordinary  pine  wood? 

A.  It  is  not  equal  to  2J  cords  of  nut  pine. 

Q.  There  is  very  little  nut  pine  in  use  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  but  there  is  a  great  deal  in  use  for  steam. 

Q.  Have  you  had  any  experience  in  the  use  of  that  wood 
for  steam  purposes? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  have  never  used  it  myself,  but  I  have  seen 
it  used,  and  watched  the  operations  of  using  the  wood  for 
steam  on  locomotives,  and  also  for  stationary  engines.  "We 
claim  that  there  is  more  difference,  as  far  as  cost -is  con- 
cerned, to  the  parties  who  use  fuel,  than  the  actual  difference 
in  the  heating  properties  of  coal,  as  compared  with  wood, 
from  the  fact  that,  in  using  wood,  it  is  necessary  for  the 
wood  to  be  seasoned  a  portion  or  all  of  one  year.  From 
the  difficulties  of  storage,  danger  of  fire  to  the  wood,  par- 
ties are  obliged,  who  are  operating  extensively  in  machin- 
ery, to  keep  nearly  two  years'  supply  of  wood  on  hand. 
We  calculate  that  when  the  parties  wish  to  use  fuel  for 


778 

steam  purposes,  1  ton  of  .coal  is  cheaper  than  2J  corda 
of  wood,  taking  these  other  matters  into  consideration. 

Q.  How  far  west  of  Ogden  does  the  Central  Pacific  use 
this  coal? 

A.  To  San  Francisco,  with  the  excep^gu  of  the  division, 
from  the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains  through  the  pine  re- 
gion. 

Q.  You  do  not  mean  to  say  they  use  it  at  Reno ;  that  is, 
the  Sierra  Nevada? 

A.  The  division  commences  at  Wadsworth.  They  use 
wood  from  Wads  worth  to  Sacramento.  They  use  wood 
and  coal  together  from  "Wadsworth  to  Winepiuca,  the  first 
division  east  of  Wadsworth. 

Q.  How  far  is  Winemuca  from  Wadsworth  ? 

A.  136  miles. 

Q.  Do  they  use  any  coal  between  Wadsworth  and  Wine- 
muca ? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  they  use  coal  more  or  less  all  through  the 
Sierra  Nevada  region,  mixed  with  green  wood.  Where- 
ever  they  have  dried  wood,  they  have  used  wood  exclu- 
sively on  their  engines  across  the  mountain  range.  They 
propose  to  furnish  that  coal  for  the  entire  length  of  their 
road,  including  the  mountain  division,  for  the  coming  year. 

Q.  Do  you  employ  white  men  or  Chinamen? 

A.  Both. 

By  Mr.  SUTEO  : 

Is  the  supply  of  coal  in  the  region  where  your  coal 
mine  is  located  quite  unlimited? 

A.  Unlimited  is  a  very  indefinite  term. 

Q.  Is  it  so  large  that  you  can  supply  all  the  wants  for 
the  next  50  years? 

A.  We  have,  by  our  main  tunnels  in  our  coal  bed,  de- 
veloped by  measurement  a  body  o,f  coal  of  over  30,000,000 
tons.  The  division  of  coal  extends  over  six  miles  beyond 
the  end  of  our  tunnels,  which  are  900  feet. 

Q.  That- is  one  single  bed? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  26  by  42  feet. 


779 

Q.  "What  do  you  estimate  as  the  consumption  of  coal  in 
the  State  of  Nevada  ? 

A.  About  500  tons  per  day. 

By  Mr.  SUTRO  :  Mr.  Chairman,  I  have  no  more  wit- 
nesses at  present,  hut  I  desire  to  offer  a  statement  in  re- 
gard to  the  quantity  of  water  in  the  Ophir  mine,  made  by 
the  different  superintendents  of  that  mine. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  protest  against  this  kind  of  evi- 
dence. The  testimony  taken  by  this  committee  .has  been 
under  oath,  and  hero  it  is  proposed  to  submit  a  statement 
of  the  superintendent,  who  has  not  been  and  can't  be 
sworn.  "What  the  statement  is  I  do  not  know,  and  I  do 
not  care.  But  the  ruling  of  this  committee  has  been  that 
no  testimony,  except  that  by  a  Government  officer,  is  to 'be 
received,  unless  it  is  under  oath.  Now,  these  statements 
made  by  the  superintendents  to  the  commission  have  been 
appended  to  the  report  of  the  commission  as  evidence,  but 
not  received  as  such.  In  fact,  the  whole  labor  of  Mr. 
Sutro,  from  the  commencement  of  this  examination,  has 
been  to  show  that  these  statements  were  incorrect.  In 
other-  words,  they  were  false;  they  were  not  made  under 
oath,  hut,  as  a  matter  of  courtes}^  on  the  part  of  the  com- 
mission, they  were  appended  to  the  report,  as  well  as  the 
stump  speech  of  Mr.  Sutro,  which  he  made  in  the  year 
1869.  Now,  I  do  not  suppose  that  this  committee  regards 
that  speech  of  Mr.  Sutro  as  having  been  made  under  oath, 
or  as  being  any  part  of  the  report.  And  this  committee 
having  ruled  that  all  testimony  of  Government  officers 
must  be  under  oath,  I  do  not  see  how  it  is  possible  to  re- 
ceive this  report  from  Mr.  Deidesheimer. 

Mr.  RICE.  I  will  explain  this  testimony.  The  com- 
mittee will  remember  that  these  reports  of  the  superin- 
tendents to  the  commissioners  were  made  a  part  of  their 
j  report.  They  called  them  the  official  reports.  This  is  an 
official  report  from  the  superintendent  of  the  Ophir  mine, 
giving  the  daily  operations  of  the  mine,  especially  as  to 
pumping  water  for  a  length  of  time. 

Mr.  SHOBER.  Who  was  the  report  made  to  ? 


780 

Mr.  RICE.  To  the  officers  in  San  Francisco.  This  was 
the  daily  report  of  the  superintendent  to  the  home  office 
at  San  Francisco.  This  report  is  certified  to  by  the  parties 
having  charge  of  these  matters  at  the  office  there. 

We  took  the  precaution  after  this  came  to  send  out  and 
have  another  copy  made,  and  that  is  certified  under  oath, 
before  a  notary  public.  So  we  bring  ourselves  within  the 
rule  laid  down  by  Mr.  Sunderland.  I  will  read  a  letter  I 
have  here : 

"  OFFICE  OPHIR  SILVER  MINING  COMPANY. 

"VIRGINIA  CITY,  March  13,  1872. 
"ADOLPH  SUTRO,  Washington,  D.  C. 

"  DEAR  SIR:  In  compliance  with  your  request,  by  telegram  of  yesterday,  I 
herewith  forward  press  copy  of  extracts  of  letters  of  Ophir  superintendents, 
concerning  pumps,  pumping,  &c.,  forwarded  you  through  Joseph  Aron,  esq., 
Feb.  22,  '72.  Also  copy  of  statements  forwarded  you  Feb.  16,  showing  mine 
cost,  and  direct  cost  of  pumping  for  January,  1872,  together  with  explanation 
of  indirect  cost  of  raising  water;  also  certificate  that  the  statements  and  ex- 
tracts are  correct  and  complete,  as  shown  by  the  books  of  the  company  in 
this  office. 

"  Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  PHILIPP  DEIDESHEIMER, 

"Su,p't,pr  Ford." 

Mr.  KENDALL.  "Will  you  read  the  affidavit  ? 

Mr.  RICE.  I  will  read  the  affidavit  attached  to  this. 

Mr.  RICE  then  read  as  follows : 

"OFFICE  OPHIR  SILVER  MINING  COMPANY, 

"VIRGINIA  CITY,  March  13,  1872. 
"STATE  OF  NEVADA,  County  of  Storey,  ss: 

"We  hereby  certify  that  the  accompanying  statement,  and  figures  are  ma- 
terially correct,  as  shown  by  the  books  in  this  office,  and  also  that  the  ex- 
tracts inclosed  embrace  all  that  is  mentioned  in  letters  of  superintendents  of 
the  Ophir  S.  M.  Co.,  to  the  office  of  the  company  in  San  Francisco,  concern- 
ing pumps  and  water,  within  the  dates  therein  given. 

"  PHILIPP  DEIDESHEIMER, 

"Supt.  Ophir  S.  M.  Co. 
4  G.  F.  FORD, 

"  Clerk  Ophir  S.  M.  Co. 

"Subscribed  and  sworn  to  this  fourteenth  day  of  March,  A.  D.  1872,  before 
me. 

[L.  s.l  "  WILL.  H.  BURRALL, 

" Notary  Public" 

Mr.  RICE.  Now,  Mr.  Chairman,  this  is  under  oath.  It 
has  a  very  important  bearing  upon  the  very  question  which 
is  at  issue  in  this  case.  Tho  committee  and  Congress  de- 
sire to  know  the  facts  in  regard  to  the  water,  which  is  ma- 
terial in  deciding  this  question.  And  although  we  believed 


781 

that  the  first  copy  sent  to  us  was  amply  sufficient,  under 
the  rule  which  had  heen  adopted  by  the  commissioners, 
to  put  into  the  case — the  official  report,  as  they  say,  of  the 
superintendents  of  the  mines — still,  anticipating  this  ob- 
jection, we  have  obtained  the  official  statement  of  this  gen- 
tleman, under  oath,  of  the  daily  proceedings  of  that  mine, 
and  one  of  the  superintendents  is  Mr.  Day,  who  made 
the  report  to  these  commissioners.  His  letters  appear  here, 
to  sustain  our  theory  of  the  case,  as  we  say.  Sometimes  it 
is  for  us;  sometimes  against  us.  We  desire  to  put  it  into 
the  case,  so  that  the  Government  shall  have  the  facts  upon 
this  material  point  as  to  the  amount  of  water  in  that  one 
mine.  We  would  be  very  glad  to  put  in  such  a  statement 
from  every  other  mine  on  the  lode,  because  we  desire  full 
investigation  of  this  matter  what  we  want  is  just  that,  and 
nothing  more.  If  we  could  have  had  a  daily  statement  of 
the  amount  of  water  and  the  cost  of  raising  water  in  every 
mine  on  that  lode,  it  would  be  the  most  agreeable  thing  to 
us  possible;  and  I  do  not  imagine  that  this  committee  will 
exclude  testimony  so  material  to  the  issue. 

Mr.  SUTKO.  Mr.  Chairman,  shall  I  proceed  to  read  these  % 
letters? 

The  CHAIRMAN,  (Mr.  KENDALL.)  I  should  like  to  look  at 
this  affidavit  once  more. 

The  affidavit  was  handed  to  the  chairman,  and  after  he 
had  examined  it,  Mr.  Sunderland  said:  The  committee 
will  understand  that  this  is  an  examination  of  witnesses 
before  the  committee,  where  there  has  been  no  opportunity 
to  cross-examine,  and,  under  the  decision  of  the  commit- 
tee, each  witness  must  be  sworn.  The  party  opposed  to  the 
one  offering  the  testimony  is  entitled  to  the  privilege  of 
cross-examining  the  witnesses.  Now,  it  seems  to  me  that 
a  mere  affidavit  cannot  entitle  these  letters  to  b#  received 
in  evidence,  and  particularly  for  the  reason  that  the  man 
making  the  affidavit,  if  he  make  a  false  one,  cannot  be 
prosecuted  for  perjury.  To  entitle  anything  to  be  given 
in  evidence,  before  any  committee  or  any  court,  there 


782 

must  be  such  an  oath  administered  to  the  witness  that,  if 
he  swear  falsely,  he  can  he  prosecuted  for  perjury  by  it. 

Mr.  SIIOBER.  Did  not  this  man  swear  to  his  affidavit 
before  a  notary? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  If  a  man  swear  to  a  fact  before  a  no- 
tary public,  u'nless  it  be  authorized  by  special  act  of  Con- 
gress, he  is  not  guilty  of  perjmy.  Unless  the  administra- 
tion of  such  oath  was  authorized  by  some  act  of  Congress, 
he  is  not  guilty  of  perjury. 

Mr.  SHOBER.  I  understood  the  general  proposition  to  be, 
that  if  a  man  swear  to  a  paper  before  a  notary  public  who 
has  authority  to  administer  oaths,  and  should  swear  falsely, 
that  he  could  be  prosecuted. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  say  he  has  not  committed  perjury,  if 
he  has  sworn  falsely.  A  notary  public  is  authorized  to  ad- 
minister oaths  by  what  authority? 

Mr.  SHOBER.  By  virtue  of  his  office. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  He  is  authorized  to  administer  oaths 
in  any  proceedings  before  a  court,  or  in  any  matter  author- 
ized by  law,  by  the  statutes  of  the  State  of  Nevada;  but 
#the  State  of  Nevada  may  authorize  any  oificer  to  adminis- 
ter an  oath,  which  is  not  recognized  by  act  of  Congress; 
and,  therefore,  if  he  swear  falsely,  he  is  not  guilty  of  per- 
jury under  any  act  of  Congress,  or  under  the  act  of  the/ 
State  of  Nevada,  which  authorizes  the  appointment  of 
notaries  public.  In  addition  to  that,  I  urge  again  the  ob- 
jection that,  under  the  rule  established  by  this  committee, 
the  witness  is  to  be  before  the  committee,  and  the  oppos- 
ing party  is  to  have  the  right  of  cross-examination.  I  have 
had  no  such  opportunity  here  before  this  committee. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  wish  to  submit 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  believe  I  have  the  closing  argument. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  wish  to  submit  that  the  affidavit  which  is 
presented  here  simply  certifies  to  the  fact  that  these  are 
copies  of  letters,  written  in  an  official  capacity  by  the 
superintendents  of  the  Ophir  mine  to  the  president  of  the 
company  at  San  Francisco.  Those  letters  are  copied  in 
the  office  of  the  Ophir  company.  The  superintendent  is 


783 

/ 

the  custodian  of  those  letters,  and  he  has  made  copies  from 
his  books,  and  he  certifies  to  that  fact.  A  large  number 
of  these  letters  are  written  by  Mr.  IT.  II.  Day.  They  have 
a  direct  bearing  upon  the  condition  of  the  Ophir  mine,  as 
concerns  the  water,  and  they  are  of  the  highest  importance 
in  arriving  at  a  correct  conclusion  as  to  the  quantity  of 
water  contained  in  that  mine.  They  go  over  a  long  period 
of  time,  and  were  written  from  day  to  day,  and  they  are 
in  the  shape  of  reports  to  the  office  at  San  Francisco,  giv- 
ing full  information  as  to  the  condition  of  the  mine. 
These  letters  have  a  most  important  bearing  upon  one  of 
the  most  important  questions  involved  in  this  investiga- 
tion, and  there  could  possibly  be  no  objection  to  admitting 
these  letters,  which  are  accompanied  by  an  affidavit  before 
a  notary  public;  while  the  statements  made  to  the  com- 
missioners were  made  without  being  sworn  to  at  all.  We 
ask  that  they  may  be  introduced.  * 

Mr.  SUXDERLAND.  If  that  is  the  ground  upon  which  it  is 
proposed  to  introduce  these  letters,  or  copies  of  letters,  I 
propose  to  object  to  them,  upon  the  ground  that  they  are 
'  letters  written  by  parties  not  under  oath.  We  have  not 
received  a  communication  from  anybody,  except  Govern- 
ment officers,  that  were  not  under  oath.  It  is  now  stated 
that  the  affidavit,  which  I  have  not  read  and  do  not  care 
to  read,  is  to  the  effect  that  these  are  copies  of  letters — 
copies  of  letters  by  the  superintendent,  of  the  Ophir  mine 
to  the  office  in  San  Francisco.  Suppose  you  had  the  origi- 
nals there,  the  only  office  which  the  affidavits  of  Mr.  Dei- 
deshtimer  can  perform  is  to  make  the  copies  of  the  same 
effect  as  the  originals.  Would  you  receive  the  originals? 
Why  certainly  not,  because  they  are  not  official  in  the 
sense  of  the  word  used  by  this  committee,  and  as  they 
have  heretofore  decided. 

Mr.  SHOBER.  Suppose  you  take  those  letters  as  rebutting 
the  statements  made  in  the  official  report  of  Mr.  Day.  Sup- 
pose the  originals  were  here,  would  they  not  be  admissi- 
ble, by  proving  them  to  bo  in  his  handwriting? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  They  would,  to  rebut  the  testimony 


784 

given  in  his  report,  if  they  have  that  effect.  But  here  is 
an  affidavit  from  Mr.  Deidesheimer.  Now,  who  is  he? 
He  is  the  present  superintendent,  if  I  understand,  of  the 
Ophir  Mine.  Now,  the  Ophir  Mining  Company  has  pos- 
session of  these  original  documents.  Why  not  produce 
them?  You  cannot  introduce  evidence  of  the  contents  of 
the  original  paper  until  you  have  exhausted  all  the  means  . 
possible  to  get  at  the  originals. 

Mr.  SHOBER.  Suppose  it  is  a  record? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  It  is  not  a  record. 

Mr.  SHOBER.  Suppose  in  case  of  a  record? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  How  can  a  letter  be  a  record. 

Mr.  SHOBER.  I  do  not  say  it  is;  but,  by  way  of  analogy, 
is  not  a  transcript  of  a  record  as  good  proof  as  the  original, 
when  it  is  properly  certified? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  SHOBER.  It  has  been  so  held? 

.    Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  That  is  in  the  case  of  a  record  of  the 
proceedings  of  a  case  in  court. 

Mr.  SHOBER.  I  was  speaking  of  a  record  in  court. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  But  suppose  you  have  the  record  of 
a  deed — suppose  you  have  a  certified  copy  of  a  record  of 
a  deed,  certified  to  by  the  recorder  who  copies  the  records, 
you  cannot  introduce  that  until  you  account  for  the  ab- 
sence of  the  original.  Now,  here  we  have  what  purports 
to  be  copies  of  letters  sent  by  the  superintendent  of  the 
Ophir  mine,  in  Virginia  City,  to  the  office  at  San  Francisco. 
These  are  not  the  copies,  but  copies  of  copies.  Now,  no 
lawyer  ever  heard  or  dreamed  anywhere  of  introducing 
copies  of  copies,  in  the  absence  of  the  copies  themselves, 
unless  the  copies  are  destroyed.  Nor  did  anybody  hear, 
in  a  court  of  justice  anywhere,  of  the  introduction  of  a 
copy  of  any  paper,  either  recorded  or  otherwise,  until  all  the 
means  had  been  exhausted  that  the  law  places  in  the  hands 
of  the  party  to  get  at  the  original.  These  originals  are  in 
possession  of  the  corporation  in  San  Francisco.  They 
could  have  been  sent  here,  if  they  impeach  the  statement 
and  report  made  by  Captain  Day.  If  they  are  destroyed, 


785 

and  that  fact  is  shown,  you  might  introduce  press  copies  of 
the  letters  retained  in  the  office  in  Virginia  City,  if  that 
be  the  case,  and  send  to  the  office  in  San  Francisco.  But 
those  copies  have  not  heen  sent  here,  if  such  were  re- 
tained. But  all  that  this  document  here  purports  to~be  is, 
that  it  consists  of  copies  of  letters  sent  by  Captain  Day 
and  Mr.  Deidesheimer  to  the  office  in  San  Francisco. 

The  CHAIRMAN,  (Mr.  KENDALL.)  Mr.  Sunderland,  if  Lmay 
be  permitted  to  suggest,  in  the  course  of  your  argument, 
suppose  that  these  letters  are  in  the  nature  of  admissions 
or  declarations  by  the  party,  put  upon  paper,  of  which 
these  papers  are  copies.  How  would  it  stand  then  ? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  do  not  care  what  they  are;  they  are 
not  declarations  of  the  parties  that  any  court  of  justice  in 
the  civilized  world  would  admit  as  evidence  to  impeach 
the  testimony  originally  given  by  Captain  Da}7. 

Mr.  HICE.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  have  simply  a  word  to  say 
in  regard  to  this  matter.-  In  the  first  place,  there  are  three 
parties  represented  here :  one  is  the  government — the 
most  important  party.  That  party  you  represent  more 
than  anybody  else.  On  the  other  hand  is  Mr.  Sutro,  who, 
with  his  counsel,  represent  the  tunnel  company,  who  have 
a  bill  before  Congress.  On  the  other  side  are  the  supposed 
owners  of  these  mines,  who  come  here  to  contest  with  Mr. 
Sutro  upon  the  material  facts.  There  are  brought  into  the 
record  by  the  commissioners  who  were  appointed  by  the 
President  to  examine  this  subject  certain  declarations 
of  certain  men  who  were  superintendents  of  these  mines, 
and  clients  of  Mr.  Sunderlacd  here.  The  superintendent 
of  one  of  those  mines  who  made  those  declarations  has 
since  ceased  to  be  an  officer  of  that  company,  and-  the 
mine  has  passed  into  other  interests  and  other  hands.  We 
have  "been  at  last  enabled  to  get  at  the  facts  in  regard  to 
one  of  those  mines,  because  we  purposed  to  put  in  here 
those  facts,  which  we  desired  to  present;  and  we  have 
been  desirous  of  putting  in  every  possible  fact  which  could 
have  any  bearing  on  this  case,  either  for  or  against  the 
proposition — for  Mr.  Sutro  or  against  Mr.  Sutro;  for  these 
50 


786 

mines  or  against  these  mines.  We  have  courted  the  most 
thorough  investigation,  and  now,  when  we  come  here  with 
the  most  satisfactory  facts  upon  a  most  material  point  in 
this  investigation,  we  are  met  with  an  objection,  a  technical 
objection.  Well,  now,  gentlemen,  throwing  aside  all  the 
arguments  of  my  friend,  Mr.  Sunderland,  I  say  that  you 
are  here  not  bound  by  technical  rules.  You  are  here  for 
the  purpose  of  getting  at  facts.  You  are  here  especially  as 
the  representatives  of  the  Goverment,  and  you  are  here  to 
inquire  through  every  channel  of  evidence  which  you  be- 
lieve trustworthy,  to  get  at  those  facts  by  which  you  may 
determine  this  question. 

Now,  we  come  here  with  the  best  evidence.  "We  could 
not  take  the  books  from  San  Francisco  and  bring  them  here. 
This  question  was  thrown  open  upon  motion  of  Mr.  Sun- 
derland, the  agent  and  attorney  of  these  mines,  and  now 
we  propose  to  put  in  here  these  facts  from  his  own  people, 
and  he  comes  here  and  contests  it,  and  says  we  shall  not 
have  this  evidence  before  us. 

Now,  I  submit,  gentlemen,  that  it  is  the  most  satisfac- 
tory evidence  that  could  be  possibly  put  into  this  case,  be- 
cause it  is  the  daily  record  of  the  proceedings  of  that  mine, 
and  the  amount  of  water  raised  from  that  mine  from  this 
dry  country,  as  stated  by  Mr.  Day,  when  we  show  over- 
whelmingly that  the  water  was  working  out  the  very  life- 
blood  of  the  mine  day  by  day,  and  we  are  met  here  with 
this  objection.  I  do  not  think  you  wjll  give  weight  to  any 
technical  objection  which  will  interfere  with  your  getting 
at  the  facts.  You  are  here  for  the  purpose  of  getting 
at  the  facts,  and  you  wrill  pass  all  those  technicalities  by, 
in  order  to  get  at  such  evidence  as  will  lay  them  before 
you. 

Now,  so'far  as  the  question  of  the  liability  of  these  par- 
ties to  prosecution  for  perjury  is  concerned,  I  will  say 
that  this  gentleman  who  makes  the  affidavit  to  these  facts 
is  the  superintendent  of  the  mine. 

He  is  the  custodian  of  the  books,  and  he,  under  oath, 
swears  that  these  are  extracts  from  the  records  of  the  pro- 


787 

ceedings  at  the  mine.  He  goes  on  to  say  that  he  is  not  liable 
to  indictment  if  he  swears  to-  a  falsehood.  I  take  issue 
with  him  there  decidedly.  A  notary  public  is  an  officer 
who  takes  certificates  of  facts,  to  be  used  in  all  courts 
throughout  the  land ;  and  if  this  is  a  proceeding  that  is 
proper  at  all,  and.  if  there  is  any  validity  in  taking  any- 
body's oath,  why,  then,  if  this  gentleman  has  sworn  to  a 
falsehood,  he  is  liable  to  prosecution  for  perjury. 

The  simple  question  for  you  to  determine  here  is,  whether 
this  is  material  to  the  issue  before  you,  and  whether  it  is 
such  testimony  as  you  desire  for  your  own  information, 
and  the  information  of  your  colleagues  in  both  branches 
of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  leave  it  to  the  committee. 

The  CHAIRMAN  (Mr.  KENDALL)  said:  The  committee,  upon 
consultation,  are  agreed  upon  this:  that  these  copies  of  let- 
ters— of  what  are  claimed  to  be  original  letters — are  in  the 
nature  of  admissions  or  declarations.  Now,  it  is  true, 
that  if  the  strict  technical  rule  were  followed,  the  party 
might  properly  insist,  as  is  urged  here  by,Mr.  Sunderland, 
upon  the  production  of  the  original  of  these  letters,  whic.h 
are  certainly  the  best  evidence;  but,  in  reply  to  that  objec- 
tion, I  think  I  might  say  that  it  is  very  obvious  that  the 
committee  is  not  sitting  here,  strictly  speaking,  as  a  court, 
to  be  governed  by  the  technical  rules  of  evidence  tluit 
prevail  in  a  court  of  justice.  We  are  here,  it  is  true,  to  a 
certain  extent,  in  a  judicial  capacity,  but  still  we  are  enti- 
tled to  gather  evidence  that  is  proper  to  be  used  from  all 
sources.  Now,  here  are  certain  admissions  or  declara- 
tions, claimed  tp  be  made  by  Mr.  Day,  and  those  declara- 
tions are  verified  by  an  affidavit,  which  sets  forth  that  the 
papers  produced  here  are  accurate  copies  of  original  let- 
ters. Again,  we  have  certain  statements  maxle  by  Mr. 
Day  embodied  in  the  report  of  the  commissioners.  If  we 
were  to  follow  the  technical  rule  insisted  upon  by  coun- 
sel, it  might  have  been  urged  that  these  statements,  em- 
bodied in  the  report  of  the  commission  era  by  Mr.  Day, 
were  not  under  oath.  The  objection  might  have  been 


788 

raised  that  the  best  evidence  of  these  statements,  made  by 
Mr.  Day  in  this  commissioners'  report,  was  the  original 
paper  which  he  produced,  and  which  he  handed  to  the 
commissioners.  The  printed*  report  of  Mr.  Day's  state- 
ment is  not,  it  might  have  been  claimed,  under  oath. 

Would  counsel  require  the  written  statement  that  was 
handed  in  to  the  commissioners  by  Mr.  Day,  and  insist 
that  it  be  verified  by  his  oath,  and  so  on.  Of  course  that 
would  have  been  carrying  the  rule  to  an  extreme  limit:  a 
very  absurd  one,  in  my  opinion.  We  have  here  offered  in 
evidence  a  sort  of  supplementary  statement,  or  what  is 
claimed  to  be  a  supplementary  statement,  made  by  this 
same  Mr.  Day,  to  that  set  forth  in  the  commissioners' 
report.  It  appears  that  this  statement  was  copied  from  the 
original  letters — from  original  sources — and  are  copies 
made  under  oath.  It  seems  to  me  and  to  the  members  of 
the  committee  present,  that  it  is  within  the  general  rule 
that  has  been  adopted  by  the  sub-committee  in  this  hearing 
as  regards  the  admission  of  testimony.  I  suppose,  to  illus- 
trate still  further  what  I  mean,  that,  if  we  were  sitting  here 
as  a  court,  and  were  to  receive  nothing  but  evidence  under 
the  strict  rule,  these  commissioners  themselves  should 
have  been  put  under  oath;  for  in  a  court  of  justice, 
strictly  speaking,  they  would  not  have  been  permitted  to 
testify  unless  they  were  under  oath.  But  we  have  re- 
quired none  of  the  Government  officials  to  be  sworn — as 
a  matter  of  courtesy  it  may  have  been,  but  I  think  on  still 
better  grounds — because  they  were  called  here  before  the 
sub-committee  to  explain  certain  matters  that  were  em- 
bodied in  their  report  to  Congress.  The  committee  pres- 
ent are  clearly  of  the  opinion  that  the  offer  is  within  the 
general  -rule  that  has  been  adopted  in  this  hearing  by  the 
sub-committee.  Upon  these  grounds  the  evidence  is  ad- 
mitted. 

Mr.  SUNDBRLAND.  Without  further  protesting  against  the 
admission  of  these  copies,  I  wish  simply  to  state  that  the 
reports  of  the  superintendents  upon  the  Comstock  are  not 
evidence  before  this  committee,  and  have  never  been  so 


789 

considered.  They  have  been  appended  to  the  report  of 
the  commissioners,  which  was  official,  simply  to  show  to 
this  committee  and  to  Congress  the  source  of  the  infor- 
mation upon  which  the  commissioners  made  their  report. 

Mr.  RICE.  Mr.  Sunderlnnd,  do  we  not  stand  on  the  same 
footing,  then? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  ~N~o,  sir.  I  wish  to  state,  and  I  do  not 
wish  this  to  be  taken  down  as  part  of  the  evidence 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Oh,  let  every  thing  be  taken  down. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Since  Mr.  Sutro  has  made  the  sugges- 
tion that  every  thing  that  transpires  shall  go  down,  I  wish 
now  to  move  to  amend  the  record  of  the  proceedings  of 
this  committee  on  the  evening  when  General  Foster  was 
last  examined,  at  which  meeting  I  proposed  to  prove  by 
General  Foster  that  the  capital  stock  of  the  Sutro  Tunnel 
Company  was  $12,000,000 

Mr.  RICE.  I  submit  that  the  amendment  of  Mr.  Sunder- 

land  has  no  application  to  anything  before  the  committee. 

•  Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  And  that  on  the  19th  of  August  last — 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  protest  against  Mr.  Sunderland.  using  up 
our  time  in  this  way. 

Mr.  SHOBER.  Let  him  be  heard. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Which  stock  was  full  paid  or  unassess- 
able;  that  less  then  $5,000,000  out  of  $12,000,000  had  been 
retained  by  the  company,  and  set  aside  for  the  construc- 
tion of  the  tunnel ;  that  at  that  time  only  $31,000  was  in 
the  treasury. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  That  is  not  so. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  would  like  to  give 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  would  like  counsel  confined  to  abatement 
of  facts. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  have  at  every  meeting  since  the 
time  alluded  to  attempted  to  get  this  thing  on  record  for 
the  purpose  of  appealing  from  the  sub-committee  to  the 
general  committee,  and  I  have  .never  yet  been  able  to  get 
it  into  the  record. 

Mr.  RICE.  I  wish  to  say  in  regard  to  that,  that  we  with- 
drew orally  all  objection  to  that  testimony  going  in. 


790 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  That  is,  you  agreed  to  doit  after  Gen- 
eral Foster  had  left  town  and  the  evidence  could  not  be 
had. 

Mr.  EICE.  No,  sir. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Gentlemen  all  the  argument  is  closed- 
The  extracts  from  letters  offered  in  evidence  are  admitted, 
and  they  may  now  be  read.  The  extracts  were  then  read 
as  follows :  (See  next  page.) 


EXTRACTS    FROM    LETTERS 

FROM 

SUPERINTENDENTS  orOpHiRMiN 

TO    THEIR 

COMPANY'S   OFFICE   IN   SAN   FRANCISCO, 

CONCERNING 

PUMPS  AND   WATER    AT   THEIR    PRESENT  WORKS,   "BUCK'S 

SHAFT." 


From  Letters  of  P.  S.  Buckminster,  Superintendent. 

November  8,  1867. — "At  about  65  feet  down  we  cut  a  small  seam 
of  quartz  upon  the  west  side  of  the  shaft,  the  which  was  dead  and 
porous,  and  giving  (in  assay)  no  traces  of  gold  or  silver.  The  ma- 
jority of  water  we  have  had  to  contend  with  came  from  this  seam,  and 
as  we  have  passed  it,  (trusting  it  will  continue  to  pitch,)  there  is  reason 
to  hope  for  better  sinking.  Yesterday  afternoon  the  water  decreased 
considerably,  and  to-day  there  is  no  increase." 

[NOTE. — Struck  water  in  shaft  about  October  I,  1867;  kept  under 
control  with  tubs.] 

'November  n,  1867. — "Water  continues  about  the  same." 

November  13,  1867. — "Have  more  water  again." 

November  15,  1867. — "The  erection  of  this  pumping  machinery 
will  cost  not  far  from  Si 0,000." 

November  25,  1867. — ^The  water  is  variable;  yesterday  less,  to- 
day more,  and  probably  to-morrow  there  will  be  less  than  to-day." 

December  6,  1867. — "Are  putting  in  foundations  for  pump,  and 
will  have  it  all  completed  by  the  time  the  new  machinery  ordered  is 
received," 

December  9,  1867. — "Water  not  so  strong." 

December  10,  1867. — "The  water  has  slackened  sufficiently  that 
we  are  able  to  sink  and  timber  i-j  ft.  a  day." 

December  18,  1867. — "There  has  been  a  decrease,  in  amount  of 
water." 

January  7,  1868. — "The  rock  is  the  same;  and  while,  for  the  past 
two  days,  there  has  apparently  been  a  Mttle  less  water,  the  difference 
is  hardly  enough  to  be  noticeable,  or  sufficient  to  base  a  favorable  hope 
upon  as  to  there  being  a  permanent  decrease." 

(791) 


792  s     • 

January  14,  I 868. — "  The  amount  of  water  supply  and  condition  of 
rock  have  not  noticeably  changed  since  last  week." 

January  21,  1 868. — "Having  tested  the  overcoming  of  this  water 
to  my  own  satisfaction,  and  believing  that  if  it  shall  decrease,  it  will 
be  so  very  gradual  that  the  benefit  to  us,  before  we  get  the  pump 
erected,  will  hardly  be  perceptible,  have  decided  to  shut  dovvn,  if  it 
shall  meet  the  favorable  consideration  of  the  President." 

February  8,  1868. — "The  new  shaft  we  battened  over  directly  we 
stopped  work.  To-day  I  opened  and  measured,  and  am  delighted  to 
be  able  to  inform  you  that  there  is  but  35  feet  depth  of  water. 
(I  expected  to  find  125,)  This  demonstrates  that  we  have  so  far  no 
permanent  body  of  water  to  contend  with,  only  the  drain  of  the  sur- 
rounding country,  and  confirms  my  belief,  expressed  in  former  letters, 
that  we  may  pass  it  altogether,  the  which  I  had  despaired  of  at  the 
time  of  stopping." 

[NoTE.— Most  of  the  time  in  February  and  March  occupied  in  lay- 
ing foundation  for  pumping  engine.  Progress  slow,  owing  to  cold 
weather,  &c.l 

March  20,  1868. — "Have  got  engine  on  and  set,  and  all  foundation 
blocks  on  and  set  but  one,  the  which  will  take  about  three  hours  to 
do  in  the  morning." 

March  28,  1 868. — "  Will  start  Monday  morning,  and  give  the  water 
a  lively  turn  one  day  with  the  tub.  On  -^uesday  morning  will  com- 
mence setting  the  pump  at  the  water." 

April  2,  1868. — "The  water  does  not  go  down  as  fast  as  I  antici- 
pated. It  will  take,  judging  from  the  present,  four  or  five  days  with 
the  pump  and  tub  to  free  it.  The  pump  for  sinking  is  lo-inch;  that 
and  the  tub  will  send  out  300  gallons  a  minute." 

April  6,  1868. — "  We  started '$4'e  machinery  on  Saturday  evening. 
Everything  runs  very  smooth.  The  water  lowered  between  starting 
pump  time  and  this  morning  at  7  o'clock  20  feet.  There  is  now  40 
feet  of  water  in  shaft,  which,  at  the  rate  it  has  lowered  since  we  started 
pump,  will  take  three  days  to  clear." 

April  7,  1868. — "There  is  now  30  feet  of  water  in  shaft,  which 
will  require  the  lowering  of*  pump  twice  more — -once  for  column  and 
once  for  both  rod  and  column  before  we  can  get  to  sinking.  At  the 
rate  we  have  lowered  since  yesterday,  that  should  take  us  60  hours  to 
complete.  This  watar,  which  has  been  collecting,  runs  back  much 
more  freely  than  I  anticipated.  Thought  we  could  exhaust  the  shaft 
directly,  and  then  take  care  of  the  drainage;  but  such  is  not  the  for- 
tune. However,  we  will  soon  be  free  of  it." 

April*),  1868. — "When  we  started  bailing,  we  had  about  75  feet 
of  water  in  the  shaft.  Before  we  started  the  pump  we  had  lowered  it 
with  the  tub  about  1 5  feet.  You  will  understand  that  after  we  stop- 
ped, the  water,  as  collected,  flowed  back  into  the  little  watercourses, 
previously  drained,  and  now  we  have  to  re-drain  these  openings.  As 
near  as  I  could  estimate,  we  at  no  time,  while  sinking  with  tubs,  had 
more  than  80  gallons  of  water  per  minute.  At  the  time  we  stopped, 
I  judged  it  to  be  about  60  per  minute,  and  we  had  struck  no  new  seam 


793 

for  some  time,  so  that,  when  we  get  once  drained,  we  should  not  have 
more  (except  what  may  come  from  the  surface  after  the  rainy  season — 
a  liberal  allowance  for  that  is  20  gallons,  making  80)  until  we  cut 
some  new  seam.  About  the  machinery:  The  engine  has  a  capacity 
to  pump  1,200  feet.  I  have  put  down  the  foundations  and  com- 
menced with,  as  system  for  pumps,  size  of  rods,  &c.,  to  go  that  distance 
without  change.  Have  started  with  a  rod  to  first  plunge-pump  lo-in. 
square;  have  started  from  top  with  full-sized  column  in  place,  so  that 
it  can  remain  when  pumps  are  put  in.  Am  using  for  sinking  a  lo-in. 
diameter  pump.  It  had  a  capacity  of  4-feet  stroke ;  have  lengthened 
its  barrel  to  6  feet  stroke,  which  gives  it  a  capacity  of  24  gallons  per 
stroke,  and  we  can  run  it,  if  necessary,  to  10  strokes  a  minute,  which 
gives  us  between  240  and  250  gallons  per  minute  capacity.  We  had 
the  water  all  out  this  morning  ready  to  send  the  pump  down  again, 
but  it  comes  in  too  fast  yet.  Just  as  soon  as  we  can  shift  the  pump 
once  more  without  drowning  out,  we  can  commence  sinking." 

April  10,  1868. — "This  morning  I  telegraphed  you  we  had  com- 
menced sinking,  the  pump  running  8  strokes  per  minute  to  keep  free, 
the  which  was  a  falling  off  since  yesterday." 

April  12,  1868. — "The  pump  is  running  6  strokes  to-day." 
April  13,  1868. — "The  pumping  engine  I  estimate  to,  when  kept 
in  good  running  order,  be  able  to  raise  a  1 2-inch  column  of  water,  (the 
size  of  our  pumps,)  of  1,200  feet  height,  a  distance  of  42  feet  per  min- 
ute, which  would  give  us  7  strokes  of  the  pump  running  full  out. 
Have  commenced  the  erection  of  pumps  with  the  view  of  their  being 
kept  or  erected  down  as  far  as  the  engine  will  work  them.  Have 
projected  for  plunge-pumps  to  occur  every  250  feet.  We  now  have 
two." 

April  1 8,  1868. — "About  6  strokes  of  the  pump." 
April  20,  1868. — "Water  is  now  down  from  4  to  5  strokes  of  the 
pump  per  minute." 

May  4,  1868. — "Shaft  is  down  217  feet.  There  has  been  a  softer 
seam  come  in  at  the  north  end,  (some  4  inches  thick,)  which  will  be 
of  advantage  to  us  in  opening  up." 

•  May  7,  1868.— "Shaft  is  down  222  feet.  Since  striking  the  soft 
seam  mentioned  in. previous  letter,  we  have  had  more  water,  having 
to  run  the  pump  to  8,  and  now  7  strokes." 

May  15,  1868. — "The  water  continues  plenty;  are  averaging  about 
7  strokes  of  the  pump — rather  more  than  less." 
*May  1 8,  1868. — "Water  plenty;  running  pump  8  to  8£." 
May  20,  1868. — "You  will  notice  by  the  report  that  we  still  have 
the  water  as  lively  as  ever — in  fact  more  lively.  Next  week  we  shall 
be  down  to  place  of  first  plunge  pump.  Am  putting  in  1 2-inch  lift 
pump,  in  order  so  that  if,  meantime,  the  water  does  not  decrease 
materially,  shall  swing  that  for  sinking  in  place  of  the  lo-inch  one 
we  are  going  down  with  now.  Our  increased  consumption  of  wood 
is  attributable  to  increased  amount  of  water.  Depth  of  shaft  248 
feet." 


794 

May  23,  1868. — "The  water  is  a  little  more  slack,  say  about  a 
half  stroke." 

May  27,  1868. — "Depth  of  shaft,  265  feet.  Average  strokes  of 
pump,  8f  per  minute." 

May  29,  1868. — "Water  in  shaft  shows  no  signs  of  diminishing; 
consequently  there  is  not  much  doubt  but  we  shall  have  to  go  with 
1 2-inch  plunge  after  first  plunge.  Have  had  three  buckets  give  out 
this  forenoon,  and  consequently  lost  nearly  a  full  shift." 

June  2,  1868. — "Average  run  of  pump,  8|  strokes.  Depth  of 
shaft,  281  feet." 

(Signed)  P.  S.  BUCKMINSTER, 

Superintendent. 


From  Correspondence  of  H.  H.  Day,  Superintendent. 

June  10,  1868. — "Depth  of  shaft,  287  feet.  I  assumed  full  charge 
on  Monday.  Work  at  shaft  is  progressing  as  well  as  can  be  ejected 
under  the  circumstances.  We  are  raising  a  large  amount  of  water, 
more  than  the  pump  we  are  using  has  capacity  for.  We  meet  with 
much  delay  from  two  causes:  first,  the  pump  we  are. using  is  a  spliced 
one,  having  a  rough  joint,  which  is  destruction  on  buckets;  second,  there 
is  no  clack  at  the  bottom  of  the  pump  column  to  hold  the  water  in 
the  column  while  we  are  changing  buckets,  consequently  it  all  comes 
back  into  the  shaft,  filling  it  immediately  7  or  8  feet.  That,  with 
what  is  flowing  into  the  shaft,  requires  sometimes  two  hours'  pump- 
ing and  bailing  before  the-  miners  can  resume  their  sinkings.  2 
buckets,  and  sometimes  3,  are  required  daily.  I  know  of  no  remedy 
but  to  push  the  work.  If  no  accident  happens  to  the  pumping 
machinery  within  the  next  two  days,  the  tank  and  screw  drift,  with 
the  necessary  machinery,  will  be  complete  to  station  the  first  plunge- 
pump,  and  the  shaft  deep  enough  to  swing  the  sinking  pump  for  the 
second  lift.  That  being  done,  I  see  no  reason  why  we  should  not 
make  good  progress  in  sinking." 

June  12,  1 868. r— "  Water  is  slacking  off  and  rock  getting  harder." 

June  14,  1868. — "Friday  we  were  occupied  in  making  prepara- 
tions for  putting  in  two  1 2-inch  pumps,  and  yesterday  (Saturday) 
morning  we  commenced  by  first  taking  out  ten-inch  pumps :  and  the 
last  piece  of  the  1 2-inch  pumps  went  down  this  morning.  The 
connections  will  be  made  by  two  o'clock  to-day." 

June  17,  1868. — "The  twelve-inch  pumps  work  admirably.  I 
apprehend  no  more  difficulty  with  water,  aside  from  the  inconvenience 
inevitable  to  handling  so  much  of  it.  Do  not  see  that  the  supply  di- 
minishes much." 

June  19,  1868. — "Amount  of  water  about  the  same  as  for  several 
weeks  past,  but  we  handle  it  now  with  all  ease.  Our  pumps  work 
splendid." 

June  21,  1868. — "  There  is  probably  an  average  of  16  inches  of 
water,  sometimes  more,  sometimes  less." 


795 

June  25,  1868. — "It  would  facilitate  our  sinking  considerably  if 
our  pump  column  was  in  sixteen  instead  of  twelve-feet  lengths,  as  we 
are  compelled  to  lower  the  pump  for  every  length  of  column,  con- 
suming from  four  to  six  hours  at  each  lowering.". 

June  30,  1868. — "The  water  has  been  very  quick  for  the  last 
week,  but  seems  to  be  slacking  up  a  little  in  last  twenty-four  hours." 

July  5,  1868. — "There  is  no  water  comes  through  this  rock,  and 
since  striking  it  the  water  has  considerably  diminished." 

July  8,  1868. — "Average  strokes  of  pump  per  minute,  4$.  Depth 
of  shaft,  327  feet." 

July  29,  1868. — "Average  strokes  of  pump,  4." 

August  1 2,  1868. — "Average  strokes  of  pump  per  minute,  4. 
Water  increasing  a  little.  Lowering  pump  to-day.  Depth  of  shaft, 
367  feet." 

August  19,  1868. — "Shaft,  377  feet.  Pump  strokes,  4^.  Water 
a  trifle  quicker." 

August  26,  1868. — "Strokes  of  pump,  4.     Water  a  trifle  less." 

September  9,  1868. — "Pump  strokes,  4.     Water  as  last  reported." 

September  16,  1868. — "Pump  on  short  strokes,  average  strokes,  7. 
No  change  in  water." 

September  30,  1.868. — "Strokes  of  pump,  6.  Water  continues  about 
the  same." 

October  7,  1868. — "Water  slacking  off.     Pump  strokes,  4." 

December  2,  1868. — "No  change  in  water  or  pump  reports  since 
October  7.  Shaft  down,  537  feet.  Considerable  clay  is  coining  in 
on  west  side  of  shaft." 

December  9,  1868. — ?<  Average  strokes  of  pump,  2.     Water  slack." 

December  30,  1868. — "No  change  in  water  reports." 
.  February  10,  1869. — "Shaft  down,  722  feet.     Drift  started  at  700 
feet.     Average  strokes  of  pump,  2." 

NOTE. — Reports  concerning  pumps  and  water  discontinued  until — 

October  2,  1869. — "Length  of  drift,  640  feet.     Rock  improving. 

October  3,  1869. — "Increase  of  clay." 
Strong  clay  seams  running  north  and  south  and  dipping  to, the  east." 

October  4,  1869. — "Small  amount  of  water  coming  in." 

October  16,  1869. — "Large  amount  of  water  timing  in  from  face 
of  main  dri/t,  which  is  boarded  up  at  present  to  prevent  a  run." 

October  i'7,  1869. — "TKe  flow  of  water  is  about  as  yesterday." 

October  21,  1869. — "Large  flow. of  water." 

October  22,  1869. — "The  pump  rod  to  lower  pump  broke  at  8 
o'clock  last  evening,  and  has  not  yet  been  brought  to  the  surface. 
One  man  killed  this  morning  by  the  cable  breaking  in  the  pump  shaft. 
It  is  difficult  to  form  an  estimate  of  the  delay  it  will  occasion  us." 

October  23,  1869. — The  repairing  of  pump  is  progressing  satisfac- 
torily, and  pumping  will  probably  be  resumed  to-morrow." 

October  24,  1869. — "Repairs  to  the  pump  are  nearly  completed. 
Will  get  started  up  this  evening.  We  have  been  bailing  constantly 
ever  since  the  break-down,  but  the  water  has  gained  on  us  to  the 
extent  that  it  will  require  two  days'  pumping  and  bailing  to  free  the 


796 

drift  of  water.  Our  present  flow  of  water  seems  to  be  entirely  inde- 
pendent of  the  water  in  the  old  mine,  which  I  regard  as  indicating 
the  existence  of  a  body  of  ore  to  the  north,  and  separate  from  that 
worked  in  the  old  mine." 

October  28,  1869. — "Our  progress  in  main  drift  is  slow,  made  co 
by  the  character  of  the  ground  that  we  are  in,  and  the  large  amount 
of  water  coming  in." 

November  i,  1869. — "Considerable  increase  of  water  in  last  twenty- 
four  hours." 

November  2,  1869. — "Still  greater  increase  of  water." 

November  6,  1 869. — "  The  water  is  still  rising  in  shaft,  and  now 
stands  about  270  feet  from  the  bottom.  To  bring  the  surface  of  the 
water  in  the  new  shaft  to  the  level  with  the  standing  water  in  the 
old  mine  will  require  an.  additional  rise  of  200  feet.  We  are  now 
taking  water  from  the  shaft  at  the  rate  of  20,000  gallons  per  hour, 
and  when  the  new  machinery  (hoisting)  is  ready  for  use,  we  will 
increase  that  amount  10,000  gallons.  It  is  impossible,  at  this  time, 
to  form  an  intelligent  opinion  of  the  time  that  will  be  required  to  free 
the  drifts  of  water." 

November  10,  1869.—"  Our  misfortunes,  in  connection  with  the 
strike  of  water  in  Ophir,  seem  to  follow  us  up.  Last  Sunday  morning, 
when  our  second  or  lower  plunger  was  covered  about  60  feet  with 
the  rising  flood,  it  very  suddenly  ceased  to  throw  water,  arid  is  now 
about  200  feet  under  water.  Unless  we  can  bail  it  down  with  the 
tanks,  we  will  be  under  the  necessity  of  dropping  in  an  extra  pump, 
which  will  be  a  very  ugly  job.  We  are  building  a  5OO-gallon  tank  to 
use  with  the  new  engine.  With  that  and  the  one  now  in  use  of  300 
gallons  will  enable  us  to  raise  to  the  surface  16,000  gallons  per  hour. 
During  the  last  twelve  hours'  pumping  we  did  not  only  check  the 
rising  of  the  water,  but  actually  lowered  it  in  the  shaft  nine  feet.  It 
looks  now  like  we  may  start  the  new  engine  on  Monday  next.  As  I 
stated  in  my  last,  it  is  impossible  at  this  time  to  form  an  intelligent 
opinion  of  the  time  necessary  to  clear  the  drifts  of  water.  Of  one 
thing  I  am  convinced,  however :  that  is,  that  our  Consumption  of 
wood  for  the  next  six  months  will  be  perfectly  frightful" 

November  25, 1 869. — "  To-day  we  succeeded  in  making  our  disabled 
pump  work,  and  at" this  time  it  is  doing  well."  "X- 

December  I,  1869. — "The  pump  is  working  well.  The  water  in 
the  old  mine  is  going  down  slowly,  about  50  feet  in  all  since  we 
tapped  the  water.  In  about  two  days  we  will  have  our  large  tank 
ready  for  use,  when  we  will  bring  our  greatest  force  to  bear,  and  I 
think  will  be  able  to  reduce  the  amount  of  water  quite  rapidly." 

December  1 8,  1 869. — "  Our  progress  in  lowering  the  water  is  quite 
satisfactory.  To-day  it  stands  in  the  new  shaft  about  220  feet  deep, 
and  is  settling  in  the  old  mine  at  the  average  rate  of  about  3  feet  per 
day.  Both  tanks  and  pump  are  working  well." 

December  19,  1869. — "We  are  bending  all  our  energies  in  our 
endeavors  to  free  the  new  works  from  water,  and  gaining  gradually 
upon  it.  To-day  we  have  reached  and  repaired  the  lower  plunger, 


'     797 

and  will  connect  the  drawing  lift  probably  this  evening.     We  have 
now  200  feet  of  water  in  the  shaft." 

December  21,  1869. — "  Water  very  quick  in  the  shaft,  and  standing 
about  the  same  as  yesterday,  but  lowering  in  the  old  mine." 

December  22,  1869. — "Our  water-works  are  working  well.  We 
have  reached  a  point  about  200  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  water  in 
the  old  mine,  consequently  the  pressure  is  very  great,  and  it  just 
about  holds  us.  It  is  lowering  about  4  feet  per  day  in  the  old  mine, 
which  is  quite  satisfactory.  We  are  working  all  our  machinery  to 
utmost  capacity,  consequently  accidents  are  liable  to  occur,  but  will 
guard  against  them  as  much  as  possible." 

December  23,  1869. — "Water  in  new  shaft  about  as  yesterday,  but 
lowering  in  old  mine." 

December  24,  1869. — "I  assure  you  there  will  be  no  let-up,  and  I 
believe  few  drawbacks,  until  we  have  the  water  well  under  control." 

December  25,  1869. — "We  have  just  succeeded  in  completing  re- 
pairs to  the  lower  plunger  or  middle  pump,  and  made  connection  with 
the  lower  pump.  Water  at  this  point  has  been  very  strong :  in  fact 
it  has  held  us  for  several  days.  In  old  mine  to-day  the  water  is  about 
30  feet  below  the  seventh  level,  having  settled  from  the  seventh 
during  the  last  weeK." 

December  27,  1.869. — "Yesterday  evening  we  had  the  water  at  a* 
point  lower  in  the  shaft  than  at  any  previous  time;  but  immediately  after 
the  first  earthquake  shock  it  came  up  in  the  shaft  some  25  or  30  feet 
in  a  short  time.  At  this  time  we  have  nearly  recovered  the  lost 
ground.  The  earthquake  did  us  no  damage.  Both  tanks  and  pump 
are  working  well.  Water  in  old  mine  continues  to  lower  at  the  rate 
of  4  or  5  feet  per  day." 

December  28,  1869. — "We  have  the  water  down  25  feet  below 
lower  plunge  pump,  which  leaves  175  feet  in  shaft."  » 

December  29,  1869. — "Water  in  shaft  to-day  165  feet.  The 
amount  of  water  coming  into  the  shaft  has  increased  very  much  since 
the  occurrence  of  the  earthquake,  seemingly  from  other  sources  "than 
the  old'mine." 

December  30,  1869. — "The  earthquake  shocks  last  night  increased 
the  water  very  perceptibly." 

December  31,  1869. — "Water  in  shaft  has  gained  on  us  a  trifle  in 
the  last  twenty-four  hours.  I  am  pleased  to  be  able  to  report  to 
you  a  decided  gain  upon  the  water  to-day — 155  feet  from  the  bottom; 
but  it  is  very  stubborn,  and  requires  heavy  and  persistent  work. 
I  have  no  doubts  as  to  the  result." 

January  4,  1870. — "Water  in  shaft  145  feet,  and  very  strong.'* 

January  5,  1870. — "We  are  crowding  the  work  steadily  in  the 
shaft  to-day.  We  have  only  130  feet  of  water,  which  is  a  reduction 
of  1 5  feet  in  last  twenty-four  hours." 

January  6,  1870. — "Water  in  shaft  to-day  stands  about  the  same 
point  it  did  yesterday.  It  came  in  very  rapidly  last  night,  and  not- 
withstanding we  we?e  raising  our  usual  quantity,  gained  on  us  some 


798 

1 5  or  20  feet ;  but  we  have  about  regained  it  to-day.  The  flow  from 
the  old  mine  does  not  seem  to  be  uniform.  That  probably  will  be  the 
case  until  the  amount  in  the  old  mine  is  about  exhausted." 

January  7,  1870.— -"  Water  in  shaft  is  but  a  trifle  lower  than  yes- 
terday. It  seems  to  be  very  strong  at  this  point." 

January  10,  1870. — "Since  my  last  we  had  the  misfortune  to  lose 
one  of  our  large  tanks,  which  occasioned  a  few  hours'  delay  only  in 
bailing  with  one  tank,  as  we  had  another  large  tank  which  required 
a  few  hours'  repairs,  when  bailing  was  resumed,  and  is  going  on  as 
usual,  holding  the  water  at  about  the  same  point  as  when  last  re- 
ported." 

January  n,  1870. — "Our  water-works  are  doing  as  well  as  usual, 
but  the  water  holds  us  very  stubbornly  at  this  place." 

January  12,  1870. — "We  do  not  succeed  in  getting  the  water  in 
the  shaft  any  lower  than  heretofore  reported.  It  is  lowering  in  the 
old  mine  at  the  rate  of  one  foot  and  a  half  per  day;  not  half  so  fast  as 
previous  to  the  earthquakes.  I  think  it  probable  that  the  increase  of 
water  caused  by  the  earthquakes  will  soon  subside." 

January  13,1870. — "I  am  able  to  report  to-day  that  we  have 
reached  a  point  in  the  shaft  585  feet  down,  leaving  115  feet  yet  to  the 
drift.  We  are  so  much  below  the  surface  of  the  water  in  the  old  mine, 
thai  a  rush  of  water  from  the  old  to  the  new  works  is  liable  to  occur 
at  any  time,  which  may  fill  the  shaft  in  a  few  hours  50  or  60  feet. 
All  our  machinery  is  working  as  well  as  could  be  desired." 

January  14, 1870. — "Water  in  shaft  is  a  few  feet  lower  to-day  than 
yesterday.  Water  in  old  mine  has  gone  down  in  last  forty-eight 
hours  3  feet  and  8  inches." 

January  15,  1870. — "I  am  pleased  to  report  to-day  105  feet  of 
water  in  shaft,  but  very  strong  at  that  point,  and  going  down  but  slowly. 
All  our  machinery  is  working  well,  and  up  to  full  capacity." 

January  17,  1870. — "We  are  still  making  vigorous  battle  with  the 
water,  and  driving  it  slowly  down.  We  have  it  now  within  no 
feet  of  the  bottom.  In  last  four  days  it  has  lowered  in  old  mine  7 
feet.  I  think  the  increase  of  water  caused  by  the  earthquake  is 
beginning  to  subside.  If  so,  we  will  be  able  to  make  more  rapid 
progress  in  the  future." 

January  i8,»i87O. — "Water  in  shaft  about  as  yesterday." 

January  19,  1870. — "To-day  the  water  in  old  mine  stands  424  feet 
from  surface,  and  just  200  feet  from  bottom  or  tenth  station.  The 
total  lowering  of  water  in  old  mine  to  date  is  no  feet,  and  going 
down  very  regularly  from  21  to  24  inches  every  twenty-four  hours. 
The  drift  from  new  shaft  is  425  feet  below  surface  of  water  in  old 
mine,  and  the  water  stands  in  new  shaft  to-day  about  100  feet  from 
the  bottom.  We  find  that  we  are  able  to  keep  the  water  in  shaft 
from  300  to  325  feet  below  the  surface  of  water  in  old  mine;  hence 
I  conclude,  that  when  the  water  lowers  in  the  old  mine  100  feet  more, 
we  will  be  able  to  free  the  new  works  of  water." 

'January  20,  1870. — "Water  in  shaft  95  feet;  going  down  slowly. 


799 

January  21,  1870.— "90  feet  of  water  in  shaft  to-day;  gradually, 
but  slowly,  pushing  towards  our  drift." 

January  22,  1870. — "There  is  no  change  to  note  in  depth  of  wa- 
xter  at  either  mine  since  my  last,  notwithstanding  we  are  raising  the 
usual  amount.  An  additional  supply  seems  to  be  coming  from  some 
quarter ;  probably  it  is  only  temporary." 

January  24,  1870. — "In  last  forty-eight  hours  the  water  in  old 
mine  has  lowered  3-V  feet:  but  at  the  new  shaft  it  stands  about  90 
feet  from  the  bottom." 

January  25,  1870. — "Owing  to  some  delay  in  repairing  tanks  the 
water  is  considerably  up  in  the  shaft.  In  old  mine  it  has  lowered  in 
last  twenty-four  hours  20  inches." 

January  26,  1870. — "Water  in  shaft  about  as  reported  yesterday  ; 
has  lowered  in  old  mine  in  last  twenty-four  hours  18  inches." 

January  27,  1870. — "Water  in  old  mine  has  lowered  since  last 
report  18  inches.  In  new  shaft  it  stands  about  as  yesterday." 

January  28,  1870. — "We  have  95  feet  of  water  in  shaft  to-day. 
A  careful  measurement  of  water  in  the  old  mine  to-day  shows  it  to  be 
434  feet  from  surface,  and  190  feet  from  bottom  of  tenth  section. 
We  do  not  make  rapid  progress  ;  but  we  do  gain,  and  hold  all  that 
we  get,  which  is  encouraging,  and  shows  that  it  is  entirely  a  question 
of  time  as  to  when  the  new  works  will  be  cleared  of  water." 

January  29,  1870. — "I  am  pleased  to  report  to-day  only  78  feet 
of  water  in  shaft,  and  a  lowering  in  old  mine  last  twenty-four  hours 
of  1 8  inches." 

January  31,  1870. — "Mount  Davidson  has  been  shaking  again, 
and  consequently  the  Ophir  water  has  increased  as  usual  in  such  cases. 
Sunday  morning  there  was  only  74  feet  of  water  in  shaft,  and  going 
down  nicely.  To-day  there  is  95  feet,  notwithstanding  pumping  and 
bailing  has  been  going  on  without  any  interruption." 

February  I,  1870. — "Water  in  shaft  stands  about  as  yesterday. 
Since  Saturday  the  water  in  the  old  mine  has  lowered  3  feet." 

February  2,  1870. — We  have  100  feet  of  water  in  shaft  to-day;  but 
there  is  an  increased  lowering  in  the  old  mine  of  2*  feet  in  last 
twenty-four  hours." 

February  3,  1870. "There  was  some  delay  last  night  both  with 

pump  and  large  tank,  consequently  the  water  in  shaft  is  higher  to-day 
than  usual.  Everything  is  working  well  now,  and  the  water  is  being 
lowered  quite  rapidly.  In  the  old  mine  last  twenty-four  hours  the 
water  lowered  I  foot." 

February  4,  1870. — "I  am  pleased  to  report  a  more  rapid  lowering 
of  water  in  the  old  mine  than  heretofore.  A  correct  measurement 
made  to-day,  from  surface  down  to  water,  shows  a  lowering  for  the 
last  week  of  14  feet.  In  consequence  the  water  in  new  shaft  is 
stronger  than  usual.  It  holds  us  at  about  600  feet  from  surface 
the  last  few  days." 

February  5,  1870. — ''Notwithstanding  pumping  and  bailing  has 
been  going  on  as  usual  for  the  last  twenty-four  hours,  there  has  been 
but  slight  progress  made  in  lowering  the  water." 


800 

February  7,  1870. — "We  have  to-day  a  little  less  than  100  feet  of 
water  in  shaft.  In  old  mine  the  water  has  lowered  in  last  twenty- 
four  hours  3-j  feet,  showing  conclusively  to  my  mind  that  in  time  we 
will  conquer." 

February  8,  1 870. — "  Water  in  shaft  about  as  yesterday.  In  old 
shaft  it  has  lowered  in  last  twenty-four  hours  1 5  inches." 

February  9,  1870. — "  Water  in  No.  I  (new  shaft)  about  as  yester- 
day." 

February  10,  1870. — "Water  in  No.  I  about  as  last  reported.  In 
old  mine  it  has  lowered  in  last  twenty-four  hours  1 5  inches." 

February  11,  1870. — "Water  in  No.  I  about  as  yesterday.  It 
seems  much  stronger  than  last  week.  In  old  mine  it  has  only  lowered 
1 2  inches  in  last  twenty-four  hours." 

February  12,  1870. — "Water  at  No.  I  at  6oo-foot  station.  It 
sticks  to  that  point  with  great  tenacity  ;  but  we  are  bound  to  get 
the  best  of  it  in  time.  •  We  will  be  compelled  to  stop  our  large  tank 
about  three  days  next  week  to  refill  the  large  cog-wheel." 

February  14,  1 870. — "  This  water  is  a  monster  elephant,  but  I  know 
we  can  handle  him;  but  it  won't  do  to  relax  in  the  least  the  grip  we 
have  on  it.  In  No.  I  the  water  is  about  150  feet;  in  old  mine  it  has 
lowered  in  last  forty-eight  hours  3  feet." 

February  15,  1870. — "Water  in  No.  I  160  feet;  filling  wheel  will 
be  completed  this  evening.  Water  in  old  mine  has  lowered  in  last 
twenty-four  hours  I  foot." 

February  16,  1 870. "We  have  everything  in  complete  running 
order." 

February  17,  1870. — "100  feet  of  water  in  No.  I  to-day." 

February  18,  1870. — "Water  in  No.  i^  ninety  feet.  Owing  to 
broken  timbers,  or  some  other  obstruction,  we  cannot  get  on  satisfac- 
tory in  the  old  shaft  since  Wednesday." 

February  19,  1870. — "We  have  only  85  feet  of  water  in  No.  I 
to-day." 

February  21,  1870. — "  Water  in  No.  I  82  feet,  and  very  lively. 
Everything  working  right  up  to  the  utmost  capacity ;  measurements 
of  water  in  old  shaft  not  satisfactory." 

February  22,  1870. — "Water  in  No.  I  80  feet."     • 

February  24,  1870. — "  I  am  pleased  to  report  only  60  feet  of  water 
in  shaft  No.  I. 

February  25,  1870. — "Water  in  No.  I  65  feet  to-day;  lowered  in 
old  shaft  in  last  twenty-four  hours  18  inches." 

February  26,  1870. — "  Water  in  No.  I  to-day  is  only  54  feet 
in  depth.  It  has  lowered  in  old  shaft  in  last  twenty-four  hours 
15  inches. 

February  28,  1870. — Water  in  No.  I  about  as  reported  on  Satur- 
day." 

March  i,  1870. — "There  is  53  feet  of  water  in  No.  I   to-day." 

March  3,  1870. — "  To-day  there  is  only  50  feet  of  water  in  No.  I." 

March  4,  1870. — **  We  are  repairing  again  to-day  at  shaft  No.  i. 
About  one-half  the  cogs  in  large  wheel  gave  out  last  night;  pump  and 


801 

small  tank  running  as  usual ;  will  probably  have  everything  in  good 
running  order  to-morrow  evening." 

March  5,  1870. — "The  repairs  at  shaft  No.  I  spoken  of  yesterday 
are  completed,  and  machinery  moving  as  usual ;  1 50  feet  of  water  in 
No.  i." 

March  7,  1870. — "Water  in  No.  I  is  down  to  75  feet." 

March  8,  1870. — "I  am  pleased  to  report  only  60  feet  of  water 
in  No.  i,  and  being  lowered  steadily." 

March  10,  1870. — "52  feet  of  water  in  No.  i  to-day." 

March  n,  1870. — "Water  in  No.  I  about  as  yesterday;  ma- 
chinery working  well." 

March  12,  1870. — "I  can  report  to-day  only  50  feet  of  water  in 
No.  i." 

March  17,  1870. — "Water  in  No.  i  about  as  yesterday,  (60 
feet;)  rather  strong  of  late." 

March  18,  1870.—"  Water  in  No.  i  65  feet." 

March  19,  1870. — "Water  in  No.  i  is  about  as  yesterday.  The 
water  seems  stronger  on  this  level  than  two  weeks  ago.  Whether  it 
is  coming  through  faster  from  the  old  mine  than  then  I  am  unable  to 
say.  I  do  not  think  there  is  an  actual  increase.  A  week  or  two  will 
determine  that  point." 

March  21,  1870. — "  The  bucket  to  our  lower  pump  has  been  fail- 
ing for  the  last  few  days.  This  afternoon  I  concluded  to  take  it  out, 
if  possible.  It  being  one  of  those  patent-ring  buckets,  we  have  had 
doubts  as  to  its  coming  through  the  column.  It  is  now  being  brought 
up  slowly.  If  we  succeed  in  replacing  it  with  a  newly-dressed  bucket, 
there  will  be  but  little  delay  in  pumping.  Should  we  not  succeed  in 
this,  an  extra  pump,  which  we  have  in  readiness,  will  have  to  be  low- 
ered, which  will  cause,  at  most,  only  a  few  days'  delay.  Both  tanks, 
meantime,  will  be  kept  running." 

March  22,  1870. — "At  No.  I  we  have  not  succeeded  in  drawing 
bucket  from  lower  pump ;  have  commenced  active  preparations  for 
putting  in  extra  pump." 

March  24,  1870. — "There  is  to-day  100  feet  of  water  in  No.  i; 
lower  pump  working  to  about  half  capacity.  Preparations  are 
going  on  for  putting  in  extra  puriip.  We  may  conclude  to  refill 
our  large  wheel  before  lowering  pump,  as,  while  the  change  of  pumps 
is  b*ng  made,  much  will  depend  upon  the  tanks  to  hold  the  water  at 
as  low  a  point  as  possible." 

March  25,  18^0. — "90  feet  of  water  in  No.  I  to-day.  I  note 
what  you  say  about  using  telegraph  to  inform  your  office  of  accidents 
to  machinery.  I  did  not  consider  the  partial  giving  out  of  a  pump- 
bucket,  the  packing  of  a  cylinder  or  piston-rod,  cleaning  of  boilers, 
&c.,  &c.,  as  being  drawbacks  of  sufficient  importance  to  demand  the 
*use  of  the  telegraph  ;  but  I  will  be  pleased  to  comply  with  your  views 
in  the  matter." 

March  26,  1870. — "Water  to-day  in  No.  I  is  about  80  feet; 
w'U  commence  rilling  large  cog-wheel  this  evening,  as  it  is  of  the 
greatest  importance  that  this  wheel  shall  be  in  good  .condition  at  the 
51 


802 

time  we  are  lowering  our  pump,  as  everything  will  depend  upon  the 
tanks  to  keep  the  water  at  as  low  a  point  as  possible  while  that  is  being 
done.  You  can  assure  Ophir  stockholders  that  we  are  doing  all  in 
our  power  to  reduce  this  water.  Delays  to  some  extent  are  unavoid- 
able. There  is  no  time  when  there  is  not  a  large  stream  of  water 
coming  to  the  surface  at  Ophir  shaft,  and  it  must  tell  before  long." 

March  28,  1870. — "At  shaft  No.  I  the  large  cog-wheel  is  com- 
pleted, and  the  engine  running.  Preparations  for  lowering  pumps  are 
progressing." 

March  29,  1870. — "Water  is  100  feet  deep;  will  get  ready  to 
commence  lowering  pump  on  Thursday." 

March  31,  1870. — "Have  just  commenced  lowering  pump.  Put- 
ting this  pump  in  place  is  attended  with  so  many  difficulties,  that  it  is 
impossible  to  say,  with  much  certainty,  the  length  of  time  that  will 
be  required,  but  probably  about  three  days. 

April  i,  1870. — "At  shaft  No.  I  we  are  still  engaged  in  putting 
down  pump  ;  getting  along  very  well ;  foundation  to  pump-bob  is  be- 
coming a  little  shaky,  and  it  may  be  necessary  to  overhaul  it  before 
making  our  next  great  effort  at  lowering  the  water." 

April  T. ,  1870. — "  We  are  working  this  afternoon  lowering  pump 
at  shaft  No.  I .  I  think  by  to-morrow  night  we  will  have  it  all  in, 
and  connections  made," 

April  4,  1870. — "At  shaft  No.  I  we  have  the  pump  in  place  and 
ready  to  start;  but,  owing  to  repairs  on  bob  foundation,  will  not  start 
until  to-morrow  evening." 

April  5,  1 870. — Started  pump  this  afternoon  ;  it  works  well.  There 
is  to-day  one  1 20  feet  of  water  in  the  shaft." 

April  6,  1 870. — "  Water  in  shaft  No.  I  is  only  20  feet  from 
bottom  of  drift." 

April  7,  1870. — "At  shaft  No.  I  water  is  about  15  feet.  We 
are  lowering  pump  this  afternoon.  ,  This  lowering  will  enable  us  to 
renew  the  bucket  in  the  pump  and  resume  work  with  same.  I  think 
the  backbone  of  the  water  is  broken,  and  I  have  no  doubt  but  ten  days, 
or  two  weeks  at  most,  will  let  us  into  the  drift." 

April  8,  1870. — "  At  shaft  No.  I  the  pump  was  started  at  noon  to- 
day. Water  is  now  down  at  the  same  point  as  at  this  time  yesterday; 
expect  to  see  inside  of  drift  to-morrow." 

April  9,  1870. — "  At  shaft  No.  i  we  have  repaired  old  pump, 'and 
it  is  doing  good  work.  Water  is  down  to  about  two  feet  below  top 
of  drift.  There  is  a  large  body  of  water  at  this  point,  but  everything 
looks  favorable  for  getting  into  the  drift  in  a  few  days." 

April  n,  1870. — "At  shaft  No.  I  the  drift  is  free  of  water;  have 
taken  off  small  tank  this  afternoon  and  put  on  cage  :  the  pump,  and  large 
tank,  keeping  the  water  down  with  ease.  We  find  the  drift  in  fair 
condition.  And  right  here  allow  me,  most  sincerely,  to  tender  you, 
as  president  of  the  Ophir  S.  M.  Co.,  and  your  associate  trustees,  my 
heartfelt  thanks  for  the  generous  co-operation  with  which  you  have 
sustained  me  in  this  fight ;  for  truly  a  battle  it  has  been  of  no  ordi- 


803 

nary  magnitude,  and  I  feel  that  a  great  weight  of  anxiety  and  respon- 
sibility has  been  removed." 

April  12,  1870. — "Pump  and  large   tank  control  the  water  with 
ease." 

Apt  II  1 8,  1870. — "  The  water  seems  to   be  falling  off.     There  is 
still  a  large  flow  coming  in,  but  it  is  handled  with  ease." 
April  19,  1870. — "Water  is  steadily  decreasing." 
April  21,  1870. — "The  water  is  becoming  less  every  day,  and  from 
present  appearances  I  think,  within  two  or  three  days,  the  pump  will 
take  it  easy." 

April  22,  1870. — "  Water  is  about  as  yesterday." 
April  26,  1870. — "Do  not  see  much  difference  in  the  amount  of 
water  coming  in  in  the  last  few  days." 

April  28,  1870. — "Water  about  as  last  reported." 
April  30,  1870. — "No  apparent  change  in  amount  of  water." 
May  2,  1870. — "At  shaft  No.  I  the  water  is  stronger  than  for  the 
last  few  days." 

May  3,  1870. — "Amount  of  water  about  as  last  reported." 
May  5,  1870. — "Water  continues  about  the  same  as  last  reported." 
May  6,  1870. — "At  shaft  No  I,  main  drift  is  still  in  hard  porphyry, 
with  an  increase  of  water  coming  in." 

May  7,  1870. — "Increase  of  water  referred  to  yesterday  still  con- 
tinues, but  I  have  no  fears  of  being  flooded." 

May  9,  1870. — "Water  is  about  as  last  reported." 
May  12,  1870. — "Water  holds  about  the  same." 
May  13,  1870. — "The  main  pump-rod  broke  this  forenoon.    There 
is  a  possibility  that  the  drifts  will  fill  with  water,  as  one  of  the  tanks 
is  used  much  of  the  time  for  men  to  go  up  and  down  on  in  the  work 
of  repairing.     Think  the  pump  will  not  be  laid  up  longer  than  to- 
morrow noon." 

May  14,  1870. — "At  shaft  No.   I   pump  is  again  in  good  order. 
Started  up  early  this  morning." 

May  1 6,  1870. — "Water  about  as  last  reported." 
May  17,  1870. — "The  water  seems  a  little  stronger  to-day." 
May  19,  1870. — "  The  water  does  not  seem  to  fall  off  any  of  late." 
May  20,  1870. — "No  change  in  amount  of  water." 
May  21,  1870. — "The  water  appears  to  be  slacking  off  a  little  in 
last  24  hours." 

May  23,  1870. — "Water  is  about  as  last  reported." 
May  24,  1870. — "No  change  in  amount  of  water." 
May  26,  1870. — "At  shaft  No.    I   main  drift  is  in  soft    running 
ground,  but  no  quartz.     Quite  an  increase  of  water." 

May  27,  1870. — "In  soft  ground.     Water  is  increasing." 
•  May  28,  1870. — "Drift  is  in  hard  blasting  porphyry.     Water  is 
not  quite  as  strong  as  yesterday." 

May  30,  1870. — Water  is  about  the  same  as  last  reported." 
May  31,  1870, — "Water  is  falling  off  somewhat  in  last  24  hours, 
it  still  requires  the  use  of  one  tank  with  the  pump  much  of  the  time." 
June  2,  1870. — "Water  is  somewhat  less  than  last  reported." 


804 

June  3,  1870. — "Last  night,  about  midnight,  the  irons  on  one  end 
of  our  Pitman  rod  broke,  which  renders  our  pump  useless  until  re- 
paired, which  will  not  be  before  to-morrow  morning.  Consequently 
our  drifts  are  filling  with  water,  but  I.  do  not  apprehend  any  serious 
damage  to  them." 

June  4,  1870. — "Started  pump  this  morning  at  7  o'clock.  Will 
have  large  tank  running  this  evening.  The  drifts  are  now  full  of 
water,  but  will  probably  have  them  free  on  Monday  morning." 

June  6,  1870. — "Work  is  again  going  on  as  usual.  The  only  dam- 
age from  the  late  flood  was  the  breaking  of  a  few  lengths  of  air-pipe, 
&c." 

June  7,  1820. — "Water -is  about  as  last  reported." 

June  9,  1870. — "  The  pump  is  laid  up  to-day,  owing  to  the  break- 
ing of  some  of  the  upper  gearing  last  night.  Will  have  it  repaired 
temporarily  by  to-morrow  morning.  To  repair  it  permanently,  a  new 
sole-plate  will  have  to  be  made  for  the  pillow-block  under  the  crank 
end  of  the  main  gear-shaft.  Meantime  both  tanks  are  running,  but 
the  water  is  slowly  filling  the  drifts." 

•June  10,  1870. — "At  shaft  No.  I  pumping  machinery  is  very 
mujh  demoralized.  Instead  of  the  main  gear-shaft  being  sprung,  as  I 
telegraphed  you  this  morning,  we  find  on  taking  it  out  that  it  is  very 
badly  broTien.  We  have  been  fortunate  in  securing  one  of  proper 
size  from  the  Gould  and  Curry  Co.,  which  we  will  put  in  place  with 
all  possible  despatch.  The  very  best  that  we  can  do,  it  will  probably 
require  ten  or  twelve  days  before  we  can  regain  the  ends  of  our  drifts 
and  resume  work.  I  regret  this  very  much,  but  do  not  see  any  way 
by  which  this  accident  could  have  been  foreseen  or  avoided." 

June  13,  1870. — "At  shaft  No.  I  we  are  making  good  progress  in 
repairing  machinery,  and  when  it  is  started  up  this  time,  I  think  it 
will  be  in  better  condition  to  do  the  work  required  than  ever  before. 
Notwithstanding  the  large  tank  is  kept  constantly  running,  there  is  at 
this  time  125  feet  of  water  in  the  shaft." 

June  14,  1870. — "Depth  of  water  150  feet." 

June  1 6,  1870. — "Water  is  175  feet  in  depth,  and  slowly  rising. 
Work  of  repairing  is  well  under  way.  Will  start  pump  about  Mon- 
day next." 

June  17,  1870. — "Water  seems  to  be  at  a  stand  still.  Will  have 
both  tanks  running  this  evening,  and  the  pump  on  Monday,  when  I 
think  we  will  make  short  work  with  the  water." 

June  1 8,  1870. — "Have  lowered  the  water  25  feet  in  last  24 
hours." 

June  20,  1870. — "Pump  started  last  evening  at  7  o'clock.  The 
water  is  now  lowered  to  a  depth  of  60  feet.  Will  have  the  water  out 
of  the  drifts  by  Thursday  morning." 

June  21,  1870. — "The  water  is  30  feet  in  depth.  Both  tanks  and 
pump  are  running." 

June  23 ,  1870. — "Drifters  resumed  work  at  noon  to-day." 

July  8,  1870. — "Quite  a  stream  of  water  is  coming  in  face  of  drift 
to-day." 


805 

1 T.  i  3~o. — "There  is  quite  an  increase  of  water." 

July  16,  1870. — "As  soon  as  the  pump  will  handle  the  water,  two 
engineers  will  be  dispensed  with,  but  at  present  we  have  to  do  a  good 
deal  of  bailing  with  the  large  tank." 

July  1 8,  1870. — "The  amount  of  water  is  falling  off  a  little  in  the 
last  few  days." 

July  19,  1870. — "Water  is  gradually  falling  off,  and  we  hope  soon 
to  be  able  to  handle  it  with  the  pump  alone." 

July  25,  1870. — "Water  is  about  as  last  reported." 

July  26,  1870. — "Water  is  gradually  growing  less." 

July  29,  1870. — "The  water  has  decreased  to  an  amount  that  the 
pump  can  handle,  which  allows  us  to  dispense  with  two  engineers,  and 
also  reduces  the  amount  of  wood  consumed." 

August  I,  1870. — "North  drift  is  getting  softer,  with  some  water 
coming  in." 

August  4,  1870. — "In  north  drift  there  is  quite  a  flow  of  water  com- 
ing in." 

August  5,  1 870. — "  The  water  in  north  drift,  referred  to  yesterday, 
is  rapidly  drying  up." 

August  6,  1870. — "The  amount  of  water  is  growing  less  daily." 

September  2,  1870. — "The  water  is  wholly  within  control  of  the 
pump.  We  are  liable  to  have  an  increase  of  water  from  southwest 
drift  No.  i  at  any  time." 

October  26,  1870. — "With  the  exception  of  a  slight  increase  of 
water  in  the  north  drift,  there  is  no  change  to  note  in  the  appearance 
of  the  drifts." 

November  3,  1870. — "An  increased  amount  of  water  is  coming  in 
from  southwest  drift  No.  I." 

February  15,  1871. — "In  the  upraise  have  struck  a  small  stream  of 
water,  which,  if  it  increases,  will  give  us  some  trouble." 

February  16,  1871. — "In  the  upraise  there  is  a  slight  increase  of 
water  to-day,  somewhat  impeding  progress  of  work." 

February  17,  1871. — "Water  is  still  coming  in  in  the  upraise." 

February  18,  1871. — "A  small  amount  of  water  is  still  coming  in." 

February  20,  1871. — "Water  in  upraise  continues  about  the  same, 
and  occasions  some  trouble  in  the  work." 

February  21,  1871. — "Have  an  increase  of  water  in  the  upraise  to- 
day." 

February  23,  1871. — "In  the  upraise,  about  the  same  amount  of 
water  is  coming  in." 

February  25,  1871. — "The  usual  amount  of  water  is  coming  in." 

February  28,  187.1. — "No  change  in  amount  of  water." 

March  i,  1871. — "In  the  upraise  there  is  quite  an  increase  of 
water  to-day,  which  is  giving  us  some  trouble,  and  may  delay  progress 
for  some  days." 

March  3,  1871. — "Water  continues  the  same  as  the  past  few 
days." 

March  4,  1871. — "The  upraise  is  to-day  up  270  feet,  with  water 
enough  coming  in  to  make  it  exceedingly  troublesome." 


806 

March  6,  1871. — "No  change  in  amount  of  water." 
March  7,  1871. — "Amount  of  water  continues  unchanged." 
March  8,  1871. — "A  considerable  amount  of  water  is  still  coming 
in." 

March  9,  1871. — "No  change  in  amount  of  water." 
March  10,  1871.^"  A  considerable* amount  of  water  is  coming  in." 
March  n,  1871. — "Rock  and  water  continue  about  the  same  as 
yesterday." 

March  13,  1871. — "Water  continues  somewhat  troublesome." 
March  14,  1871. — "Water  continues  the  same." 
March  15,  1871. — "We  have  now  reached  the  top  of  the  upraise. 
Will  suspend  progress  for  a  few  days  in  order  to  thoroughly  drain  the 
incline  before  we  proceed  to  drift. 

March  16,  1871. — "  Work  of  cleaning  and  repairing  timbers  in  the 
upraise  is  still  being  prosecuted.  The  amount  of  water  coming  in 
causes  considerable  delay  in  progress." 

March  18,  1871. — "Volume  of  water  coming  in  continues  un- 
changed/' 

March  20,  1871. — "Water  continues  troublesome." 
March  21,  1871. — "Water  in  upraise  seems  to  be  falling  off." 
March  22,  1871. — "Water  gradually  decreasing." 
March  23,  1871. — "Water  continues  about  the  same  as  last  re- 
ported." 

March  24,  1871. — "Water  continues  without  change." 
April  5,  1871. — "Water  in  upraise  is  pretty  well  drained  out." 
April 17,  1871. — "The   winze   is  down   40  feet.     A  very  little 
water  is  coming  in,  but  as  yet  is  all  absorbed  by  the  material  coming 
out." 

April  1 8,  1871. — "Will  resume  work  in  cross-cut  from  the  up- 
raise to-morrow.  In  the  winze  about  the  same  amount  of  water  is 
coming  in." 

April  19,  1871. — "Water  is  a  little  troublesome." 
April  20,  1871. — "There  is  no  change  to  report  from  the  winze, 
only  an  increase  of  water,  and  a  very  little  more  will  drive  us  out." 

April  21,  1871. — "It  looks  like  the  water  will  soon  get  the  best  of 
us  in  the  winze,  and  it  is  probable  that  work  at  this  point  will  be 
stopped  in  a  day  or  two." 

April  22,  1871. — "Water  about  as  last  reported." 
April  24.,  1871. — "Ground  cut  in  the  winze  is  about  as  heretofore 
reported,  with  no  diminution  of  water." 

April  26,  1871. — "One  new  plunger  pump  and  200  feet  of  new 
main  pump  rod  completes  the  preparations,  and  I  would  recommend 
to  the  trustees  that  it  is  advisable  that  sinking  of  the  main  shaft  be 
resumed  at  as.  early  a  day  as  possible." 

May  5,  1871. — "Work  of  prospecting  is  suspended,  owing  to  break- 
ing of  spur-wheel  of  pumping  engine,  which  gave  out  this  morning. 
The  new  wheel,  ordered  from  the  foundry,  being  not  quite  com- 
pleted, it  may  be  Monday  or  Tuesday  before  work  can  be  resumed  in 
the  mine.  Meanwhile  the  water  is  kept  in  check  by  the  tanks." 


807 

May  8,  1871. — "Spur-wheel  for  pumping  engine  is  completed  and 
in  place,  and  pump  started  up  this  morning.  Will  lower  the  water 
so  as  to  resume  operatijns  below  to-morrow  morning." 

May  9,  1871. — "Work  was  resumed  below  to-day  at  noon.  The 
new  spur-wheel  works  well.  .  Will  be  able  to  keep  the  water  under 
control  with  pump  alone." 

May  n,  1871. — "Raising  column  of  old  extra  pump  to  the  sur- 
face, and  making  arrangements  for  lowering  new  plunge-pump. 

May  16,  1871. — "Preparations  for  sinking  are  progressing  satisfac- 
torily. The  new  plunge-pump  is  about  completed,  and  will  soon  be 
in  operation." 

May  22,  1871, — "The  new  pump  is  being  placed  in  position  to- 
day, and  will  soon  be  in  working  order." 

May  25,  1871. — "Pump  was  started  up  this  morning,  and  every- 
thing is  working  well.  It  will  probably  take  a  couple  of  days  to 
tower  the  water,  when,  as  soon  as  the  sump  can  be  cleaned  out,  sink- 
ing will  be  resumed." 

May  29,  1871. — "Will  probably  finish  cleaning  out  the  sump  to- 
night, and  will  soon  be  ready  to  resume  sinking." 

June  i,  1871. — "We  are  making  fair  progress  in  sinking." 

July  6,  1871. — "At  the  shaft  have  struck  quite  a  stream  of  water 
to-day,  which  somewhat  delays  progress  in  sinking.  It  will  probably 
soon  exhaust  itself  and  dry  up  naturally." 

July  10,  1871. — "Are  now  in  blasting  ground.  The  water  occa- 
sions'no  delay." 

July  22,  1871. — "Have  had  considerable  increase  of  water  in  the 
last  few  days.  Rock  is  not  very  hard,  only  requiring  an  occasional 
blast." 

August  i,  1871. — "Please  order  and  have  shipped  without  delay 
360  feet  lo-inch  pump  column." 

October  II,  1871. — We  have  put  in  place,  900  feet  down  in  the 
shaft,  one  plunge-pump,  and  have  made  all  the  necessary  connection; 
have  taken  out  about  loofeet  of  the  upper  section  of  the  main  pump- 
rod,  and  replaced  it  with  new  and  larger  rod,  the  old  rod  being  10  by  10, 
and  the  new  12  by  12  in. 

November  25,  1871. — "We  are  opening  a  station  at  1,100:  that  is 
preparatory  to  drifting.  We  are  also  excavating  for  a  large  pump- 
tank  at  this  station." 

December  9,   1871. — "Excavation  for  tank  at  this  station  (1,100) 
is  completed,  arid  framework  for  tank  is  being  put  in  to-day." 
(Signed)  H.  H.  DAY, 

Superintendent. 


From  Correspondence  of  Pbilipp  Deidesbeimer,  Superintendent. 

January  2,  1872. — "In  compliance  with  your  instructions  of  the 
20th  ultimo,  I  took  possession  on  that  day  of  the  Ophir  mine.  The 
machinery  is  generally  in  good  order.  There  are  three  1 2-inch 


808 

plunger-pumps,  and  one  of  10  inches  in  service,  and  the  fifth  one,  10 
inches,  is  under  construction,  and  will  be  ready  to  put  in  place  as 
soon  as  needed.  We  are  raising  about  146,000  gallons  of  water  per 
24  hours.  The  pumping  engine  is  of  i8-in.  bore,  by  42  inches  stroke, 
but  requires  re-boring  of  the  cylinder  and  general  overhauling ;  but 
can  be  made,  at  little  expense,  to  answer  the  purpose  for  some  time." 

January  22,  1872. — "We  are  still  busy  placing  pumps,  and  will 
complete  this  work  by  Tuesday,  and  bobs  by  Thursday  night.  You  will 
please  remember  that  we  will  be  obliged  to  re-bore  pump  engine,  &c. 
All  this  takes  time  and  labor,  but  shall  try  to  have  all  completed  about 
the  5th  of  February." 

January  29,  1872. — "  Quite  a  number  of  men  were  employed  to 
assist  Pitman,  getting  pump-shaft  in  better  condition.  For  once  this 
department  is  in  good  working  order;  the  consumption  of  wood  will 
be  reduced  over  30  per  cent,  from  what  it  was  heretofore.  The 
pumping  time  is  now  13  instead  of  19  hours,  with  same  flow  "of 
water." 

February  5,  1872. — "The  sluices  to  conduct  the  water  across  the 
lode  on  the  7OO-foot  level  will  be  in  place  by  this  evening,  and  the 
repairs  to  the  machinery,  &c.,  will  be  finished  this  week." 

February  12,  1872. — "This  morning  we  commenced  overhauling 
pupip  engine,  and  find  it  in  a  very  bad  condition,  but  will  be  again  in 
working  order  by  next  Friday." 

February  13,  1872. — "You  are  aware  the  pump  engine  is  under 
repairs,  and  the  water,  being  within  50  feet  of  the  i,ioo-foot  level, 
obliged  me  to. stop  the  drift  on  that  level  at  250  feet,  as  we  are  com- 
pelled to  use  both  hoisting  engines,  hoisting  the  water  with  the  tanks 
to  the  surface;  but  I  think  we  will  be  able  to  resume  work  in  the  drift 
by  next  Thursday.  I, have  ordered  250  feet  1 2  by  12  inches  new  pump 
rods  to  be  made,  as  occasionally  $ne  breaks,  causing  great  delay." 

February  20,  1872. — "We  have  finished  the  wood-work  on  the  250 
feet  of  pump  rods,  and  are  awaiting  the  iron  which  has  been  ordered 
from  San  Francisco,  and  as  soon  as  it  arrives  will  get  the  new  rods  in 
place.  Everything  else  working  well." 

(Signed)  PHILIPP  DEIDESHEIMER, 

Superintendent. 

VIRGINIA  CITY,  NEVADA,  February  aa,  i87z. 


809 

OFFICE  OPHIR  SILVER  MINING  COMPANY, 

VIRGINIA  CITY,  M&rch  13,  1872. 

Cost  of  Ophir  new  shaft  from  August,  1867,  to  January 
I,  1872,  including  pumps,  bobs,  air-conductors,  and 

all  underground  work  and  machinery $415,936  09 

Cost  of  building,  over-shaft 7>i59  °3 

Cost  of  machinery  account,  including  labor  arrd  material.       172,541    35 
General  expense  account:  salaries  and  office  expenses, 
&c.,  August  i,  1867,  to  Jan'y  I,  1872,  $38,824  32: 
one-half  applied  to  cost  of  new  works  __. 19,412   16 

Total  cost  of  new  works,  "Buck's  shaft,"  from  time  of 

breaking  ground,  August,  1867,  to  January  I,  1872    $615,048  63 


Dimensions  of  shaft,  outside  of  timbers,  18  ft.  8  in.  by  7  ft.  4  in. 

Depth  of  shaft,  January  i,  1872 1255  feet. 

No.  of  feet  of  drift  and  winze  to  Jan'y  I,  1872 2900     " 

Actual  cost  of  pumping  for  month  of  January,  1872. 

Pitman's  wages $170  50 

£  engineer's  "     311  oo 

£  fireman's     "     12400 

f  wood-hauler's 93  oo 

f  am't  of  wood  consumed,   141.  cords,  at  $10 1*410  oo 

£     "    "  oil  and  tallow  "     .. : n   25 

Interest  on  cost  of  pumping  machinery  to  date,  $36,351, 

at  I  per  cent,  per  month. 363   51 

Total  amount 2,483   26 

Less  value  of  water  used  by  the  Co.,  furnished  by  Wa- 
ter Co.,  in  payment  for  water  raised  from  shaft 600  oo 

Net  cost  for  January,  1872.. $1,883   2^ 


OFFICE  OPHIR  SILVER  MINING  COMPANY, 

VIRGINIA  CITY,  March  13,  1872. 

The  indirect  cost  of  raising  water  was  estimated,  in  our  statement 
of  February  16,  as  about  $3,000  for  January. 

Upon  close  examination  of  January  account  we  find,  in  addition 
to  the  direct  cost  as  shown,£$2,483  26,)  machinery  expense  amount- 
ing to  $408  85.  Total  amount,  $2,892  1 1.  Indirect  cost,  $3,000  oo. 

Our  current  expenses  would  be 'lessened  this  amount,  had  we  no 
water  to  contend  with. 

Total  mine  expense  for  January,  1872,  $11,055  46. 


810 
OFFICE  OPHIR  SILVER  MINING  COMPANY, 

Virginia  City,  March  13,  l8ya. 

STATE  OF  NEVADA,  ) 
County  of  Storey,    j  ss 

We  hereby  certify  that  the  accompanying  statements  and  figures  are 
materially  correct,  as  shown  by  the  books  in  this  office,  and  also  that 
the  extracts  inclosed  embrace  all  that  is  mentioned  in  letters  of  super- 
intendents of  the  Ophir  Silver  Mining  Company  to  the  office  of  the 
company  in  San  Francisco,  concerning  pumps  and  water,  within  the 
dates  therein  given. 

PHILIPP  DEIDSHEIMER, 

Superintendent  Ophir  Silver  Alining  Company. 

G.  F.  FORD, 

Clerk  Ophir  Silver  Mining  Company. 

Subscribed  and  sworn  to  this  fourteenth  day  of  March,  A.  D.  1872, 
before  me. 

[L.  3.]  WILL  H.  BURRALL,  Notary  Public. 


THE    DISCUSSION. 


WASHINGTON,  April  15,  1872. 

The  Committee  on  Mines  and  Mining  of  the  United 
States  House  of  Representatives  met  at  7|  o'clock. 

The  committee  was  convened  for  the  purpose  of  hearing 
arguments  pro  and  con.  regarding  the  proposed  loan  by 
the  Government  in  the  construction  of  the  Sutro  tunnel. 

The  committee  was  called  to  order  hy  the  chairman, 
Hon.  HENRY  WALDRON.  The  chairman* then  said: 

Mr.  Sutro,  I  believe  you  are  entitled  to  the  opening. 

Mr.  RICE.  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen  of  the  commit- 
tee :  Under  our  practice  in  New  England  the  opening  state- 
ment is  always  made  at  the  commencement  of  the  trial  or 
hearing  of  a  cause. 

The  evidence  on  behalf  of  the  party  holding  the  affirm- 
ative of  the  issue  is  then  introduced.  When  such  evidence 
has  been  concluded,  the  party  defendant  presents  his  case. 
Then  the  closing  arguments  are  submitted,  first  by  the  de- 
fendant and  then  the  plaintiff.  I  do  not  know  what  the 
rule  is  here. 

I  did  design  to  make  some  very  brief  opening  remarks, 
but  have  concluded,  as  Mr.  Sutro  is  so  very  familiar  with 
this  matter,  and  inasmuch  as  we  understand  Mr.  Sunder- 
land  has  some  motion  to  submit,  to  waive  any  opening, 
and  give  the  evening  to  Mr.  Sunderland.  I  believe  it  was 
understood  that  he  was  to  have  three  hours.  Whether 

Mr.  SHOBER.  Not  to  exceed  that. 

Mr.  RICE.  Not  to  exceed  that.  You  are  right.  Whether 
either  party  will  want  as  much  as  that  I  am  not  aware,  but 
we  are  willing  to  waive  the  opening. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  had  not  designed 
opening  the  case  at  all  for  the  remonstrants  against  the 
tunnel  this  evening,  and  so  announced  to  Mr.  Sutro.  As  we 
were  each  to  be  allowed  three  hours  by  the  decision  of  the 

811 


812 

committee,  I  told  him  that  after  the  opening  this  evening, 
which  he  informed  me  would  be  short,  I  would  content 
myself  with  one  hour  on  Wednesday  evening,  instead  of 
three.  As  there  is  to  be  no  opening  this  evening,  I  have 
no  objection  to,  making  the  motions  which  I  contemplated 
making,  and  to  which  I  called  the  attention  of  the  sub- 
committee. 

Mr.  STJTRO.  Do  we  understand  you  to  say,  Mr.  Sunder- 
land,  that  you  do  not  propose  to  make  any  argument  to- 
night ? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  That  is  what  I  said. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  We  would  not  propose  to  occupy  more  than 
half  an  hour  in  the  opening,  if  we  were  to  make  an  open- 
ing argument  at  all;  and  I  do  not  see  how  we  are  to  get 
three  hours,  if  Mr.  Sunderland  is  going  to  occupy  a  por- 
tion of  the  next  evening. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  The  first  motion  I  have  to  make  is, 
to  exclude  from  the  record  of  testimony  what  purport  to 
be  extracts  from  letters  from  the  superintendents  of  the 
Ophir  mine  to  the  company's  office  in  San  Francisco. 

It  will  not  be  disputed  that  I  objected  to  them,  and  that 
they  were  admitted  by  the  sub-committee  against  my  pro- 
test. After  the  examination  of  the  three  commissioners, 
it  was  determined  by  the  sub-committee  to  hear  no  testi- 
mony unless  it  was  under  oath.  At  the  las^  meeting  of  that 
committee  Mr.  Sutro  presented  these  papers  here,  which 
purport  to  be  extracts  from  letters,  running  through  from 
November  8,  1867,  until  February  22,  1872.  The  found- 
ation, or  rather  the  object,  of  the  rule  adopted  by  the 
sub-committee,  I  suppose,  was  first  to  get  the  truth  from 
the  statement  of  ttie  witnesses,  and  the  privilege  was  ex- 
tended to  the  other  side  to  cross-examine  the  witnesses. 
There  is  another  rule  in  law,  well  known  to  every  lawyer, 
which  would  exclude  them,  and  that  is,  that  no  part  of  a 
document— an  original  document — can  be  offered  in  evi- 
dence unless  the  whole  of  it  is  offered;  and  for  this  reason, 
that  the  extract  that  you  may  read  from  the  letter  or  paper 
may  not  of  itself  explain  itself.  Therefore,  when  any  part 


813 

of  a  paper  of  any  kind  is  offered  in  evidence,  the  whole 
must  be  submitted  to  the  court. 

Now,  these  are  extracts,  in  some  cases,  of  a  single  line. 
What  else  was  there  in  that  letter?  'the  papers  do  not 
purport  to  be  complete  copies  of  letters,  but  simply  ex- 
tracts, and  it  may  be  that  in  the  balance  of  the  letters  from 
which  these  extracts  are  made  there  may  be  statements 
explanatory  of  what  is  contained  in  the  extracts  here  pre- 
sented. 

Again:  it  is  objectionable,  on  the  ground  that  the  letters 
are  traced  to  the  office  of  the  compatiy  in  San  Francisco, 
and  no  effort  has  been  made  to  procure  these  original  let- 
ters. There  is  another  rule  perfectly  well  settled,  that  in 
all  cases,  before  you  can  offer  evidence  of  the  contents  of 
a  letter  or  paper,  you  must  take  such  steps  to  procure  the 
original  as  may  be  in  your  power. 

Now,  there  is  no  question,  I  suppose,  but  that,  at  the 
request  of  the  superintendent,  who  makes  an  affidavit  here, 
or  at  the  request  of  the  Sutro  Tunnel  Company,  these 
original  letters  could  have  been  had,  and  that  they  would 
have  been  sent  here  for  use  before  this  committee. 

Again :  there  is  another  objection,  which  of  itself  must 
be  fatal  to  the  introduction  of  these  extracts,  and  which  is, 
that  they  do  not  purport  to  be  copies  of  letters,  but  copies 
of  copies,  which  no  court  of  law  ever  admitted.  They  pur- 
port to  be  copies,  or  extracts  of  copies,  of  letters  that  remain 
in  the  office  of  the  superintendent  in  the  City  of  Virginia. 
Why  were  not  these  copies  sent,  if  the  originals  could  not 
be  procured?  And  what  foundation  is  there  for  the  intro- 
duction even  of  copies?  Certainly  none  recognized  by 
law,  or  any  rules  of  evidence ;  because,  when  you  offer  to 
prove  the  contents  of  a  paper,  you  first  show  your  inability 
to  procure  the  original,  and  then  you  prove  it  by  the  testi- 
mony, and  subject  to  cross-examination  in  open  court  the 
witness  who  has  compared  the  original  with  the  copy. 
But  copies  of  copies  never  were  introduced  anywhere.  Mr. 
Deidesheimer  and  Mr.  Ford,  the  first  superintendent  and 
the  second  clerk  of  the  Ophir  company,  at  the  mine,  certify 


814 

that  tfthe  accompanying  statements  and  figures  are  mate- 
rially correct,  as  shown  by  the  books  in  this  office;  and 
also  that  the  extracts  inclosed  embrace  all  that  is  men- 
tioned in  letters  of  the  superintendents  of  the  Ophir  Silver 
Mining  Company  to  the  office  of  the  company  in  San  Fran- 
cisco concerning  pumps  and  water,  within  the  dates  therein 
given.  Subscribed  and  sworn  on  the  14th  of  March/' 

That  is  the  only  foundation  for  the  introduction  of  these 
documents,  and  certainly,  after  the  determination  of  the 
sub-committee  to  hear  no  testimony  except  that  under  oath, 
and  where  the  party  opposed  to  the  side  introducing  the 
witness  could  have  an  opportunity  to  cross-examine  the  wit- 
ness, the  paper  here  should  have  been  excluded  from  the 
committee.  I  therefore  appeal  from  the  decision  of  the  sub- 
committee to  the  committee,,  and  ask  that  these  papers  shall 
be  ruled  out. 

If  you  want  me  to  make  the  other  motion  now,  I  will 
do  so. 

Mr.  EICB.  Which  other  motion? 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  refer  to  the  motion  regarding  the  de- 
cision of  the  committee  in  reference  to  the  stock  of  the  Sutro 
Tunnel  Company.  Perhaps,  though,  it  would  be  best  to 
dispose  of  this  first. 

Mr.  RICE.  One  word  preliminary  here,  Mr.  Chairman 
and  gentlemen. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Was  it  not  the  understanding  at  the  last 
meeting  that  Mr.  Sunderland  might  incorporate  in  his  re- 
marks any  objections  he  had  to  the  admission^of  testimony, 
and  such  would  be  passed  upon  with  the  other  matters  ? 

Mr.  RICE.  I  was  about  to  remark,  that  that  was  my  un- 
derstanding. As  I  understood  it,  Mr.  Sunderland  would 
submit  his  motion,  and  comment  thereon  as  he  should  pro- 
ceed in  his  argument,  and  that  during  our  argument  we 
would  reply.  And  what  I  rose  to  inquire  was,  whether 
Mr.  Sunderland  intends  what  he  has  said  to  be  considered 
as  part  of  his  argument,  and  whether  he  is  going  on  with 
it  to-night  or  not. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Mr.  Chairman,  it  was  only  to  save 

r> 


815 

time,  as  the  gentlemen  on  the  other  side  have  declined  to 
make  any  opening  at  all,  which  .seems  to  me  rather  a 
strange  proceeding. 

Mr.  RICE.  We  do  not  object,  but  said  we  wanted  it.  We 
leave  it  entirely  to  the  committee.  If  they  require  an  open- 
ing, we  will  make  it. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  do  not  know  what  I  am  to  answer 
until  I  know  what  is  said.  Where  a  party  appears  as  plain- 
tiff, or  where  a  party  appears  before  a  committee,  and  asks 
something  positively  to  be  done  by  that  committee,  such 
as  recommending  an  appropriation  of  money  by  Congress, 
it  would  seem  to  me  to  be  very  proper  for  that  party  to  as- 
sign some  reason  for  the  appropriation;  and  if  no  reason 
is  assigned,  why  the  inference  may  be  that  there  is  no  rea- 
son that  can  be  assigned.  I  certainly  do  not  know  what 
to  answer,  until  some  argument  or  some  reason  is  urged 
upon  this  committee  why  this  appropriation  should  be 
made. 

Mr.  EICE.  If  there  is  any  disagreement  between  Mr. 
Sunderland  and  myself,  it  is  owing  to  the  different  meth- 
ods of  practice  in  various  parts  of  the  country.  As  I  said 
before,  in  my  own  country — in  New  England,  Massachu- 
setts, and  Maine — the  party  holding  the  affirmative  always 
opens  the  case  in  the  beginning.  That  I  understood  Mr. 
Sutro  to  do  when  we  commenced  his  case.  Then  the  evidence 
is  put  in.  Then  the  defendant  makes  his  opening,  and  puts 
in  his  evidence.  Then  the  defendant  makes  his  closing 
argument,  and  then  the  plaintiff  his.  That  is  our  univer- 
sal practice;  but  the  practice  differs  in  different  parts  of 
the  country.  Now,  if  it  is  insisted  that  we  must  put  in  an 
opening  argument  here,  or  if  desired  even,  why  I  have  no 
objection  to  going  on  a  short  time  and  state  the  grounds, 
with  the  position  we  occupy,  although  it  was  stated  fully 
in  a  long  speech  by  Mr.  Sutro  at  the  beginning  of  the 
case,  he  taking  up  the  whole  meeting.  Therefore  I  sup- 
pose there  is  no  sort  of  doubt  as  to  what  we  ask  here,  and 
how  we  propose  to  get  it.  And  we  are  not  here  really  like 
parties  in  court,  may  it  please  the  committee,  by  any  means. 


816 

The  Government  is  the  principal  party.  To  he  sure  there 
are  other  parties  interested.  On  the  one  side  are  the  par- 
ties which  I  represent  in  part,  in  connection  with  Mr. 
Sutro;  and  on  the  other  the  Bank  of  California,  or/ [the 
owners  of  these  mines,  whoever  they  may  be,  or  anybody 
in  opposition  to  it:  because  all  are  invited  to  come  in  here 
before  this  tribunal,  representing  the  Government,  which  is 
the  real  party  in  interest.  It  is  for  the  country  to  decide 
through  its  representatives  in  Congress  whether  this  peti- 
tion will  be  granted,  which  proposes  to  aid  in  a  great  work, 
which  we  claim  will  be  important  in  developing  these 
great  interests  of  the  country.  Now,  I  am  perfectly  will- 
ing to  go  on  here  for  half  an  hour  in  the  opening  of  this 
case.  I  would  not  go  on  longer,  because  I  prefer  that  Mr. 
Sutro,  as  he  is  so  much  more  competent,  and  understands 
this  matter  so  much  better  than  I,  should  have  all  the 
time  he  desires  in  the  argument.  If  that  should  be  de- 
termined, why  then  what  little  time  I  may  need  I  will  take 
up,  and  then  Mr.  Sunderland  can  submit  his.  argument; 
and  after  that,  at  the  next  evening,  Mr.  Sutro  can  make 
his  closing  argument. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  My  understanding  of  the  order  we  agreed 
upon  at  the  last  meeting  of  the  committee  is,  that  as  Mr. 
Sutro,  or  the  gentleman  who  represented  him,  held  the 
affirmative  of  the  proposition  here,  he  should  properly  open 
and  state  the  reasons  on  which  he  based  this  application 
for  aid,  to  be  followed  by  Mr.  Sunderland,  each  gentleman 
or  either  side  to  be  allowed  three  hours.  (To  General 
NEGLEY.)  Is  that  your  understanding? 

General  NEGLEY.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  SHOBER.  That  is  the  practice  in  our  country. 

Mr.  EICE.  I  am  aware  that  is  the  practice. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Two  evenings  will  be  divided  up  in  that  way. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Certainly. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  On  the  division  of  time,  Mr.  Chair- 
man, I  suppose  that,  under  the  order  of  the  committee, 
neither  party  can  claim  of  one  evening  more  than  an  hour 
and  a  half. 


817 

The,  CHAIRMAN.  I  do  not  know.  If  Mr.  Rice  occupies  an 
hour  this  evening  and  you  two  or  three  hoAs,  he  would  be 
entitled  to  two  hours  the  next  evening. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  But  suppose  I  do  not  desire  to  make 
any  argument  this  evening,  but  limit  myself  to  one  hour 
on  Wednesday  evening:  I  want  to  know  whether  I  will  be 
permitted  to  do  that. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  That  may  involve  the  holding  of  another 
session. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Not  at  all. 

Mr.  SHOBER.  Mr.  Sunderland  means,  if  he  does  not  see 
proper  to  reply  this  evening,  or  commences  his  argument 
this  evening,  that  he  will  only  take  an  hour  on  Wednesday 
evening.  Suppose  Mr.  Rice  occupies  an  hour  and  a  half 
this  evening,  he  will  be  entitled  to  the  hour  and  a  half  of 
his  time  on  Wednesday  evening;  or  if  he  occupies  a  half 
an  hour  this  evening,  he  will  be  entitled  to  two  hours  and 
a  half  on  Wednesday  evening* 

Mr.  RICE.  That  will  necessitate  rather  a  long  session. 

Mr.  YOUNG.  I  understood  each  side  was  to  have  three 
hours  if  they  desired,  and  that  we  were  to  have  two  ses- 
sions. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Yes,  sir;  but  nothing  was  said— — 

Mr.  SUTRO.  If  you  take  a  portion  of  the  second  evening, 
there  would  not  be  three  hours  left.  If  Mr.  Rice  takes 
half  an  hour  to-night 

The  CHAIRMAN.  It  will  involve  a  long  session.  That  will 
be  all. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  think  I  could  make  an  argument 
more  satisfactory  to  myself,  and  if  it  makes  any  impression 
at  all  upon  the  committee  it  would  be  better  calculated  to 
make  that  impression  by  my  submitting  all  I  have  to  say 
in  one  evening,  instead  of  spinning  it  out  into  two  or  three. 
It  would  certainly  be  more  satisfactory  to  me  to  be  allowed 
to  submit  what  few  remarks  I  intend  to  make  at  one  ses- 
sion of  the  committee. 

Mr.  YOUNG.  I  presume  the  action  of  the  committee  led 
Mr.  Sunderland  to  suppose  that  he  would  have  his  time 
52 


818 

on  the  second  evening,  the  first  three  hours  being  taken 
up  by  the  affirn&itive. 

Mr.  SHOBER.  JSTo,  that  was  not  the  understanding.  The 
understanding  was  that  each  side  was  to  have  three  hours. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  That  is  very  true;  but  when  it  was 
determined  by  the  committee  that  Mr.  Sutro  should  open, 
I  supposed  there  would  be  a  real  opening  of  the  case,  and 
not  have  the  argument  reserved  for  the  reply — the  final 
argument.  I  believe  that  is  not  very  customary. 

Mr.  SHOBER.  They  propose  to  open  the  case  to-night. 
That  was  the  understanding  just  now.  The  question  was, 
whether  you  would  reply  to-night,  or  commence  your  re- 
ply Wednesday  night. 

Mr.  KENDALL.  Mr.  Chairman,  would  it  be  too  long  a 
session  on  Wednesday  night  to  sit,  say  three  hours  or 
three  hours  and  a  half?  It  seems  to  me  that  would  not  be 
too  long. 

Mr.  SHOBER.  We  have  been  in  the  habit  of  sitting  that 
long  in  taking  the  testimony. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  shall  try  not  to  weary  the  commit- 
tee by  consumption  of  time,  and  I  am  willing  to  limit  my- 
self to  an  hour. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Then  we  can  close  the  hearing  next 
Wednesday  evening,  probably. 

Mr.  RICE.  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen,  inasmuch  as 
this  motion  has  been  put  in,  I  will  submit  my  answer  to- 
night. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  Do  you  understand  this  other  motion 
to  be  made  also,  that  you  may  speak  upon  it  as  well,  or 
shall  I  make  it  now  in  form  ? 

Mr.  RICE.  Put  in  the  motion  now. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  I  will  write  them  out  and  submit 
them  to  you. 

Mr.  RICE.  It  is  in  regard  to  what  ? 

Mr.  SUXDERLAND.  This  matter  of  General  Foster. 

Mr.  Chairman,  I  proposed  to  prove  by  General  Foster, 
at  his  last  examination,  that  the  Sutro  Tunnel  Company 
was  a  corporation  organized  in  Sail  Francisco,  in  the  State 


819 

of  California,  with  a  capital  stock  of  812,000,000,  of  full 
paid  or  unassessable  stock.  That  np  to  the  19th  day  of 
August  last  there  had  heen  issued  by  the  company  over 
$7,000,000  out  of  $12,000,000.  At  that  time  there  was'in 
the  company  only  $31,000.  The  balance  of  the  stock,  which 
was  less  than  $5,000,000,  had  been  set  apjrt  by  the  com- 
pany for  the  construction  of  the  tunnel,  which  is  made  an 
exhibit  to  the  commissioners'  report,  and  that  on  the  first 
day'of  July  last  there  had  been  expended  only  $42,800, 
making  the  cash  proceeds,  so  far  as  any  body  knows,  of 
this  $7,000,000  of  stock,  $73,800.  That  proof  was  not  re- 
ceived by  the  sub-committee.  The  object  of  the  proof  was 
to  show  the  character  of  the  Sutro  Tunnel  Company,  the 
objects  of  the  incorporators  and  manipulators  of  that  cor- 
poration ;  to  show  that  it  is,  in  fact,  a  stock-jobbing  opera- 
tion from  the  beginning  to  the  end,  and  that  there  is  no 
substantial  interest  in  it;  that  after  all  the  franchises 
granted  by  the  Government  to  Sutro  and  his  associates, 
and  after  all  the  talk  of  work  that  has  been  done  upon  that 
tunnel  for  the  last  number  of  years,  up  to  July  last  there 
have  been  spent  only  $42,800;  and  that  this  $7,000,000 
of  stock  that  has  been  issued,  and  which  the  committee 
will  please  remember  was  unassessable  and  full  paid  and 
put  into  the  hands  of  parties  who  are  interested  in  the 
origin  of  this  scheme,  is  either  in  their  hands  for  specula- 
tive purposes,  to  be  enriched  by  this  appropriation  of  three 
millions  by  Congress,  or  it  is  in  their  hands  for  the  still 
worse  purpose  of  manufacturing  public  opinion  in  favor 
of  this  appropriation. 

Now,  I  think  it. very  important  to  have  that  testimony 
in,  because,  if  these  men  originating  this 'tunnel  project 
are  not  spending  their  own  money — if  they  do  not  intend 
to  spend  their  own  money;  if  it  is  only  for  speculative 
purposes — the  company  cannot  commend  itself  to  the  Gov- 
ernment and  to  Congress  as  a  proper  object  of  the  receipt 
of  this  appropriation.  If  they  have  confidence  in  the  suc- 
cess of  the  tunnel  as  a  business  enterprise — and  it  is  a  pri- 
vate enterprise,  and  it  cannot  properly  be  called  anything 


820 

else  than  a  private  enterprise — why  do  not  they  put  their 
own  money  in;  why  don't  they  run  the  tunnel;  why  is  it 
that  they  ask  Congress  to  give  them  $3,000,000  to  enable 
them  to  send  their  stock  up  to  parj  and  realize  these 
$7,000,000  that  they  have  in  their  pockets  to-day.  It  seems 
to  me  that  thal^  testimony  ought  to  have  been  admitted, 
and  it  is  very  pertinent,  when  this  same  corporation  is  ap- 
plying for  Government  assistance. 


MR.  RICE'S  ARGUMENT, 

APRIL- 15,  1872. 


Mr.  CHAIRMAN  AND  GENTLEMEN:  I  will  submit  a  few  re- 
marks first  in  reply  to  the  motions  put  in  by  Mr.  Sunder- 
land.  In  the  first  place,  we  say  the  introduction  of  the 
testimony  which  has  been  printed  has  already  been  passed 
upon  by  a  competent  tribunal,  the  sub-committee  that 
was  appointed  to  take  this  testimony ;  and  were  it  not  so, 
then  we  have  to  say  that  there  is  no  rule  binding  this 
committee,  acting  as  they  are  for  the  Government,  coming 
here  independent  of  both  sides  of  this  case,  as  represented 
by  counsel  here,  and  sitting  here  to  adjudicate  upon  a  mat- 
ter of  deep  interest  to  the  Government.  They  are  not  bound 
by  any  specific  rules,  and  there  are  no  rules  binding  any 
committee.  They  each  make  their  own  rules.  Some- 
times, in  the  Committee  on  the  Judiciary,  they  are  quite 
formal,  and  will  hold  counsel  up  to  strict  rules  of  evidence, 
but  in  no  other  committee  that  I  have  ever  known  of — and 
I  happened  to  be,  while  1  was  a  member  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  on  two  investigating  committees,  and  took 
and  heard  evidence  in  other  committees — were  the  strict 
technical  rules  of  judicial  procedure  asserted  or  relied 
upon.  The  committee  always  opened  the  doors  just  as 
widely  as  they  saw  fit  to.  Now,  in  regard  to  the  question 
of  admission  of  testimony:  In  the  first  place — and  it  will 
be  rather  stale  and  uninteresting  to  these  gentlemen  of  the 
sub-committee,  because  we  have  gone  over  all  this,  Mr. 
Chairman — this  is  no  new  question  to  these  gentlemen, 
because  it  was  argued  fully  and  at  length  when  the  evi- 
dence was  offered,  and  the  sub-committee  decided  it  should 
be  admitted.  What  I  was  going  on  to  say,  or  repeat, 
rather,  what  was  said  before  the  sub-committee,  was,  that 
this  testimony  was  put  in  to  rebut  certain  statements  that 
were  reported  by  the  commissioners  who  were  appointed 

821 


822 

by  the  President  to  examine  this  subject,  and  what,  they 
termed  as  official  statements  of  these  gentlemen;  and  its 
bearing  was  upon  a  very  important  branch  of  this  sub- 
ject and  of  these  mining  operations.  That  was  and  is, 
whether  it  would  be  a  saving  on  the  whole,  on  the  opera- 
tions of  mining,  to  have  this  tunnel  completed  and  used 
for  the  purpose  of  taking  out  ore,  and  especially  for  drain- 
age ;  whether  the  statements  which  the  superintendents  of 
these  mines  have  made  to  these  gentlemen,  and  upon 
which  they  based  the  figures  and  statements  which  they 
have  made  and  submitted — whether  that  basis  had  a  true 
and  correct  foundation  in  fact?  And  the  only  way  for  us 
to  meet  that  was  to  get  from  the  very  best  source  we  could 
find — the»boots  of  one  of  these  mining  companies — the 
fact  of  the  daily  operations  by  which  the  water  was,  day 
after  day,  taken  from  these  mines;  and  showing  what  we 
claimed  from  the  beginning,  and  what  these  mine  owners 
conceded  in  the  beginning,  that  the  water  which  was  in 
the  mines  was  the  great  difficulty  in  the  way  of  the  effect- 
ive and  profitable  mining  of  the  Comstock  lode.  And  I 
do  not  wonder  that  Mr.  Sunderland  comes  here  and  objects 
to  the  introduction  of  this  fact,  because  it  does  contradict 
this  Mr.  H.  H.  Day,  out  of  his  own  mouth,  by  his  own  daily 
letters,  and  by  his  own  daily  acts.  It  convicts  him  of  most 
outrageous  perversion  of  facts:  for  in  his  report,  which  is 
in  the  appendix  to  the  commissioners7  report,  he  speaks 
of  that  country  as  a  dry  country;  represents  that  the  pro- 
posed tunnel  will  be  valueless  for  purposes  of  drainage. 
"When  you  come  to  read  the  facts  under  his  own  hand,  as 
written  from  day  to  day,  before  this  question  was  pending, 
when  there  was  no  earthly  object  for  him  to  misstate  or 
misrepresent  the  facts,  you  will  find  that  the  very  work 
which  he  reported  upon  was  constantly  flooded  with  water, 
and  that  to  keep  the  mine  free  from  water  was  the  prolific 
cause  of  cost,  delay,  and  ruin.  This,  I  say,  does  damn  the 
testimony  of  this  Mr.  Day ;  and,  in  destroying  his  testimony, 
we  claim  that  it  invalidates  the  testimony  of  all  these  other 
interested  witnesses. 


823     _. 

Now,  why  did  we  get  at  these  facts?  Because,  at  last, 
these  gentlemen,  who  have  controlled  these  mines,  have 
fallen  out  among  themselves.  People  do  fall  out  some- 
times. I  am  not  going  to  say  that  these  are  a  particular 
class  of  gentlemen  who  fall  out,  and  hope  that  honest  men 
may  get  their  dues ;  but  they  have  fallen  out,  and  this  Ophir 
mine  happens  to  have  fallen  into  other  hands — into  hands 
where  they  were  perfectly  willing  to  give  us  all  the  facts 
which  their  books  show,  and  which  these  commissioners 
were  not  able  to  get  out  there;  or,  if  they  were  able  to 
get  them,  it  is  a  fact  that  they  state  that  they  did  not  get 
them;  but  simply  let  these  interested  gentlemen,  who  are 
making  their  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of  dollars 
out  of  these  mining  operations,  and  out  of  the  speculations 
growing  out  of  them — let  them  sit  down,  secretly  in  their 
offices  and  make  out  these  statements,  upon  which  they 
base  their  report,  which  we  show  by  these  entries,  to  a  very 
great  extent,  are  erroneous. 

Now,  I  say  again  that,  this  whole  matter  having  been 
passed  upon,  I  am  somewhat  surprised  that  it  should 
have  been  reopened;  and  I  can  only  account  for  it  from 
the  fact  that  these  facts,  which  we  put  in  here,  are  so  dam- 
aging to  the  position  assumed  by  these  gentlemen,  who 
have  now  seen  fit  to  oppose  this  grant  for  the  purposes  of 
this  great  work. 

Now,  so  far  as  the  otter  question  is  concerned,  there 
was  a  proposition  made,  or  an  offer  made  by  General  Fos- 
ter during  this  examination,  to  put  in  certain  facts  obtained, 
as  lje  said,  from  the  books  of  the  Sutro  Tunnel  Company. 
That  was  not  passed  to  any  one  of  the  committee.  I  pro- 
posed to  take  it,  and  the  paper  was  immediately  withdrawn 
from  my  hands.  I  believe  it  is  a  rule  of  practice  that  the 
opposite  party  shall  always  have  the  right  to  inspect  a 
paper  before  it  goes  into  a  case.  We  had  not  that  oppor- 
tunity, and  the  committee  having  determined  that  new 
matter  should  not  go  into  the  case,  and  especially  from 
General  Foster,  who  had  been  here  night  after  night  as  a 
Government  witness,  and  whose  testimony  had  been  fully 


824 

closed  after  a  lengthy  and  thorough  cross-examination  by 
the  counsel,  the  committee  very  properly  arrived  at  the 
conclusion  that  they  would  not  receive  any  new  matter  from 
General  Foster,  and  upon  that  conclusion  this  piece  of  tes- 
timony was  ruled  out,  although  the  committee  will  bear 
me  out  in  saying  that  we  withdrew  all  objection,  and  gave 
our  free  permission  that  the  paper  might  go  in  ;  and  we 
have  desired  it  should  be  put  in,  for  wo  have  nothing  to 
conceal  in  this  whole  matter.  We  want  nothing  but  the 
truth,  the  whole  truth,  and  that  we  have  sought  from  the 
beginning.  I  will  dismiss,  with  these  few  remarks,  this  part 
of  the  subject. 

And  now,  gentlemen,  we  appear  before  you  here,  as  has 
been  said,  in  support  of  a  bill  that  is  before  your  commit- 
tee, by  which  it  is  asked  that  the  Government  may  aid  the 
Sutro  Tunnel  Company  in  the  completion  of  their  work.  It 
is  a  well-guarded  bill,  or,  if  it  is  not,  it  is  for  you  to  amend 
as  you  see  fit,  if  you  decide  that  this  aid  should  be  granted. 

Mr.  Sutro  some  years  ago  went  upon  this  famous  Corn- 
stock  lode.  All  men  of  scientific  attainments  like  him,  all 
practical  miners  like  him,  all  men  of  a  speculative  turn 
perhaps — and  he  may  have  been  one  of  that  kind — went 
to  that  famous  lode,  hoping  to  make  money  undoubtedly, 
and  there,  having  understood  somewhat,  or  quite  largely, 
the  proper  methods  of  mining,  he  at  once  discovered, 
from  what  he  had  seen  and  read  in  the  old  countries,  that 
the  mining  operations  there  were  not  of  the  most  economi- 
cal and  the  most  erfective  character.  And  therefore  he 
proposed — he  started  the  idea  of  taking  up  that  which  was 
done  in  all  the  old  mining  countries — reaching  the  depths 
of  this  lode  down  two  thousand  feet  or  more,  below  the 
outcroppings  on  the  mountain  side,  so  that  the  pros- 
pecting and  the  mining  might  be  carried  on  with  more 
efficiency  and  with  less  expense.  The  proposition  was 
met  most  heartily  by  those  gentlemen  owning  the  mines. 
And,  in  furtherance  of  the  scheme,  Mr.  Sutro  obtained  an 
act  of  incorporation  from  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of 
Nevada,  by  an  act  approved  4th  February,  1865,  incorpor- 


835 

ating  this  Satro  Tunnel  Company.  And,  then,  when  ho 
opened  his  plan  to  the  principal  raino  owners  on  the  lode, 
they,  ieeling  and  knowing  the  necessity  for  such  an  opera- 
tion, for  such  an  auxiliary  to  their  mining  operations, 
knowing  the  vast  expense  they  were  at  daily  in  freeing 
their  mines  from  water,  entered  into  contracts,  which  will 
be  found  in  this  book  of  Mr.  Sutro's,  called  "The  Sutro 
Tunnel,"  and  which  you  will  be  familiar  with,  because 
you  will  read  it — I  shall  not  have  time  to  read  these  con- 
tracts— by  which  they  conceded  certain  things,  and  agreed 
to  do  certain  things,  on  condition  that  this  adit  or  tunnel 
should  be  completed.  Among  other  things,  they  agreed 
to  pay  him  for  all  ores  taken,  out  $2  per  ton,  and  other 
sums  for  transportation  of  ores,  timber,  men,  &c.  This  was 
entered  into  in  good  faith  at  the  time  undoubtedly,  but 
for  some,  reason  or  other,  very  soon  after,  these  gentlemen 
changed  their  minds  in  regard  to  it.  Our  theory  of  that 
action  is,  that  they  saw  that  there  was  money  in  this,  as 
Mr.  Sutro  saw  there  was  money  in  it — money  for  himself 
and  money  for  the  mine  owners.  But  these  gentlemen  who 
liad  made  their  money  and  were  making  money  from  these 
mines,  which  were  the  property  of  the  Government  and  not 
their  property,  except  as  they  took  them  up  as  squatters, 
having  no  interest  in  them,  having  no  right  in  them  any 
more  than  any  other  citizen,  except  as  a  squatter  right, 
they  entered  into  these  contracts  of  mutual  advantage  to 
both  parties;  and,  as  I  said,  our  theory  of  the  sudden  con- 
version that  came  over  these  men  is,  that  they  were,  not- 
withstanding they  Were  making  fortunes  out  of  the  mines, 
which  were  successfully  opened — they  felt  they  could  take 
that  which  Mr.  Sutro  had  discovered — the  proper  method 
of  reaching  these  mines  by  this  tunnel,  and,  by  wearing 
him  out,  they  could  build  it  themselves.  That,  I  think, 
the  case  will  show  was  the  real  reason  why  they  changed 
their  tactics,  and  why  they  have  b^en  making  war  upon 
him  from  that  time  to  this. 

When  they  started  him  on,  and  bade  him  God  speed  in 
the  accomplishment  of  certain  things,  they  felt  the  neces- 


826 

sity  of  this  great  work.  They  thought  him  competent  to 
attend  to  it,  and  they  believed  that  was  the  best  way  to  do 
it.  Bat  as  soon  as  he  moved  in  it,  and  they  began  to  see 
the  advantages  of  it,  and  what  might  be  the  advantages  to 
him,  they,  with  an  avarice,  not  perhaps  peculiar  to  them, 
but  very  common  in  the  world,  sought  to  oust  him  of  the 
benefits  of  what  he  had  done,  to  deprive  him  of  his  rights, 
and  make  them  subservient  to  their  own  interests. 

Well,  then,  in  following  this  case  along,  we  find  that  Mr. 
Sutro  came  to  Congress  and  obtained  the  act  of  Congress, 
approved  July  25,  1866,  and  under  that  act  the  rights 
under  these  contracts  were  confirmed  to  him  by  Congress; 
and  here  let  me  again  say,  that  at  this  time  these  squatters 
had  no  earthly  interest  in  these  mines,  save  what  they  got 
under  local  mining  laws.  They  were  absolutely  the  prop- 
erty of  the  United  States,  and  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  had  full  right  of  authority  to  do  just  what 
it  pleased  with  them.  And  when  this  case  was  pre- 
sented, and  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  saw  and 
were  convinced  that  this  tunnel  would  be  of  such  an  im- 
mense advantage,  and  that  the  whole  State  of  Nevada,  and 
all  these  mine  owners,  and  all  the  operative  miners  were 
asking  for  it,  believing  it  to  be  the  great  instrumentality 
by  which  that  vast  money  chest  of  the  nation  was  to  be 
thrown  open,  and  its  rich  treasures  thrown  out  broadcast 
over  the  world,  to  enrich  it,  arid  to  change  the  values  of 
property  arid  all  that  sort  of  thing — I  say  they  came  here, 
and  Congress  did  not  hesitate  to  bestow  these  privileges 
upon  Mr:  Sutro,  which  are  contained  in  this  act. 

The  1st  section  of  this  act  provided: 

"J?e  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United 
States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  for  the  purpose  of  the  construc- 
tion of  a  deep  draining  and  exploring  tunnel  to  and  beyond  the  Comstock 
lode,  so  called,  in  the  State  of  Nevada,  the  right  of  way  is  hereby  granted 
to  A.  Sutro,  his  heirs  and  assigns,  to  run,  construct,  and  excavate  a  mining, 
draining,  and  exploring  tunnel;  also  to  sink  mining,  working,  or  air  shafts 
along  the  line  or  course  of  said  tunnel,  and  connecting  with  the  same  at  any 
points,  which  may  hereafter  fce  selected  by  the  grantee  herein,  his  heirs  or 
assigns." 

Then  it  states  what  the  size  of  the  tunnel  shall  be. 


827 


Section  2,  provides: 


"SEC.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  right  is  hereby  granted  to  A. 
Sutro,  his  heirs  and  assigns,  to  purchase,  at  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents 
per  acre,  a  sufficient  amount  of  public  land  near  the  mouth  of  said  tunnel 
for  the  use  of  the  same,  not  exceeding  two  sections,  and  such  land  shall  not 
be  mineral  land  or  in  the  bona  fide  possession  of  other  persons  who  claim 
under  any  law  of  Congress  at  the  time  of  the  passage  of  this  act;  that  upon 
filing  a  plat  of  said  land  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  shall  withdraw  the 
same  from  sale,  and  upon  payment  for  the  same  a  patent  shall  issue." 

All  that  has  been  performed.  All  the  conditions  have 
been  performed  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Sutro,  and  this  tract  of 
land  passed  to  the  Sutro  Tunnel  Company;  and  that  is 
very  important,  because,  lying  at  the  mouth  of  this  tunnel, 
and  between  there  and  Carson  river,  is  a  beautiful  plateau, 
well  fitted  for  the  important  purposes  of  reduction  and 
concentration  of  ores,  and  all  the  other  important  opera- 
tions consequent  upon  opening  of  the  tunnel. 

Section  2  further  provides: 

"And  the  said  A.  Sutro,  his  heirs  and  assigns,  are  hereby  granted  the  right 
to  purchase,  at  five  dollars  per  acre,  such  mineral  veins  and  lodes,  within  two 
thousand  feet,  on  each  side  of  said  tunnel,  as  shall  be  cut,  discovered,  or  de- 
veloped, by  running  and  constructing  the  same,  through  its  entire  extent, 
with  all  the  dips,  spurs,  and  angles  of  said  lodes,  subject,  however,  to  the 
provisions  of  this  act,  and  to  such  legislation  as  Congress  may  hereafter  pro- 
vide: Provided,  That  the  Comstock  lode,  with  its  dips,  spurs,  and  angles,  is 
excepted  from  this  grant;  and  all  other  lodes,  with  their  dips,  spurs,  and 
angles,  located  within  the  said  two  thousand  feet,  and  which  are,  or  may  be, 
at  the  passage  of  this  act,  in  the  actual  bona  fide  possession  of  other  persons, 
are  hereby  excepted  from  such  grant." 

By  this  proviso  it  will  be  observed,  that  the  Comstock 
lode,  and  all  other  lodes,  or  parts  of  lodes,  in  the  actual 
possession  of  other  persons,  are  excepted  from  this  part  of 
the  grant  to  Mr.  Sutro  : 

"And  the  lodes  herein  excepted,  other  than  the  Comstock  lode,  shall  be 
withheld  from  sale  by  the  United  States ;  and  if  such  lodes  shall  be  abandoned 
or  not  worked,  possessed,  and  held  in  conformity  to  existing  mining  rules,  or 
such  regulations  as  have  been,  or  may  be,  prescribed  by  the  Legislature  of 
Nevada,  they  shall  become  subject  to  such  right  of  purchase  by  the  grantee 
herein,  his  heirs  or  assigns." 

Then  the  third  section  is  still  more  important  in  its 
bearing  upon  the  question  before  the  committee,  and  to 
which  I  more  especially  desire  to  direct  your  attention. 
It  reads  as  follows: 

"  SEC.  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  all  persons,  companies,  or  corpo- 
rations, owning  claims  or  mines  on  said  Comstock  Lode,  or  any  other  lode, 


828 

drained,  benefited,  or  developed  by  said  tunnel,  shall  bold  their  claims  subject 
to  the  condition  which  shall  be  expressed  in  any  grant  they  may  hereafter 
obtain  from  the  United  States ;  that  they  shall  contribute  and  pay  to 'the  owners 
of  said  tunnel  the  same  rate  of  charges  for  drainage  or  other  benefits  derived 
from  said  tunnel  or  its  branches  as  have  been  or  may  hereafter  be  named  in 
agreements  between  such  owners  and  the  companies  representing  a  majority 
of  the  estimated  value  of  said  Comstock  lode  at  the  time  of  the  passage  of 
this  act." 

The  important  provision  in  that  section  is,  that  all  pat- 
ents which  should  thereafter  issue  to  any  of  these  claim- 
ants of  the  mines — persons  who  ohtaiu  these  possessory 
rights — that  in  such  patents  should  be  inserted  this  provis- 
ion, making  the  grant  subject  to  these  contracts.  That  is 
very  important  to  the  Government,  provided  this  aid  is 
granted;  because  it  will  insure  a  revenue  which  will  amply 
secure  the  Government  for  the  advances  it  will  make. 
This  act,  you  will  observe,  was  approved  July  25,  1866, 
and  it  will  be  found  in  the  Statutes  at  Large,  vol.  14,  page 
242. 

Then  the  next  step  in  this  proceeding  was  in  the  40th 
Congress.  A  bill  was.  introduced  and  referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Mines  and  Mining,  of  which  Mr.  Iligby,  of  Cal- 
ifornia, was  then  chairman,  which  asked  §5,000,000  for  the 
purpose  of  making  this  great  work.  That  was  fully  con- 
sidered by  the  committee,  and  this  very  able  report  was 
made,  and  signed  by  Delos  R.  Ashley,  Morton  G.  Hunter, 
James  M.  Ashley,  Orange  Ferris,  John  F.  Driggs,  Rufus 
Malory.  (See  House  Report  No.  50,  2d  Sess.  40th  Con- 
gress. ) 

That  bill  was  reported,  as  I  understand,  unanimously,  or 
rather  no  member  of  the  committee  submitted  a  minority 
report.  The  concluding  paragraph  of  the  report  is  in  these 
words: 

"  If  we  take  into  consideration  the  magnitude  of  this  undertaking,  the  large 
yield  of  bullion  which  will  be  directly  secured  thereby,  the  great  influence 
by  its  successful  completion  upon  all  our  mining  districts,  the  stimulus  it  will 
give  to  mining  generally,  the  positive  proof  it  will  furnish  of  our  immense 
mineral  wealth,  and  consider  the  importance  of  attaining  these  results,  in 
view  of  our  large  national  debt,  ordinary  wisdom  and  foresight  should  com- 
mand that  the  aid  asked  for  the  construction  of  this  important  work,  or 
a  much  larger  sum  if  it  were  necessary,  should  be  granted,  even  were  110  se- 
curity whatever  offered  for  its  repayment." 

Action  upon  the  bill  was  prevented  by  the  intervention 


829 

of  the  impeachment  of  the  President  of  the  United  States. 
I  believe  that  was  the  only  reason  it  was  not  acted  upon  at 
that  session.  It  could  not  be  reached.  It  was  impossible 
to  reach  any  bill,  because  everything  was  suspended  until 
that  matter  of  impeachment  was  finally  disposed  of. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  What  was  proposed  in  that  bill? 

Mr.  RICE.  That  bill  proposed  to  give  $5,000,000. 

Mr.  YOUNG.  Absolutely? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  No,  sir;  as  a  loan. 

Mr.  RICE.  Precisely,  as  in  this  bill.  I  thought  I  had  the 
bill  here,  but  I  find  I  have  not. 

After  this  bill  was  reported,  then  the  tactics  of  these 
gentlemen,  who  had  become  suddenly  the  opponents  of 
this  measure,  took  a  new  turn.  In  the  Forty-first  Con- 
gress they  appeared  here  and  introduced  a  bill  which  pro- 
posed substantially  to  repeal  the  third  section  of  this  act, 
as  I  have  stated  to  you.  And  over  that  was  a  long  contest 
and  a  long  hearing  before  the  Committee  on  Mines  and 
Mining. 

And  after  a  full  hearing  of  the  case  upon  its  merits,  in 
all  its  branches,  in  all  its  ramifications,  and  with  able  coun- 
sel, coming  from  San  Francisco,  to  present  the  arguments 
for  the  Bank  of  California,  or  the  persons  owning  these 
mines,  or  both  together — it  makes  no  difference — they  came 
here  and  demanded  of  Congress  that  they  should  abrogate 
the  rights  which  Mr.  Sutro  had  obtained  by  this  act  of 
Congress,  and  relieve  them,  in  fact,  from  the  agreements 
which  they  had  voluntarily  entered  into  for  the  comple- 
tion of  this  tunnel,  and  to  relieve  them  from  the  obliga- 
tions which  they  had  undertaken  in  consideration  of  his 
performing  these  acts.  After  z  full  hearing,  as  I  said  be- 
fore, the  committee  asked  to  be  discharged  from  the  further 
consideration  of  the  bill.  Mr.  Sargent  submitted  a  mi- 
nority report,  claiming  that  the  construction  of  the  law 
should  not  be  left  in  that  way,  but  that  they  should  sub- 
stantially explain  away  the  provisions  of  that  third  section 
of  the  act,  so  that  this  royalty  could  not  be  collected  in 
favor  of  the  Sutro  Tunnel  Company.  The  argument  was 


830 

very  able  on  both  sides,  and  after  a  fall  hearing  of  the  case 
the  bill  was  laid  upon  the  table  by  a  vote  of  124  to  42. 
That  was  the  end  of  that  operation.  In  that  great  battle 
between  Mr.  Sutro,  who  appeared  single-handed  and  alone, 
and  the  Bank  of  California,  Mr.  S litre's  rights  were  made 
so  patent  and  so  plain,  and  the  importance  of  this  work 
was  so  thoroughly  demonstrated,  that  by  that  most  de- 
cisive vote,  after  a  most  able  and  lengthy  argument,  the 
whole  thing  was  set  at  rest.  And  then  in  this  Congress, 
at  the  March  term,  a  law  was  passed  to  have  this  com- 
mission sent  out,  to  examine  this  question  and  report. 
This  all  shows  the  constant  care  and  the  constant  in- 
terest of  this  Government  in  this  great  enterprise.  This 
commission  went  out  there,  and  they  made  their  re- 
port. You  have  all  read  it.  And  from  the  fact  that  they 
based  their  report  somewhat,  and  to  a  very  large  extent, 
upon  the  reports  of  the  superintendents  of  these  mines, 
who  are'  antagonistic  to  this  measure,  it  was  upon  our 
motion  that  these  commissioners  were  brought  in  before 
the  committee  to  explain  precisely  how  and  in  what  man- 
ner they  obtained  the  information,  and  to  get  more  fully 
and  more  clearly  at  their  views  upon  this  question.  They 
came  before  the  committee,  and  the  sub-committee  has 
heard  them,  and  their  testimony  is  included  in  this  volume, 
throwing  very  great  light  upon  the  questions  left  in  doubt, 
and  still  more  light  have  we  obtained  through  this  exami- 
nation: and  we  are  very  much  indebted  to  Mr.  Sunderland 
for  the  fact  that  he  insisted  upon  going  beyond  what  we 
asked,  and  beyond  what  the  committee  had  anticipated,  and 
asked  to  have  other  testimony  brought  in.  Two  of  these 
superintendents  came  here  voluntarily  from  the  other  side  of 
the  mountains  to  give  their  voluntary  testimony  in  behalf 
of  their  employers.  They  were  very  gentlemanly  and  well- 
appearing  men,  and  I  have  nothing  to  say  in  regard  to 
them,  other  than  this,  that  they  disagreed  with  all  other 
gentlemen  as  to  the  value  of  this  tunnel,  as  to  its  practical 
operation,  and  as  to  the  value  of  the  mines,  and  as  to  what 
could  be  accomplished  by  it  and  through  it;  and  Mr. 


831 

ftequa  also  expressed  the  opinion,  very  clearly,  that  he  did 
not  believe  that  this  lode  would  be  found  to  be  ore-bearing 
very  much  farther  down  ;  in  which  view  even  Mr.  Sunder- 
lancl  disagreed  with  him,  for  he  admitted  that  it  was  a  true 
fissure  vein,  extending  downwards  indefinitely;  and  I  be- 
lieve everybody  else  believes  the  same.  He  is  one  of 
those  practical  men,  who  evidently  only  believes  in  what 
he  sees,  and  nothing  else.  I  was  about  to  say  that  we  got 
most  valuable  testimony  from  Mr.  Raymond,  the  accom- 
plished Government  Commissioner  of  Mines  and  Mining, 
with  whom  the  sub-committee,  who  heard  him,  must  have 
been  exceedingly  interested,  from  his  clear  statements  in 
regard  to  this  whole  matter.  It  was  a  great  pleasure,  I  have 
no  doubt,  to  the  committee,  as  it  was  to  me,  to  listen  to  a 
thoroughly  scientific  mining  engineer  upon  a  question  of 
this  magnitude  and  of  this  very  great  interest.  And  hardly 
less  interesting  was  the  testimony  of  Mr.  Luckhardt,  who 
came  here  at  our  solicitation,  from  the  other  side  of  the 
mountains,  too.  You  know  very  well  how  he  appeared. 
You  know  how  cautious  he  was  in  the  opinions  he  gave. 
You  know  what  opportunities  he  had  had  for  understanding 
this  whole  thing.  And  you  understood  from  him  what  un- 
usual opportunities  he  had  for  studying  every  condition  and 
every  circumstance  connected  with  this  wonderful  Corn- 
stock  lode.  He  was  there  five  years  in  the  employ  of  men 
who  sent  him  there,  as  their  confidential  agent,  to  report 
upon  all  the  mines.  The  superintendent  who  has  charge  of 
a  mine,  to  be  sure,  can  make  an  accurate  and  positive  report 
in  regard  to  his  own  mine;  but  this  gentleman  went  from 
one  mine  to  the  other,  and  he  had  access  to  them  all.  The 
Bank  of  California  sent  him  wherever  he  desired  to  go  or 
they  desired  him  to  go  in  these  mines;  and,  therefore,  he 
studied  it  with  the  eye  of  a  scientific  as  well  as  a  practical 
engineer,  and  he  knew  all  about  the  matter. 

Now,  we  claim,  gentlemen,  that  with  these  facts,  there 
should  not  be  any  question  about  what  the  Government 
should  do,  and  we 'claim  that  it  will  only  be  doing  what  it 
has  been  doing  in  every  other  branch  of  public  interest  in 


832 

this  country.  Why,  from  the  very  beginning  of  the  Govern- 
ment clown  to  the  present  time,  we  have  been  fostering  and 
sustaining  almost  every  branch  of  industry,  more  or  less. 
ATid  especially  so  where  it  only  requires  the  credit  of  the 
Government  to  help  along  in  these  great  enterprises.     We 
claim  this  as  one  of  that  class  of  enterprises  where  it  re- 
quires such  a  vast  outlay  of  money  as  to  render  it  beyond 
the  means  of  private  individuals  to  carry  it  forward  to  com- 
pletion; and,  therefore,  when  it  is  of  that  commanding 
magnitude,  like  the  great  Pacific  railroads,  or  like   the 
great  question  of  commerce,  or  like  almost  any  other  of 
the  great  questions,  where  the  amount  of  money  to  be  ex- 
pended is  beyond  private  means,  the  Government  shall 
come  in  to  assist  in  the  development  and  fostering  of  these 
great  interests.     We  did  it  all  along  in  the  early  days  of 
the  Republic,  during  Democratic  administrations  and  dur- 
ing Whig  administrations.     We  hail  the  great  fishing  inter- 
ests of  the  country  sustained  by  bounties  upon  fish.  There 
was  a  great  quarrel  over  it,  and  at  last  it  was  yielded.     Our 
fishermen  got  to  that  point  where  they  could  sustain  them- 
selves, and  the  fishing  bounties  were  given  up,  probably  very 
much  to  the  detriment  of  the  country,  because  we  ceased  to 
raise  up  sailors  who  are  to  make  our  seamen  to  navigate  our 
ships  when  brought  in  deadly  conflict  with  the  great  powers. 
It  is  perfectly  analogous  to  the  aid  the  Government  extend- 
ed to  the  Pacific  railroad.    In  a  very  much  less  degree,  to 
be  sure,  but  still,  if  there  was  any  justification  for  these 
great  works,  and  we   claim   there   was  justification   for 
them,  and  there  was  necessity  for  them,  and  the   Gov- 
ernment has  done  itself  great  credit  and  great  honor,  and 
has  thus  wonderfully  developed  the  growth  of  the  coun- 
try, which  has  astonished  the  whole  world,  and  has  made 
us  to  stand  aloft  among  the  nations  of  the  earth ;  I  say  it 
is  antilogous  to  the  aid  which  has  been  given  to  these  great 
enterprises,  for  this  mineral  interest  of  the  country  is  sec- 
ond to  none,  as  Professor  Raymond  said,  unless  it  be  the 
agricultural  interests  of  the  country.     And  it  is  for  us  to 
unlock  this  money  chest  of  the  nation,  as  President  Grant 


833 

said,  and  take  out  this  wonderful  deposit,  more  wonderful 
ih:Mi  nny  in  the  world;  and  as  these  scientific  gentlemen 
testified,  this  Comstock  lode  is  of  more  value  and  richer 
than  any  o'ther  similar  deposit  in  the  world,  and  we  pro- 
pose to  strike  into  the  howels  of  the  earth  2,000  feet  do\vn, 
and  to  take  out  from  that  mountain  its  wonderful  resounds 
815,000,000  a  year— some  say  $30,000,000  a  year— to  be 
doubled,  tripled,  and  quadrupled,  we  say,  when  this  tunnel 
shall  be  completed.  Why,  it  seems  to  me,  gentleman,  that 
it  does  not  require  an  argument.  It  does  not  require  any 
evidence  to  show  that  this  tunnel  must  be  of  the  very  great- 
est benefit  in  developing  these  mines,  because  it  is  a  self-evi- 
dent facf.  It  is  evident  to  my  friend  from  Pennsylvania, 
who  knows  something  about  the  mining  interests  of  his 
own  State — that  wonderful  State  of  Pennsylvania,  so  rich 
in  her  mineral  possessions  that,  if  you  strike  into  a  vast 
mine  where  you  can  mine  upwards  and  downwards, 
forming  a  new  base  for  your  operations,  you  can  reach 
very  much  greater  depths  and  have  very  much  greater 
returns  and  very  much  less  expense  than  you  can  by 
&uy  other  means.  We  claim  that  this  will  most  thor- 
oughly ventilate  these  mines,  and  every  body  understands 
the  importance  of  perfect  ventilation  in  these  opera- 
tions— every  man  who  ever  went  into  a  mine  understands 
the  necessity  of  it — and  nobody  can  doubt  that  by  these 
means  you  will  get  that  ventilation.  Nobody  doubts,  for 
all  concede  that  the  entire  amount  of  expenditures  for 
raising  water  from  the  deep  mines  will  be  saved  by  the 
construction  of  this  tunnel,  and  every  body  must  know, 
for  it  is  a  self-evident  fact,  that  an  immense  amount  of 
ores,  and  an  immense  amount  of  debris  and  waste  rock  can 
be  taken  out  through  this  tunnel  by  a  railroad  very  much 
cheaper  than  it  can  be  hoisted  up  to  the  top  of  a  mountain. 
It  is  a  self  evident  fact,  so  palpable,  so  patent,  and  so  con- 
clusive, that  it  is  almost  waste  time  to  argue  it  for  a  single 
moment. 

Then,  again,  gentleman, in  regard  to  this  matter,  it  is 
conclusively  proven,  and  I  think  the  gentlemen   of  the 
53 


834 

committee,  all  of  them,  when  they  shall  go  through  the 
testimony,  will  be  fully  satisfied  that  the  Government  is 
fully  indemnified  by  this  bill  for  all  the  expenditure  it 
shall  make;  because  by  the  bill,  it  will  have  a  mortgage  or 
lien  for  their  expenditures  upon  the  tunnel,  and  upon  all 
the  franchises  of  the  tunnel  company,  for  its  reimburse- 
ment for  this  amount  of  money;  and  Professor  Neweomb 
and  Professor  Raymond  and  Mr.  Luckhardt,,  these  men 
who  understand  this  question  thoroughly,  especially  the 
latter  two  gentleman,  say  there  is  no  question  about 
the  security  to  the  Government.  It  is  only  a  question  of 
ti/ne,  Congress  simply  loaning  this  money  for  a  very  short 
time  to  develop  this  great  interest,  and  to  make  this  a 
model  work  for  other  mining  operations  with  similar  sur- 
roundings and  similar  conditions,  so  that  capital  may 
safely  invest  for  the  development  of  these  great  interests. 

Gentlemen,  I  will  not  take  up  your  time  by  arguing  or 
advancing  any  theories  touching  the  politico-economical 
bearings  of  this  case.  You  are,  each  of  you,  more  com- 
petent to  do  that  than  I  am;  but  everybody  knows  what 
the  effect  of  these  vast  productions  of  the  precious  metals 
will  have  upon  every  interest  of  the  country.  It  gives  a 
stimulus  to  industry,  and  it  raises  the  prices  and  values  of 
the  property;  and  in  connection  with  our  public  debt  it  is 
of  the  greatest  importance.  It  is  the  touchstone  by  which 
we  are  to  reach  that  condition  which  we  all  desire  as  Ameri- 
cans, viz,  to  be  entirely  free  of  debt.  It  has  been  our 
proud  boast,  in  all  the  years  up  to  the  time  of  the  rebel- 
lion, that  we  had  a  debt  so  small  that  it  was  comparatively 
nothing;  and  we  want  to  be  different  from  all  the  other 
nations  of  the  earth  again,  and  wipe  out  this  public  in- 
debtedness, so  that  we  can  say,  as  we  did  when  our  rebel- 
lion commenced,  that  we  were  comparatively  out  of  debt: 
so  that,  in  case  another  war  shall  come  upon  us — never 
another  one  of  an  internal  character,  I  trust — I  hope  the 
Government  will  be  administered  with  that  justice  to  all 
sections,  so  that  that  may  be  avoided  in  the  future;  and  I 
also  hope  that  the  time  will  never  come  when  we  shall 


835  -8-7-8-' 

come  in  collision  with  othor  nations;  but,  if  it  docs  come, 
Ton  cannot  over-estimate  the  advantage  of  being  free  from 
debt,  and  being  able  to  go  into  the  markets  of  the  world 
and  get  all  the  money  we  need,  and  look  back  to  the  past 
and  say  that,  after  this  vast  war,  this  vast  out  lay  of  public  ex- 
penditure, and  this  vast  accumnlation  of  debt,  in  this  short 
time,  we  have  extinguished  all  our  debt  through  our  resour- 
ces, which  have  been  so  vast;  and  it  will  be  very  long  before 
governments  will  seek  to  embroil  themselves  with  us,  in  my 
judgment. 

Gentlemen,  I  have  talked  very  much  longer  on  this  mat- 
ter than  I  intended;  for  I  did  not  design  to  say  anything. 
What  I  have  said  has  been  said  in  a  very  desultory  and  un- 
satisfactory manner  to  myself,  and  I  will  therefore  call  it 
an  opening,  and  leave  the  case,  so  far  as  I  am  concerned. 

The  comn^itee  adjourned  till  Wednesday  evening,  April  17, 1872,  at  r/2  o'clock. 

- 
, 

MR.  SUKDERLAND'S  ARGUMENT, 

APRIL  17, 1872. 

Mr.  CHAIRMAN:  I  feel  some  embarrassments  in  the  argu- 
ment of  the  questions  before  the  committee,  particularly 
on  the  ground  that  I  do  not  know  what  I  have  to  answer. 
What  was  called  an  opening  of  the  case  on  the  part  of  the 
Sutro  Tunnel  Company  on  Monday  evening  gave  me  no 
means  of  even  guessing  what  the  line  of  argument  would  be 
in  the  case.  I  shall  this  evening  confine  myself  rather  to 
making  suggestions  to  the  committee,  than  attempting  to 
draw  deductions  or  to  make  an  argument;  and  I  feel  the 
more  induced  to  pursue  this  course,  because  the  committee 
is  composed  of  gentlemen  of  intelligence,  who  would  most 
likely  prefer  to  make  their  own  arguments  in  their  own 
minds,  and  draw  their  own  deductions  from  the  facts  before 
the  committee  and  from  the  suggestions  made  on  either 
side.  From  the  first  discovery  of  the  gold  in  California  in 
1848  up  to  the  present  time,  the  Government  has  acquiesced 
in  the  claim  of  discoverers  and  their  successors  in  interest 
to  the  ownership  of  the  mines,  while  the  legal  title  to  the 
mines  has  been  conceded  to  be  in  the  Government;  yet  there 


840 

is  not  a  single  instance  on  record  where  the  Government  has 
interfered  with  the  working  of  gold  .and  silver  mines  on  the 
public  lands,  as  the  parties  in  possession  chose  to  work 
them. 

Under  the  laws  of  the  different  States  and  Territories 
west  of  the  Kocky  Mountains,  and  under  the  mining  rules 
and  regulations  in  each  mining  district,  and  under  the  de- 
cisions of  all  the  courts  of  the  different  States  and  territo- 
ries where  these  mines  are  located,  the  claims  of  the  miners 
have  been  regarded — treated  not  only  as  property,  but  as 
real  estate.  Interests  in  mines  are  conveyed  by  deed.  The 
deeds  are  recorded  as  deeds  of  conveyances  of  real  estate. 
Ejectment  suits  are  brought  for  the  recovery  of  the  posses- 
sion of  mines.  Mines  are  sold  under  execution.  They  de- 
scend to  heirs,  and  are  devised  as  other  property  ;  and  if 
you  have  the  curiosity  or  the  interest  to  examine  the  re- 
ports of  those  different  States  and  territories,  you  will  find 
that  the  decisions  all  recognize  not  only  the  interest  of  the 
occupants  of  mines,  but  that  that  interest  is  real  estate. 
Therefore,  it  may  be  deduced  from  the  non-action  on  the 
part  of  the  general  Government,  and  the  actions  of  claim- 
ants to  mines,  and  the  acknowledgment  of  those  claims  by 
the  highest  authorities  in  the  different  States  and  territories 
where  the  mines  are  located,,  that  the  parties  claiming  the 
mines,  and  being  in  possession,  have  had  the  equity,  the 
title  in  equity,  to  those  mines,  the  Government  hold- 
ing the  legal  title  as  trustee  for  the  benefit  of  the  par- 
ties in  possession.  I  think  the  policy  that  has  been  pur- 
sued by  the  general  Government  a  wise  one.  It  has 
encouraged  the  search  for  mines.  A  poor  man  in  that 
country  starts  out  with  his  little  pack  on  his  back,  and  his 
shovel,  and  his  pick.  He  clambers  over  mountains  in 
search  for  mines.  It  is  nothing  more  than  a  proper  reward 
for  his  labor  and  his  enterprise — if  you  please,  his  reckless- 
ness, in  abandoning  home  and  comforts — to  grant  to  him, 
when  he  finds  a  mine,  the  right  to  work  it,  and  to  realize 
from  it  whatever  may  be  in  the  mine.  Then  follows,  gen- 
tlemen, after  the  first  discovery,  the  investment  of  the  mon- 


841 

ey  of  capitalists  necessary  to  develop  the  mine,  because,  in 
a  silver  mine  especially,  and  in  all  quartz  veins  containing 
either  gold  or  silver,  muscle  alone  will  not  develop  a  mine. 
It  requires  money.  Hence,  when  the  Government  has,  hy 
its  acquiescence  in  the  claims  of  miners,  acknowledged  the 
right  of  the  possessors  to  work  the  mines,  these  capitalists 
have  gone  on  in  good  faith,  and  invested  the  money  neces- 
sary to  develop  the  mine.  Hence  I  say,  that  we  were  long 
ago,  and  long  "before  Mr.  Sutro  had  any  claim  upon  the 
Comstock,  in  good  faith  the  owners  of  that  mine.  If  we 
were  the  owners  of  the  Comstock,  neither  Mr.  Sutro  nor  the 
Government  has  any  right  to  interfere,  and  to  dictate  to  us 
how  we  shall  work  that  mine.  If  it  is  ours,  we  have  a  right 
to  develop  it  in  that  mode  and  manner  that  we  think  to  our 
interest.  I  shall  attempt  to  show  before  I  get  through  that 
we  are  not  working  the  Comstock  at  present  with  that,  de- 
gree of  ignorance  imputed  to  us  by  Mr.  Sutro.  The  answer 
which  I  anticipate  to  this  proposition  of  our  ownership  of 
the  mines  is,  that  certain  contracts  were  entered  into  by  dif- 
ferent mining  companies,  owning  different  sections  of  the 
Comstock,  white  we  were  in  possession.  Here  would  seem 
to  be  an  acknowledgment  by  Mr.  Sutro  that  these  different 
mining  companies  did  own  the  ground  claimed  by  them,  and 
he  would  therefore  seem  to  be  estopped  from  now  asserting 
tteat  we  did  not  own  the  mines,  when  he  has  contracted  with 
us  as  owners  of  these  different  mines. 

But,  admitting  that  all  the  mines  upon  the  Comstock  had 
entered  into  this  contract  with  Mr.  Sutro,  it  does  not  author- 
ize the  Government  to  interfere  in  a  controversy  between 
Sutro  and  the  present  owners  of  those  mines.  It  was  a  pri- 
vate contract,  in  which  there  were  covenants  on  both  sides, 
and  the  mining  companies  attempted  to  secure  themselves  by 
requiring  certain  things  to  be  done  by  Mr.  Sutro.  I  wish 
now  to  read  from  the  contract : 

"ARTICLE  1.  The  parties  of  the  first  part"  (Sutro  and  associates)  "agree 
that  they  will,  on  or  before  the  first  day  of  August,  1867,  commence  and 
with  reasonable  energy  and  vigor,  and  at  their  own  expense,  run,  excavate, 
and  complete  the  tunnel  and  lateral  drifts  hereinafter  mentioned." 

"AaT.  3.r  The   parties  of  the  first  part   covenant    and   agree    that  the 


842 

work  shall  be  commenced  at  the  time  specified,  hy  running  the  tunnel  from 
the  foot  hills  of  Carson  valley;  and  also  by  simultaneously  sinking  at  least 
three  shafts  of  sufficient  capacity  on  the  line. of  the  tunnel,  and  when  the 
shafts  have  reached  the  depth  required  for  the  level  of  the  tunnel,  then  to 
drift  in  both  directions  from  the  bottom  of  each  shaft,  so  that  there  shall  be 
at  least  seven  places  of  excavation  going  on  from  the  time  that  all  of  the 
shafts  reach  the  requisite  level,  all  the  time  until  the  tunnel  is  completed, 
unless  connections  between  some  of  the  shafts  are  sooner  made;  and  the 
said  work,  at  ali  times,  shall  be  prosecuted  continuously  and  without  any 
interruption,  except  from  unavoidable  accident,  until  the  completion  of  the 
tunnel  and  of  the  works  which,  under  this  agreement,  are  to  be  considered 
as  draining  the  mine  of  the  party  of  the  second  part;  and  in  case  of  any 
such  interruption  occurring,  the  cause  thereof  shall  be  removed  or  remedied, 
and  the  work  resumed  without  delay. 

"And  the  parties  of  the  first  park  covenant  and  agree,  that  on  or  before  the 
said  first  day  of  August,  1867,  there  shall  have  been  subscribed,  in  good 
faith,  and  hy  apparent!}7  responsible  persons,  at  least  the  sum  of  three  mil- 
lions of  dollars,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on  and  completing  the  said  tun- 
nel, and  the  latteral  drifts  hereinafter  mentioned;  that  of  said  sum  at  least 
ten  per  cent,  shall  have  been  actually  paid  in  cash;  that  during  the  first 
year  in  which  the  work  shall  be  prosecuted,  commencing  on  said  first  day 
of  August,  1867,  there  shall  be  expended  upon,  or  on  account  of  the  work, 
not  less  than  the  sum  of  four  iiundred  thousand  dollars." 

Now,  I  say  that  there  was  at  least  an  attempt  on  the 
part  of  the  owners  of  the  mines  upon  the  Comstock  to  pro- 
tect themselves  in  this  contract,  hy  requiring  certain  things 
to  be  done  at  certain  times.  First,  Mr.  Sutro  agreed,  on 
his  part,  to  show  that  he  was  acting  in  good  faith,  to  pro- 
cure from  responsible  parties  a  subscription  of  stock  to  the 
extent  of  three  millions  of  dollars,  on  or  before  the  first 
day  of  August,  1867.  He  agreed,  that  within  one  year 
thereafter  he  should  expend  actually  upon  the  construction 
of  the  tunnels  and  the  shafts  $400,000.  Therefore,,  in  this 
contract,  time  was  made  an  essential  part  of  the  contract. 
Time  was  of  the  essence  of  the  contract.  Now,  there  is  no 
pretense  here  that  he  had  subscription  to  a  single  dollar's 
worth  of  stock  during  that  time,  or  that  within  the  year 
next  succeeding  that  date  he  expended  a  dollar  upon  the 
work  on  the  tunnel ;  and  when  he  has  failed  to  comply 
with  that  most  important  part  of  the  contract,  under  its 
terms  the  contract  itself  had  ceased — ceased  to  be  obliga- 
tory upon  the  part  of  the  mining  companies  which  entered 
into  it.  Even  at  this  day  there  is  no  pretense  that  there 
is  any  subscription  to  stock. 

I  have  here,  and  will  exhibit,  before  I  get  through,  to 
the  committee  a  circular  issued  by  the  Sutro  Tunnel  £5om- 


843 

pany,  which  states  that  the  capital  stock  of  the  company  is 
$12,000.000  ;  that  it  is  full  paid  stock,  and  consequently 
there  is  no  subscription  to. the  stock  at  all,  and  it  is  unas- 
sessable. 

At  the  time  this  contract  was  made  there  was  fear  enter- 
tained by  the  different  officers  of  the  different  njining  com- 
panies that  the  water  would  increase  in  depth  upon  the 
lode,  and  in  consideration  o£-JVIr.  Sutro' s  agreement,  to  do 
these  things  within  the  time  limited  in  the  contract,  it  was 
agreed  to  by  the  officers  of  the  different  mining  companies 
who  have  signed  this  contract.  It  may  be  as  well  for  me 
to  say  here  that  the  most  of  these  officers  signing  this  con- 
tract, at  the  annual  election  next  after  the  signing  of  the 
same,  were,  on  account  of  the  signing  of  that  contract, 
ignominiously  turned  out  of  office.  The  stockholders  of 
these  different  companies  repudiated  these  contracts  when- 
ever they  had  a  right  to  have  their  voice  heard.  On  ac- 
count of  the  failure  of  Mr.  Sutro  to  comply  with  these  con- 
tracts as  to  time,  the  different  mining  companies  upon  the 
Comstock,  in  order  to  lessen  the  cost  of  supr^ies,  which  Mr. 
Bequa  says  have  been  reduced  33  per  cent,  on  account  of 
the  construction  of  the  Virginia  and  Truckee  railroad,  sub- 
scribed and  paid  to  that  road  over  $800,000.  Now, .if  the 
Sutro  tunnel  had  been  commenced  and  prosecuted  as  Mr. 
Sutro  agreed  to  do,  there  would  have  been  no  necessity  for 
the  expenditure  of  this  large  sum  of  money  by  the  different 
mining  companies. 

By  some  representation — what  it  was  I  do  not  know — in 
July,  1866,  Congress  was  induced  to  pass  a  law  which  not 
only  affirmed  the  contracts,  so  far  as  the  onerous  part  of 
the  same  on  us  was  concerned,  but  gave  Sutro  above  what 
he  had  asked  for,  (the  franchise,  estimated  by  him  to  bo 
worth  about  $6,000,000  a  year,)  this  royalty  of  $2  a  ton, 
and  the  charges  that  are  specified  in  the  contract  of  25 
cents  per  ton  per  mile  for  the  transportation  of  ore§  and 
timbers,  and  25  cents  for  passing  in  and  out  through  the 
tunnel,  and  without  any  limitation  as  to  time.  We  were 
all  asleep.  We  were  not  here  boring  a  tunnel  through 


844 

(JoDgress,  or  through  anybody  else.  We  did  not  know  that 
Sutro  was  coming  here;  but  he  came  here,  and  got  an  act 
passed  by  Congress  and  approved  by  the  President,  not 
only  to  give  him  all  that  he  claimed  under  the  contracts, 
but  to  make  all  other  companies  not  subscribing  to  the 
contract  liable  to  the  same  payment.  I  wish  now  to  read 
the  third  section  of  this  act  of  Congress : 

"And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  all  persons,  companies,  or  corporations, 
owning  claims  or  mines  on  said  Comstock  lode,  or  any  other  -lode  drained, 
benefited,  or  developed  by  said  tunnel,  shall  hold  their  claims  subject  to  the 
condition,  (which  shall  be  expressed  in  any  grant  they  may  hereafter  obtain 
from  the  United  States,)  that  they  shall  contribute  and  pay»to  the  owners  of 
said  tunnel  the  same  rate  of  charges  for  drainage  or  other'  benfits  derived 
from  said  tunnel  or  its  branches  as  have  been  or  may  hereafter  be  named  in 
agreements  between  such  owners  and  the  companies  representing  a  majority 
of  the  estimated  value  of  said  Comstock  lode  at  the  time  of  the  passage  of 
this  act." 

It  is  a  fact  well  known,  and  one  that  will  not  be  disputed, 
that  there  were  companies  upon  the  Comstock  who  presist- 
ently  refused  to  enter  into  this  contract.  Now,  against  our 
will  Mr.  Sutro  came  here  and  got  Congress  to  pass  the  law, 
makingthis  contract  applicable  to  the  mines  which  refused 
to  sign  his  contract,  and  without  any  limitation  as  to  when 
he  Avas  to  perform  the  work  which  he  agreed  to  perform. 
All  we  ask,  Mr. 'Chair man,  on  this  question,  upon  this  con- 
tract, as  to  whether  it  has  been  forfeited  or  not  by  Mr.  Sutro, 
on  account  of  his  non-compliance  with  the  terms  of  the  con- 
tract, is  to  be  let  alone,  and  let  us  fight  it  out  between 
ourselves  in  the  courts,  if  necessary  to  be  fought  out  there, 
and  not  have  any  interference,  by  Congress  giving  Mr. 
Sutro  three  millions  to  fight  us — giving  him  the  advantage 
of  three  millions  over  us  to  fight  this  matter  out. 

I  now  call  the  attention  of  the  committee  to  a  fact  which 
they  may  not  at  present  understand,  and  to  urge  that  as  a 
reason  why  Congress  should  not  interfere  where  the  des- 
truction of  property  by  the  construction  of  this  work  will 
be  so  great.  Mr:  Sutro,  in  a  work  issued  by  him  in  New 
York,  on  the  1st  of  September,  1866,  says — I  read  from 
pages  22  and  23  of  this  pamphlet  or  circular  of  Mr. 
Sutro 's — 

"  The  real  estate,  with  improvements,  in  Virgina  City  and  Gold  Hill,  exclu- 


845 

siye  of  any  mining  property,  was  taxed  in  1865  at  $6,882,084.  If  the  mines 
should  cease  to  be  worked,  property  would  become  entirely  valueless,  and 
since  the  only  m<w)d  of  securing  the  permanence  of  the  mines  is  the  con- 
struction of  the  proposed  tunnel,  people  owning  real  estate  at  these  places 
cannot  seriously  complain  should  they  be  forced  to  a  removal  to  the  mouth 
of  the  tunnel. 

"  The  steam  mills,  which  are  at  present  scattered  in  a  circuit  of  fifteen 
miles  around  the  raises,  and  have  cos6  from  five  to  six  millions  of  dollars  in 
their  erection,  will  also  have  co  be  removed  to  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel." 

There  is,  first,  real  estate  in  Gold  Hill  and  Virginia  City 
of  about  $7,000,000;  and,  second,  the  cost  of  the  mills,  at 
from  $5,000.000  to  $6,000,000,  which  would  at  least  be  half 
destroyed  by  the  removal.  Since  that  time  there  lias  been 
this  railroad  built,  which  is  placed  by  the  testimony  of  Mr. 
Kequa  at  about  $3,000,000.  Now,  the  carrying  out  of  this 
scheme  of  Mr.  Sutro,  as  the  commission  report,  is  the  only 
one  which  will  make  the  tunnel  a  success.  That  is,  the 
erection  of  a  dam  upon  Carson  river,  using  it  as  a  reservoir, 
and  taking  the  water  for  power  to  a  point  opposite  the 
mouth  of  the  tunnel,  will  destroy  Gold  Hill  and  Virginia 
City  ;•  will  destroy  the  railroad,  as  is  shown  in  the  testimony 
of  Kequa;  will  destroy  every  mill  upon  the  Carson  river, 
and  all  the  water  power  now  used  upon  that  river.  The  loss 
of  property  is  from  $13,000,000  to  $14,000,000. 

Now,  I  ask  if  Congress  can  be  induced  to  pass  an  act  the 
result  of  which  will  be  to  destroy  this  entire  property,  and 
absolutely  bankrupt  every  man  upon  theComstock,  whether 
he  owns  a  shanty  worth  $500,  or  whether  he  owns  the  finest 
building  in  either  the  town  of  Gold  Hill  or  the  town  of  Vir- 
ginia City? 

But  of  what  benefit  now,  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen 
of  the  committee,  would  this  tunnel  be  if  completed?  I 
find  that  my  time  is  running  on  so  rapidly  that  I  will  only 
be  able  to  refer  to  pages  6,  7,  8,  9,  10  of  the  report  of  the 
Sutro  tunnel  commissioners,  in  which  they  state  that  the 
construction  of  the  tunnel  is  not  a  necessity,  either  for  ven- 
tilation or  drainage.  They  figure  up  that  the  working  of 
the  Comstock — that  is  to  say,  the  mining  and  transporta- 
tion of  ore — will  be  $700,000  more  after  the  completion  of 
the  tunnel,  transferring  ore  through  the  tunnel,  than  it  is 


846  / 

at  present.  That  is  the  way  it  is  proposed  to  economize 
the  working  of  the  Comstock  ores,  with  a  cost  of  $700,000 
per  annum  more  than  at  present. 

Then,  on  page  11  of  this  report,  without  reading,  I  will 
state  that  the  commission  say  that  by  the  erection  of  a  dam 
upon  the  Carson  river  the  waters  of  that  stream  can  be  util- 
ized at  or  near  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  so  as  to  reduce  the 
ores  produced  by  the  Comstock,  in  their  opinion.  If  that 
can  be  done,  and  then  proper  concentrating  works  are  erect- 
ed at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  of  which  they  know  nothing, 
then  this  tunnel  will  be  a  success. 

I  read  now  from  page  13: 

41  "Whether  the  Sutro  tunnel  project  fulfills  this  condition  of  economy  de- 
pends, in  the  opinion  of  the  commission,  upon  the  practicability  of  securing 
a  sufficient  water  power  from  the  Carson  river,  at  all  seasons,  for  the  reduc- 
tion of  the  ores,  the  possibility  of  which,  though  not  full_v  proved  by  ade- 
quate surveys,  no  doubt  is  entertained,  and  upon  the  efficacy  of  the  method 
employed  in  Germany  and  other  countries  of  Europe  for  the  concentration 
of  ores,  of  which  we  are  unable  to  vouch." 

Now,  gentlemen,  I  refer  you  to  the  report  of  General  Day, 
which  is  the  only  foundation  for  this  project  of  a  dam.  Gen- 
eral Day  says  in  the  report,  which  seems  to  have  been  made 
after  the  commissioners  left  that  country,  and  in  answer  to 
the  letter,  I  believe,  from  Mr.  Sutro,  that  the  fall  of  the 
river  is  255  feet  from  the  Mexican  dam  to  a  point  opposite 
the  mouth  of  the  tunnel.  The  point  that  he  selects  for  the 
upper  end  of  the  reservoir  is  what  is  called  the  Mexican 
dam — the  dam  highest  up  the  river.  The  lowest  point  is  a 
point  in  the  river  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Sutro  tunnel, 
and  according  to  the  evidence  here  that  entire  fall  is  now 
utilized,  with  the  exception  of  two  insignificant  mill  sites, 
which  in  all  will  not  amount  to  30  feet. 

Now,  the  proposition  is  to  erect  a  dam  at  the  point  which 
is  called  the  Franklin  dam,  155  feet  high,  to  flow  the  water 
back  to  the  Mexican  dam,  covering  an  area  of  1,480  acres. 
By  some  strange  accident  the  commissioners  say  that  they 
would  get  a  fall,  according  to  the  report  of  General  Day,  of 
255  feet — the  fall  from  the  Franklin  dam,  where  this  pro- 
posed dam  is  to  be  built,  to  a  point  opposite  the  mouth  of 
the  tunnel,  being  100  feet.  Now,  it  is  very  clearly  to  be 


847 

seen  that  if  this  is  used  as  a  reservoir,  the  water  must  bo 
drained  from  the  bottom  of  that  reservoir,  and  if  so, -there 
is  only  100  feet  fall  from  the  reservoir  to  the  mouth  of  the 
tunnel.  If  it  is  not  used  as  a  reservoir,  hut  simply  as  a  dam, 
then,  according  to  the  testimony  of  General  -Foster,  which 
is  found  on  pages  473  to  486  of  the  testimony,  and  accord- 
ing to  the  testimony  of  Colonel  Lalley  and  that  of  Messrs. 
Kequa  and  Batterman,  and  particularly  of  General  Foster, 
who  went  into  the  figures,  it  is  very  clearly  shown,  (but 
which  I  have  not  now  the  time  to  read,)  that  the  evapora- 
tion from  the  surface  of  1,480  acres,  and  the  percolation  or 
filtration  would  be  more  than  double  the  quantity  of  water 
running  through  the  Carson  river  at  the  time  he  (General 
Foster)  was  there. 

So  that,  if  used  for  a  fall  of  255  feet,  and  not  as  a  reservoir 
in  the  dry  season  of  the  year,  there  could  not,  by  any  possi- 
bility, be  a  drop  of  water  flowing  through  the  race  or  flume, 
and  the  mills  would  all  stand  still.  ) 

But  then,  as  the  commissioners  themselves  say,  and  as 
each  commissioner  in  his  testimony,  when  I  interrogated 
him,  has  said — and  it  will  be  found  in  the  testimony  taken 
— this  whole  project  of  the  Sutro  tunnel  will  prove  a  failure, 
unless  this  water  power  can  be  utilized  in  the  way  they 
point  out,  and  new  machinery,  which  they  pretend  to  know 
nothing  about,  can  be  found  for  the  concentration  of  ores — 
the  economical  concentration  of  ores — then  the  whole  pro- 
ject is  a  failure.  In  connection  with  the  advantages  claimed 
for  this  Sutro  tunnel,  I  wish  to  read  from  a  work  here  which 
has  been  eulogized  very  highly,  I  believe,  by  Mr.  Sutro. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  I  do  not  believe  I  ever  did. 

Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  It  is  the  only  reliable  work  that  has 
ever  been  published  on  the  Comstock  lode,  because  Mr. 
King'  spent  a  number  of  months  upon,  the  Comstock,  and 
he  gained  all  the  information  that  we  possessed,  and  that  is 
what  no  other  living  man  ever  has  or  ever  will  do  until  he 
spends  some  time  there. 

All  those  men  living  in  Germany  and  talking  about  the 
Comstock — these  men  who  are  educated  in  Germany,  in  a 


848 

country  where  you  cannot  bore  200  feet  into  the  ground 
without  having  tunnels  to  relieve  you  from  water — talking 
about  the  Comstock,  of  which  they  know  nothing,  is  mere 
nonsense.  These  tunnels  in  Germany,  and  in  other  mines 
where  tunnels  have  been  run,  have  been  run  for  drainage, 
but  we  live  in  a  different  country  from  that  of  Europe.  We 
are  in  a  dry  country.  We  are  in  a  country  where,  by 
actual  experiment,,  we  ha^e  proved  that  in  the  attainment 
of  depth  upon  the  Comstock  we  find  less  and  less  water  all 
the  time,  and  in  two-thirds  of  the  entire  Comstock  worked 
to-day  the  mines  are  as  dry  as  this  floor. 

But  now  I  want  to  refer  to  what  it  is  claimed  here  the  pub- 
lic and  the  Government  are  interested  in,  to  wit:  the  per- 
centage of  the  metals  saved  by  the  present  mode  of  working. 

Now,  that  to  me  is  rather  a  strange  proposition.  If  we 
are  the  owners  of  the  mines,  suppose  we  have  our  patent 
subject  to  this  right  of  Mr.  Sutro,  which  gives  him  his 
royalty  and  his  other  charges  when  he  completes  the  tunnel, 
still  we  have  our  patent,  subject  only  to  that  condition,,  and 
now  it  is  claimed  that  Government  must  interfere  and  assist 
Mr.  Sutro,  in  order  to  direct  us  in  another  way  and  another 
mode  of  working  our  mines.  Now,  has  Government  ever 
attempted  to  interfere  with  the  working  of  any  mine,  either 
silver  or  gold  or  an  iron  mine?  Has  Government  ever 
interfered  in  the  mode  of  planting,  or  the  culture  of  cotton, 
or  rice,  tobacco,  sugar,  corn,  wheat,  or  any  of  the  cereals? 
It  might  just  as  well  do  it  as  to  interfere  with  the  mode  and 
manner  of  working  the  Comstock.  There  is  just  the  same 
idea  of  liberty  to  direct  a  man  when  to  plant  or  when  to 
reap  as  there  is  in  directing  us  how  we  shall  work  the  Com- 
stock. 

But  I  want  here  to  say  that  nothing  would  be  gained  in 
the  percentage  saved  if  the  tunnel  was  constructed.  The 
following  tabular  statement,  taken  from  the  annual  reports 
of  the  Savage  Mining  Company  for  the  years  ending  July 
1,  1868,  and  July  1,  1869,  exhibit  some  of  the  results  of 
mining  operations.  These  statements  are  thus  commented 
upon  by  Mr.  King,  pp.  241-246 : 


849 

"  The  tables  show  the  assay  value  of  the  ore,  J^oth  hy  the  wagon  samples  and 
mill  samples,  the  yield  of  the  ore,  and  the  relation  of  yield  to  assay  value,  the 
proportion  of  gold  and  silver,  both  in  the  ore  and  in  the  bullion,  and,  finally, 
the  total  product  in  bullion  of  the  quantity  treated.  The  operations  of  each 
month  are  shown  in  the  statements,  but  the  figures  of  the  tables  for  any  sin- 
gle month  represent  the  average  result  obtained  during  the  month,  not  from 
one,  but  from  all  mills  employed  by  the  company  in  the  Deduction  of  its 
third-class  ore.  The  second-class  ore,  treated  in  the  last  half  of  1867,  of 
which  the  results  are  also  given,  was  all  worked  in  one  mill.  It  should  be 
observed  concerning  the  comparatively  lower  percentage  of  value  obtained 
from  the  second-class  ore,  as  shown  in  the  table,  that,  being  richer,  it  resem- 
bles more  in  character  the  first-class  ore,  referred  to  in  commencement  of  this 
chapter,  in  which  the  precious  metals  are  combined  with  zinc,  lead,  copper, 
antimony,  &c.,  rendering  the  extraction  of  the  gold  and  silver  more  difficult, 
and  unfitting  it  for  profitable  treatment  by  the  pajn  process.  In  the  last  year 
of  the  two  referred  to,  no  second-class  ore  was  distinguished. 

"  The  impression  generally  existing  that  only  sixty-five  per  cent,  of  the 
value  is  obtained  by  pan  process,  and  that  thirty-five  per  cent,  is  lost,  is  er- 
roneous ;  for  the  return  of  sixty-five  per  cent,  is  based  on  the  result  of  treat- 
ing the  ore  in  the  pan,  andxiollecting  the-  amalgum  in  the  settler;  in  some 
mills  the  additional  product  of  the  agitator  is  returned  with  that  of  the  pan 
and  settler,  while  in  other  mills  this  is  not  done,  especially  if  the  required 
standard  of  sixty-five  per  cent,  has  been  already  reached  by  pao  and  settler 
without  further  addition.  Moreover,  the  return  of  sixty- five  per  cent,  in- 
cludes nothing  of  what  is,  or  may  be,  obtained  from  the  subsequent  treat- 
xment  of  slimes  and  tailings;  and,  furthermore,  it  is  to  be  considered  that  the 
ore,  as  charged  to  the  account  of  the  mill,  contains  an  average  of  six  or  seven 
per  cent,  of  moisture,  for  which,  in  the  return,  no  allowance  is  made ;  the 
sample  for  assay,  by  which  the  return  is  made,  being  previously  dried,  sixty- 
five  per  cent,  of  the  dry  sample  is  really  equivalent  to  sixty-nine  or  seventy 
per  cent,  of  the  wet  rock. 

"This  may  be  illustrated  by  the  following  data  concerning  the  operations 
of  the  Savage  mill  during  six  months  ending  December  31,  1867: 

"  During  that  time  5,830  tons  were  worked.  The  assay  value  of  this  ore 
was  $318,639  80  per  mill  samples,  and  $324,207  72  per  wagon  samples;  or 
$54  55  per  ton  by  mill  samples,  and  $55  61  per  ton  by  wagon  samples.  The 
total  yield  obtained  was  $220,785  17;  equal  to  sixty-nine  and  two-tenths 
per  cent,  by  mill  samples,  and  sixty-eight  and  one-tenth  per  cent,  by  wagon 
samples.  This  yield  was  obtained  by  the  ordinary  operation  of  crushing, 
amalgamating  in  the  pan,  and  collecting  the  amalgam  in  the  settler;  this 
much  constituting  the  process  to  which  all  ore  is  submitted  in  all  the  mills. 

"  It  will  be  observed  that  the  required  standard  of  sixty  five  per  cent,  was 
already  exceeded  by  this  alone,  without  including  the  product  of  the  tailings, 
or  allowing  anything  for  moisture.  During  the  six  months  to  which  these 
figures  relate,  the  product  in  bullion  from  the  tailings  was  $12,730  71 ;  and 
if  this  be  added  to  the  yield  of  the  ore  originally  obtained  by  the  first  opera- 
tion, we  have  a  total  product  of  $233,015  88,  equal  to  71.87  per  cent.,  in- 
stead of  68T^  per  cent,  by  wagon  samples  ;  or  73.12  per  cent,  instead  of  69T2^ 
per  cent,  by  mill  samples.  If,  in  addition  to  this,  we  now  allow  for  seven 
per  cent,  of  moisture  on  the  ore,  not  taken  into  account  in  the  as&ay  sample 
to  which  the  forgoing  percentages  are  referred,  we  have  an  actual  return  of 
77.27  per  cent,  by  wagon  samples,  and  78.62  per  cent,  by  mill  samples. 

"Finally,  it  is  to  be  observed  that  the  product  from  the  tailings  above 
given  is  not  all  that  is  obtained  from  that  source.  The  amount  here  stated, 
comes  chiefly  from  the  agitator.  The  stream  of  tailings  passing  from  the 
settler,  in  which  the  bulk  of  the  amalgam  is  collected,  enters  the  agitator, 
where  much  of  the  amalgam  and  quicksilver  that  has  escaped  the  settler  lias 
further  opportunity  to  deposit  itself.  At  intervals  of  four  or  five  days  this 
vessel  is  emptied,  and  the  accumulations  are  reworked  in  an  ordinary  pan» 

54  t 


850 

yielding  $18  or  $20  per  ton.  The  yield  thus  obtained  is  nearly  $2,000  per 
month,  and  forma  nearly,  if  not  quite,  all  the  product  represented  in  the 
ibregoing  statement.  After  leaving  the  agitator  the  stream  passes  on,  the 
tailings  stilTcarrying  enough  value  to  make  ;them  worth  further  treatment; 
for  which  purpose  they  are,  in  fact,  sold  by  the  mill  to  second  parties,  who 
do  a  profitable  business  in  working  them  again;  but  this  last  product  is  not 
included  in  the  figures  already  given.  The  yield  obtained  by  this  final  work- 
ing of  tailings  is  not  definitely  known  to  the  writer,  but  is  generally  stated 
at  about  -$5  50  per  tan,  which  would  add  about  ten  per  cent,  more  to  the 
results  of  the  progress  in  the  mill,  as  already  shown. 

"Some  mills  claim  to  have  obtained  more  than  eighty  per  cent.,  and 
even  eighty  per  cent,  of  the  assay  value  of  the-  ore  by  the  ordinary  method:?, 
without  including  the  product  of  the  tailings,  or  allowing  anything  for 
moisture." 

Mr.  Kequa,  on  page  495  of  this  testimony,  says  that  92 
per  cent,  is  now  saved  by  the  various  processes,-and  that  72 
per  cent,  is  returned  by  the  mills  to  his  company,  and  this 
is  not  a  matter  of  conjecture ;  that  during  the  last  year, 
when  that  company  paid  over  $2,000,000  in  dividends  and 
took  out  nearly  $3,500,000  in  the  aggregate,  there  was 
returned  by  the  mills  to  them  72  per  cent,  of  the  assay  value 
of  the  ores.  And  then  he  saj's  that-  20  per  cent,  more  is 
saved  in  the  different  manipulations  of  the  slimes  and  tail- 
ings after  they  leave  the  mills.  Mr.  Batter  man,  on  page 
569,  says  that  from  90  to  92  per  cent,  of  the  assay  value  is 
now  saved  by  the  present  process  used. 

Now,  Prof.  Newcomb  was  very  enthusiastic  about  this 
tunnel — exceedingly  so,  as  the  members  of  the  sub-commit- 
tee will  remember — and  he  could  not  stretch  his  imagina- 
tion— and  he  has  a  very  vivid  one — up  beyond  90  per  cent, 
that  might  be  saved  if  these  concentrating  works  were 
erected  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  and  sufficient  water 
power  procured  there, to  run  the  works;  and  to  concentrate. 
Now,  then,  if  by  the  proposed  tunnel,  and  by  the  erection 
of  works,  as  proposed,  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  only  90 
per  cent,  can  be  saved,  where  have  the  people,  where  has 
the  Government,  any  interest  in  the  running  ofHhis  tunnel? 
And  that  we  save  now  that  amount  is  shown  by  the  differ- 
ent reports  :  shown  by  Mr.  King :  shown  by  Mr.  Requa,  who 
is  a  mill-man  and  a  miner ;  and  shown  by  Mr.  Batter  man,  who 
is  the  superintendent  of  the  Gould  and  Curry  mine  at  pres- 
ent, and  has  been  a  mill-man,  and  knows,  and  does  not  con- 


851 

jecture  what  percentage  is  saved.  It  has  been  said  here  at 
different  times  that  the  people  upon  the  Comstock,  and 
especially  the  institution  upon  the  Pacific  coast,  called  some- 
times by  Mr.  Sutro  the  California  Bank,  are  great  rascals : 
that  they  cheat  each  other  every  day,  and  that  eoc-h  man 
stays  awake  all  night  to  try  and  get  some  advantage  of  his 
neighbor  the  next  day;  that  there  is  constantly  going  on 
what  he  calls  "stock-jobbing;"  that  when  a  body  of  ore 
is  discovered  in  any  mine  upon'  the  Comstock,  it  is  covered 
up  until  the  man  who  discovers  it  can  buy  from  his  inno- 
cent and  unsuspecting  neighbor  all  the  stock  he  wants,  and 
then  he  uncovers  it.  I  have  heard  of  such  things.  I  think 
Mr.  Sutro  would  play  that  game  if  he  had  a  chance ;  but  I 
do  not  see  how  the  construction  of  this  tunnel  is  going  to 
prevent  this  stock-jobbing. 

How  it  is  that  a  body  of  ore  can  be  discovered  except  in 
the  sinking  of  a  shaft,  or  the  running  of  a  drift  in  any  part 
of  the  mine,  I  cannot  understand.  It  would  seem  from  Mr. 
Sutro's  idea  that  the  moment  that  tunnel  goes  in,  you  have 
only  got  to  put  a  pair  of  glasses  on  your  eyes,  and  you 
can  see  everything  from  one  end  of  the  Comstock  to  the 
other,  and  a  thousand  feet  below  the  level  of  that  tunnel. 

Now,  how  can  this  thing  be  any  different  from  what  it  is 
now,  after  the  tunnel  is  constructed?  The  same  drifts  must 
be  run ;  the  same  shafts  sunk ;  the  same  winzes  must  be 
made  to  connect  the  different  levels  ;  and  there  is  one  or  two 
men  that  will  first  find  the  ore  before  any  one  else  knows 
anything  about  it.  Then,  if  I  am  right  in  that,  it  is  not 
necessary  to  undertake  any  defense  of  the' present  men  who 
control  the  Comstock ;  of  the  men  who  have  put  in  the  mon- 
ey there  to  carry  on  that  great  work;  to  demonstrate  that 
it  is  a  fissure  vein,  without  the  aid  of  Mr.  Sutro  or  any  of 
his  friends; 'to  bring  out  $150,000,000  to  be  distributed  in 
this  country,  and  assist  to  keep  up  the  credit  of  the  Govern- 
ment; men  who  had  the  nerve,  the  means,,  and  the  capaci- 
ty, arid  the  intellect  to  do  all  these  tilings — I  say  it  is  not 
necessary  for  me  to' enter  into  any  defense  of  these  men  on 
account  of  the  attacks  of  Mr.  Sutro:  where  they  are  known 


852 

they  need  no  defense,  And  the  idea  that  not  only  shall  the 
Comstock  mine  be  ventilated,  but  that  the  moral  influence 
of  Mr.  §utro  and  his  tunnel  will  put  a  stop  to  all  this  stock- 
jobbing and  stock-jobbing  operations,  is  too  ridiculous  to 
be  talked  about. 

Next  I  say,  gentlemen,  there  is  no  necessity  for  this  ap- 
propriation at  the  hands  of  the  Government.  Mr.  Sutro,  in 
this  same  work,  issued  by  him  in  1866,  after  the  passage  of 
this  act  of  Congress,  claims  that  the  sale  of  the  land  at  the 
mo"uth  of  the  tunnel,  in  consequence  of  the  destruction  of 
all  this  property  that  I  have  called  attention  to,  will  be 
worth  to  him  $3,000,000.  I  refer  to  page  3.1  of  this  pam- 
phlet. That  his  income,  aside  from  this,  will  be,  when  the 
tunnel  is  completed,  according  to  the  yield  which  his  imag- 
ination has  built  up,  two  or  three  times  that  of  the  pres- 
ent, or  the  yield  at  that  time  will  be  $6,290,000  per  an- 
num. Is  not  that  enough;  what  more  does  he  want?  A 
man  with  an  income  of  $6,000,000  per  annum,  I  should 
think,  had  some  assurance,  if  not  impudence,  to  go  to  Con- 
gress and  ask  assistance — a  gift,  in  reality,  which  I  will 
show,  if  I  have  time,  of  $3,000,000,  in  order  that  he  shall 
gain  a  privilege  which  will  bring  him  an  income  of  over 
$6,000,000  per  annum.  The  same  thing  is  reiterated  by 
Mr.  Sutro,  or  rather  by  the  Sutro  Tunnel  Company.  In 
this  circular,  issued,  I  believe,  in  1870,  the  same  figures  pre- 
cisely are  given. 

Now,  Mr.  Chairman,  I  find  that  my  time  is  running  away 
faster  than  I  am.  I  do  not  believe,  for  niy  part,  much  in 
the  accuracy  of  Mr.  Sutro 's  statements,  either  of  facts,  or  his 
imagination,  or  his  estimates,  and  I  wish  to  refer  the  com- 
mittee t.o  a  few  of  these  inaccuracies.  On  this  same  page, 
and  according,  I  believe,  to  the  estimate  of  a  gentleman 
whom  he  has  complimented  very  highly  as  being  a  distin- 
guished engineer,  the  cost  of  the  tunnel  will  be  $1,983,616, 
and  the  revenue  during  the  construction  of  the  tunnel 
$500,000,  leaving  less  than  a  million  and  a  half  of  dollars 
actually  to  be  expended  in  the  construction  of  that  tunnel. 

Now  that  is  one  estimate,  reiterated  again  in  1870  in  this 


853 

I 

pamphlet.     Yet,  in  the  report  which  was  read  night  before 

last  by  Mr.  Rice,  written,  as  I  take  it  for  granted  all  these 
reports  in  reference  to  the  Sutro  tunnel  have  been  written, 
by  Mr.  Sntro,  and  that  signed  by  Mr.  Ashley  and  other 
members  of  the  committee,  the  estimate  is  made  §8,000,000. 
Then  he  was  applying  for  $5,000,000  from  Congress.  That 
is  the  difference  in  his  estimates  when  he  is  selling  his  stock 
and  applying  for  aid  from  the  Government. 

I  wish  now  to  call  your  attention  to  one  other  of  Mr. 
Sutro's  statements. 

I  read  from  page  four  of  this  circular  by  the  Sutro  Tun- 
nel Company : 

"  The  exact  length  of  the  tunnel  will  be  twenty  thousand  one  hundred  and 
seventy-eight  feet,  over  eleven  hundred  feet  of  which  are  already  finished — " 

When  it  must  have  been  known  to  every  gentleman  of 
this  committeee  who  has  listened  to  the  testimony  that  no. 
part  of  the  tunnel  is  completed. 

"  The  work  being  pushed  by  day  and  night,  it  is  confidently  estimated, 
that  the  entire  tunnel,  with  the  assistance  of  shafts,  can  be  finished  within 
two  years.     With  its  main  branches  its  entire  length  will  be  about  six  miles, 
and  the  entire  cost  from  $2,000,000  to  $3,000,000  less  than  the  estimated  in- 
come for  a  single  year." 

On  page  14  of  this  book  of  Sutro's  upon  the  Comstock, 
he  says  that  the  present  yield  of  the  Conistock  is  about 
600,000  pounds. 

"  Its  present  annual  yield  is  about  six  hundred  thousand  pounds  avoirdu- 
pois of  gold  and  silver  bullion,  worth  $16,000,000,  equal  to  over  one  quarter 
of  all  the  gold  and  silver  produced  by  all  the  States  and  Territories  on  the 
Pacific  coasf,  or  equal  to  one  third  of  all  the  silver  produced  per  annum  in 
the  world,  and  exceeding  the  present  total  yield  of  all  the  silver  mines' of 
Mexico." 

The  silver  mines  in  Mexico,  as  stated  by  Mr.  Sutro  the 
other  evening,  were*$29,000,000  a  year. 

I  refer  the  committee  now  to  a  statement  made  in  the 
Weekly  Bulletin  of  Friday,  February  16,  1872,  in  which 
the  yield  of  the  mines  in  the  State  of  Nevada  are  given. 
They  foot  up  §22,177,046,  of  which  about  one-half  were  pro- 
duced by  the  Comstock,  and  the  other  from  the  different 
mines  in  the  State  of  Nevada 

Some  weight  must  be  attached  to  the  quantity  of  silver 
produced  by  the  Comstock.  I  will  state  that  it  is  in  evi- 


854 

dence  in  the  testimony*  01  Mr.  Kequa  that  one-half  in  value 
of  the  bullion  produced  by  the  Comstock  now  is  gold. 

I  wish  now  to  call  your  attention  to  one  other  little  inac- 
curacy, a  mistake  in  imagination  made  hy  Mr.  Sutro.  It  is 
on  page  16  of  this  hook.  After  a'great  deal  of  figuring,  as 
he  has  figured  here  hefore  the  committee  from  time  to  time, 
and  before  witnesses,  and  convinced  witnesses  you  know  that 
they  were  lying,  and  that  he  was  right,  he  figures  up  here, 
and  in  this  finely  bound  volume  sends  it  to  the  world,  that 
the  cost  of  pumping  upon  the  Comstock  is  $4,167,720  per 
annum,  without  allowing  anything  for  interest  on  the  money 
invested  in  machinery,  which  will  amount  to  several  million 
dollars. 

The  commissioners  estimate  the  cost  of  pumping  upon 
the  Comstock  for  the  last  year  at  $124,674.  Now,  that  is 
a  slight  difference  in  opinion  between  Mr.  Sutro  and  these 
commissioners. 

The  bill  which  is  now  before  Congress,  and  which  ought 
to  be  termed  '•'  a  bill  for  the  relief  of  Mr.  Sutro,"  it  seems 
to  me,  has  a  great  many  objectionable  features.  The  pre- 
amble recites  certain  things  which  are  in  dispute,  and  the 
first  section  of  the  bill  directs  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
to  set  apart  as  a  special  fund,  to  be  known  as  the  "  mineral 
land  fund/'  all  moneys  received  by  the  United  States  from 
the  sale  of  mineral  lands,  to  be  used  in  fostering  the  mining 
interest  as  Congress  may  hereafter  direct.  The  second  pro- 
'  vides  that  whenever  the  Sutro  Tunnel  Company  shall  have 
completed  500  lineal  feet  in  the  aggregate  of  its  tunnel  and 
its  shafts  or  branches,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  upon 
application  to  him  by  said  company,  shall,  from  the  afore- 
said fund,  or,  if  insufficient,  from  any  money  not  otherwise 
appropriated,  pay  to  the  said  company  $50,000  ;  and  in 
like  manner  shall  pay  over  to  said  company  a  like  sum  upon 
the  completion  by  said  company  of  each  and  every  addi- 
tional 500  feet  of  said  tunnel,  shafts,  or  branches,  as  here- 
inafter specified. 

There  is  no  estimate  here,  Mr.  Chairman,  of  the  cost  of 
sinking  any  shaft,  and  why  Mr.  Sutro  should  have  $50,000 


855 

fur  (lie  running  of  eacli  500  feet  I  do  not  know.  It  certainly 
docs  not  cost  that.  I  do  not  understand  exactly  how  the 
committee  understand  the  condition  of  the  pr<  :nnel. 

It  is  said  to  he  completed,  and  I  think  we  had  some  ex  parte 
exhibitions  here,  fine  drawings  of  the  tunnel  completed; 
and  the  newspapers  say  it  is  completed  2,800  feet.  Now, 
the  then  superintendent,  Dr.  Hazlett,  reports,  that  on  the 
1st  of  July,  1871,  the  company  had  spent  $42,800  78,  and 
had  run  the  tunnel  2,185  feet.  * 

Now,  whether  that  is  the  completion  of  the  tunnel  or  not 
I  do  not  know.  It  seems  to  include  all  the  expenses  con- 
nected with  the  starting  of  the  tunnel,  putting  up  of  the 
engine,  and  in  fact  starting  the  work,  as  you  would  start 
machinery  upon  the  top  of  a  mine  or  a  shaft,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  working  a  mine,  which  generally  costs  more  than 
the  sinking  of  shafts  for  hundreds  of  feet  or  even  thousands 
of  feet. 

Section  3  authorizes  the  appointment  of  a  board  by  the 
President  to  examine  the  tunnel  and  certify  to  the  comple- 
tion of  the  work  for  each  section ;  and  upon  that  the  Secre- 
tary is  to  pay  out  the  money. 

Section  4  provides  that,  for  security  to  the  United  States 
of  the  repayment,  by  the  company,  of  the  sums  advanced 
and  the  expenses  of  the  commissioners,  the  payment  of  such 
sum  shall  ipso  facto  constitute  a  'first  mortgage  lien  upon 
the  whole  of  said  tunnel,  together  with  all  the  engines, 
buildings,  and  appurtenances  thereunto  belonging.  Now, 
that  is  very  kind  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Sutro  to  offer  a  mort- 
gage on  about  one-half  what  the  Government  has  already 
given  him.  They  have  given  him  a  franchise.  They  have 
given  him  all  the  mines  he  may  discover  between  the  mouth 
of  the  tunnel  and  the  Comstock.  They  have  given  him 
this  royalty  :  they  have  given  him  $3,000,000  worth  of  real 
estate  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  which  he  does  not  propose 
to  mortgage  back.  The  Government  has  given  him  a  prop- 
erty which  he  says  is  worth  over  $6,000,000  a  year ;  and 
yet,  when  he  asks  $3,000,000  more,  he  mortgages  a  iroiety 
of  that  property,  not  the  whole.  How  does  he  propose  to 


856 

repay  this?     It  Is  called,  I  believe,  a  loan,  but  he  does  not 
agree  to  pay  any  interest. 

Gentlemen,  when  capitalists  loan  money,  they  require 
interest  to  be  paid,  as  well  as  security  for  the  principal. 
And  when  a  loan  is  made  upon  property,  and  there  is  no 
other  security  but  the  property,  is  it  not  usual  to  require 
all  the  income  from  that  property  to  be  paid  over  to  the 
party  loaning?  But  Mr.  Sutro  does  not  propose  to  do  any- 
thyig  of  the  kind.  He  proposes  to  expend  this  §3,000,000 
as  disbursing  agent  and  superintendent  for  the  Government, 
the  Government  to  furnish  all  the  money  to  run  the  tunnel 
until  its  completion ;  and  after  that,  under  this  bill,  as  he 
has  procured  it  to  be  introduced,  he  proposes  to  be  book- 
keeper and  treasurer  for  the  Government.  And  then,  ac-^ 
cording  to  his  own  accounts,  and  according  to  his  own 
returns,,  without  any  supervision  from  anybody,  he  pro- 
poses to  give  back  to  the  Government  one-quarter  of  the 
net  proceeds  of  the  tunnel. 

Now,  what  interest  has  he  in  this  work?  What  interest 
has  he  in  this  tunnel  that  entitles  him  to  three-quarters  of 
the  net  proceeds,  he  himself  being  the  accountant,  and  the 
Government,  that  furnishes  more  money  than  he  says  it  will 
cost  to  -run  the  tunnel,  receiving  one-fourth?  That  is  a 
bargain  that  any  man  would  like  to  make.  It  is  one  I 
should  like  to  make  to y self. 

Now,  there  seems  to  be  a  provision  here  to  mislead. 
First,  there  is  the  setting  apart  of  "the  proceeds  of  the  sale 
of  mineral  lands  as  a  special- fund  out  of  which  to  pay  for 
the  construction  of  this  tunnel,  as  if  the  proceeds  of  the 
sales  of  mineral  lands  amounted  to  anything. 

I  have  not  inquired  at  the  land  office,  but  I  will  venture 
to  say  from  the  passage  of  this  act,  in  July,  1866,  to  the 
present  time,  that  there  have  not  been  received  $50,000  in 
all.  You  pay  by  the  acre,  under  this  act  of  Congress,  for  a 
vein — a  lode.  It  is  five  feet  wide,  and  how  much  does  it 
take  to  make  an  acre?  In  this  connection  I  wish  to  allude 
to  an  argument  which  has  been  made  on  the  floor  of  Con.- 
gress,  and  doubtless  will  be  made  again,  that  the  people  of 


857 

the  whole  coast,  the  whole  Pacific  coast,  the  people  upon  the 
Comstock,  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Nevada,  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  State,  and  all  officials  have  appealed  to  Con- 
gress to  set  aside  the  proceeds  of  the  sales  of  mineral  lands, 
or  to  make  appropriation  for  the  running  of  this  tunnel. 

I  hold  in  my  hand,  which  I  will  not  weary  you  with 
reading,  a  memorial  of  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Ne- 
vada, at  its  last  session,  to  Congress,  to  set  apart  the  pro- 
ceeds of  the  sales  of  mineral  lands  for  the  erection  or  the 
assistance  to  erect  large  reduction  works  similar  to  these  in 
Swansea,  so  that  the  different  qualities  of  ores  found  from 
Utah  to  California  may  be  reduced  in  that  country,  without 
sending  them  to  a  foreign  country,  and  paying  tribute  to 
that  country  for  the  reduction  of  the  ores  besides  the  cost 
of  transportation.  So  that,  so  far  as  the  Legislature  can 
speak  the  sentiments  of  the  people,  if  they  ever  did  author- 
ize or  indorse  the  idea  of  an  appropriation  of  this  kind  by 
Congress,  they  have  since  seen  their  error,  and  now  ask 
that  these  funds  shall  be  diverted  in  a  different  way. 

What  specially  induced  the  passage  by  the  legislature  of 
this  memorial,  was  the  introduction  into  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States  of  a  bill  appropriating  the  proceeds  of  the 
sale  of  mineral  lands  to  the  construction  of  the  Sutro  tunnel. 
Mr.  Sutro  has  been  at  work  here  for  seven  years.  He  has 
been  to  everybody  about  this  tunnel.  There  has  been  and 
was  no  opposition  to  the  resolution  or  memorial  passed  by 
the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Nevada  in  favor  of  the  SutVo 
tunnel.  There  were  many  people  opposed  to  it.  It  was 
introduced  in  the  Legislature  there  without  notice  to  any- 
body, and  it  went  through  the  Legislature  before  anybody 
knew  it  who  was  opposed"  to  it,  as  this  act  of  Congress  here 
was  parsed  in  July,  1866,  before  anybody  being  opposed  to 
it  knew  anything  about  it. 

I  offered  to  prove,  Mr.  Chairman,  by  General  Foster,  and 
first  to  obtain  his  presence  before  the  committee,  I  addressed 
a  note  to  yourself,  (Mr.  Waldron,)  assuming  that  you 
would  send  for  him,  for  the  purpose  of  proving  certain  facts 
as  to  the  capital  stock  of  the  Sutro  Tunnel  Company ;  the 


858 

disposition  of  a  part  of  it,  and  the  condition  of  the  balance. 
I  offered  to  prove  by  General  Foster,  when  he  was  here  the 
last  time  before  the  sub-committee,  that  this  capital  stock, 
which  the  circular  here  which  I  have  read  shows  to  be 
$12,000,000  or  1,200,000  shares,  was  full  paid  and  unassess- 
able,  and  that  up  to  the  19th  day  of  August,  1S71,  there 
had  been  issued  of  that  704,883  shares,  leaving  a  balance  on 
hand  of  495,117  shares ;  and  that  these  shares  left  on  hand 
were  alone  set  apart  by  the  company  for  the  construction  of 
the  tunnel,  and  that  at  that  date  there  only  remained  on 
hand  $31,000  from  shares  sold.  The  report  of  the  superin- 
tendent of  the  Sutro  tunnel  shows  that  up  to  the  1st  of  July, 
1871,  only  $42,800  had  been  spent  in  the  construction  of 
the  tunnel.  I  offered  to  make  this  proof  to  show  that  the 
Sutro  Tunnel  Company  is  a  stock-jobbing  .company ;  that  it 
is  a  paper  company ;  that  is  a  thing  in  imagination  and  not 
reality ;  that  they  have  not  worked  in  good  faith ;  that  they 
have  put  none  of  their  own  money  into  the  enterprise ;  and 
that,  though  men  are  now  connected  with  it  of  immense 
wealth',  they  will  not  put  their  own  money  into  it. 

When  I  offered  to  prove  it,  and  it  was  objected  to  on 
the  other  side,  according  to  all  rules  of  evidence  in  any 
court,  the  facts  that  I  offered  to  prove  are  taken  for  granted, 
and  therefore  I  take  it  for  granted  that  this  is  the  fact, 
because  it  was  objected  to  on  the  other  side,  and  we  could 
n6t  get  proof.  Therefore  I  go  upon  the  supposition  that 
the  facts  could  net  be  controverted,  and  they  must  stand  by 
them  as  I  offered  to  prove  them.'  This  tunnel  project  was 
started  seven  years  ago.  It  has  been  under  way  ever  since. 
These  contracts  were  made  six  years  ago,  in  which  Sutro 
undertook  to  do  the  things  I  have  mentioned:  to  get  so 
much  capital  subscribed  to  his  company  and  to  expend  so 
much  money  within  a  year  thereafter.  He  did  not  do  it. 
He  would  not  put  in  any  money.  His  friends  would  not 
put  in  any  money.  He  went  to  New  York,  and  they  would 
not  put  in  any  money  there,  because  they  said,  "  If  this  is 
so  good  a  thing  as  yo'u  represent  in  this  book  of  yours,  go 
back  to  California.  They  must  pay  so  much  money,  and  we 


859 

will  pay  the  balance. ' '  But,  mind  you,  nobody  in  California 
put  up  any  money  on  this  statement ;  nobody  would  put  it 
up  and  intrust  it  to  Sutro's  management,  however  good  the 
project.  Then  he  went  to  Europe  and  got  all  these  compli- 
mentary letters  to  himself,  came  back,  but  that  did  not  get 
any  money.  Then  the  company  was  organized  in  San 
Francisco,  in  which,  and  by  the  terms  of  which,  the  stock- 
holders could  not  be  assessed,  because  it  is  full-paid  stock. 
When  you  have  full-paid  stock,  under  the  laws  of  Califor- 
nia, you  cannot  assess  it;  and  these  gentlemen  who  com- 
pose the  Sutro  Tunnel  Company,  and  who  have  means  out- 
side of  Sutro  tunnel,  were  unwilling  to  own  stock  in  the 
company  that  could  be  assessed. 

Now,  they  have  expended  §73,000  in  this  great  work 
that  the  newspapers  have  talked  so  much  about ;  that  Sutro 
has  talked  so  much  about;  and  that  certain  Members  of 
Congress  have  talked  so  much  about  for  years  past.  Does 
that  look  like  working  in  earnest?  Does  it  look  like 
acting  in  good  faith  with  the  people  upon  the  Com  stock,  if 
they  expect  to  enforce  this  contract,  or  does  it  look  like 
acting  in  good  faith  with  Congress,  to  whom  they  are  now 
applying  for  this  appropriation  or  this  gift?  Will  Congress  . 
assist  a  company  first  with  a  franchise,  and  then  with  a 
grant  of  lands  and  mines,  the  value  of  which  is  a  great  deal 
more  than  the  estimated  cost  of  the  tunnel,  by  the  further 
appropriation  of  more  money  than  Mr.  Sutro's  estimate  of 
the  cost  of  the  tunnel,  and  then  give  it  to  him?  If  it  is  so 
necessary  to  construct  this  tunnel  for  the  benefit  of  the  Gov- 
ernment and  people  of  this  country,  that  Congress  should 
furnish  all  the  money,  let  Congress  furnish  the  money  and 
own  the  tunnel  when  it  is  completed.  We  have  heard  a 
great  deal  of  talk  here  about  the  benefit  to  science.  Some 
gentlemen  have  been  very  eloquent  upon  that  proposition, 
and  they  have  instanced  the  appropriation  by  Congress  for 
money  to  go  to  different  parts  of  the  world  to  notice  an 
eclipse.  But  the  Government  furnishing  the  instruments 
and  paying  the  expenses  of  scientific  men  to  make  those 
observations  did  not  pretend  to  appropriate  the  eclipse  to 


860 

the  men  who  made  the  observations.  If  they  send  a  man 
to  the  north  pole  with  a  ship,  to  discover  a  northern  pas- 
sage, they  do  not  give  the  passage  to  the  man  who  first 
gets  through  it ;  and,  whenever  an  appropriation  is  made 
for  a  scientific  purpose,  the  man  who  executes  that  purpose 
and  makes  a  discovery,  or  fails,  gets  his  salary.  Here  is  a 
proposition  to  give  Mr.  Sutro  $3,000,000  for  his  own  emol- 
ument— to  enrich  him — and  yet  it  is  called  an  appropriation 
for  the  advance  of  science.  The  proposition  by  Mr.  Sutro 
is  very  clearly  indicated  "by  a  buncombe  speech  made  by 
him  in  Virginia  City,  the  object  of  which  seems  to  have 
been  to  embroil  the  laboring  men  against  the  owners  of  the 
Comstock,  but  which  speech  has  been  dignified  by  the  com- 
missioners, as  I  suppose,  without  ever  having  seen  it  until 
they  had  made  a  request  to  have  it  published  as  a  pa^t  of 
the  appendix  to  their  report.  It  is  a  most  demagogical 
speech,  and  one  that  is  unworthy  of  a  place  in  the  report  of 
gentlemen  of  the  attainments  of  the  commissioners;  and 
therefore  I  must  conclude  that  they  had  never  seen  it  until 
it  was  in  print  in  this  report.  I  shall  read  from  page  64 
of  this  speech  to  show  Mr.  Sutro' s  idea  of  the  object  and 
purposes  of  the  construction  of  this  tunnel.  You  will  re- 
member that  now  he  was  speaking  to  a  class  of  men  a  part 
of  whom  he  had  already  induced  to  take  stock  in  this  tunnel 
of  his,  and  the  balance  of  whom  he  intended  to  induce  to 
take  stock.  He  says,  on  page  64 : 

"The  tunnel,  they  know  full  well,  is  the  key  of  this  mountain  and  these 
mines,  and  will  and  must  control  and  own  this  whole  district." 

That  is  the  proposition.  The  tunnel  is  to  control  the 
Comstock,  and  the  owner  of  the  tunnel  is  to  own  the  Com- 
stock. Well,  now,  in  the  name  of  all  that  is  right  and  just 
and  fair,  if  that  be  the  case,  will  you  recommend  an  appro- 
priation of  $3,000,000,  in  order  to  take  away  from  the  pres- 
ent owners  of  the  Comstock  and  transfer  that .  property  to 
Mr.  Sutro?  If  he  has  got  it  by  virtue  of  his  contracts  that 
he  already  possesses ;  if  he  has  got  it  by  virtue  of  the  legis- 
lation which  he  claims  to  be  in  his  favor,  let  him  take  it, 
but  spend  his  own  money  to  comply  with  that  legislation. 


861 

That  mine  to-day  is  selling  for  nearly  $40,000,000  in  the 
market  in  San  Francisco,  and  yet  Mr.  Sutro  here  says,  in 
his  own  language,  that  the  construction  of  this  tunnel  will 
control  and  own(the  entire  Comstock.  No, wonder  he  is  so 
persistentilin  making  his  application  to  Congress  for  this 
appropriation.  Then,  he  says,  on  the  next  page: 

"Bouse  up,  then,  fellow-citizens!  You  have  no  Andrew  Jackson  among 
you  to  crush  out  the  bank  which  has  taken  your  liberty,  but  you  have  a 
power  within  yourselves.  I  do  not  mean  to  incite  you'to  any  violence.  (I 
do  not  mean  to  have  you  assert  your  right  by  i'orce  of  threats." 

No  better  language  could  be  used  to  incite  these  people  to 
that  very  thing  than  to  tell  them  not  to  do  it. 

"That  would  be  unwise,  unnecessary,  and  would  only  recoil  upon  your- 
selves; but  I  do  mean  to  say  you  can  destro}'  your  enemy  by  simple  con- 
cert of  action.  Let  all  of  you  join  in  together  to  build  4the  Sntro  tunnel. 
That  is  the  way  to  reach  them.  They  do  already  tremble  lest  you  will  act. 
They  know  you  will  form  a  great  moneyed  power,  and  that  you  will  own 
the  mines.  They  know  it  will  cement  you  together." 

That  is  to  say,  if  Mr /Sutro  succeeds  in  running  this  tun- 
nel, that  he  and  his  company  and  the  stockholders  in  that 
company  will  own  and  control  the  mines  of  the  Comstock. 
Mr.  SUTRO.  You  might  as  well  state  that  quotation  fairly. 
I  was  alluding  at  that  time  to  a  consolidation  of  the  mines; 
that  the  irrational  manner  in  which  the  mines  were  being 
worked  could  not  exist  for  any  length  of  time ;  that  the 
construction  of  that  tunnel  would  consolidate  them  all,  and 
would  eventually  result  in  an  ownership  of  the  whole  prop- 
erty under  a  rational- 
Mr.  SUNDERLAND.  We  object,  Mr.  Chairman,  to  receiving 
any  kind  of  instruction  from  Mr.  Sutro.  In  the  first  place, 
we  think  we  know  as  much  as  he  does,  and  because  we  know 
tfyat  we  own  the  mines.  We  do  not  propose  to  receive  any 
instruction  from  him  either  as  to  the  mode  or  manner  of 
working  our  mines  or  dealing  in  our  stocks,  and  when  he 
comes  and  :  ays  that  it  will  be  for  our  benefil^o  consolidate 
the  entire  mine,  he  means  as  a  matter  of  course,  to  include 
the  tunnel.  When  he  does  that  and  asks  to  have  the  con- 
trol of  the  Comstock,  we  spurn  and  spit  upon  the  proposi- 
tion. 

What  did  Mr.  Sutro  ever  do  to  develop  the  mines  of  this 


862 

country  or  to  add  to  its  wealth  ?  Bid  he  ever  sacrifice  his 
fortune  or  his  time  upon  the  Comstock  ?  If  so,  what  did 
he  do?  'We  have  never  heard  anything  about  that.  He 
has  been  running' all  over  the  world  for  the  l:ist  sex£H  years 

O'  ,  it,1!  .  " 

to  get  a  smattering  of  scientific  knowledge  by  which  he  can' 
impose  upon  other  people.  But  he  knows  no  more  about 
the  practical  working  of  a  mine  or  the  running  of  a  mill 
than  a  boy  ten  years  of  age. 

Mr.  Chairman,  the  great  question  involved  in  this  case 
is  one  which  I  shall  only  suggest,  and  that  is.  whether  there 
is  any  right  or  justice  on  the  part  of  Congress,  outside  of  all 
questions  connected  with  the  advantage  that  the  tunnel  may 
be  to  the  Comstock — whether  there  is  any  right,  or  justice, 
on  the  part  or  Congress  in  making  an  appropriation  for 
such  an  object  as  the  running  of  this  tunnel.  It  is  a  pri- 
vate enterprise,  and  I  will  venture  to  say  there  is  no  prece- 
dent on  record  anywhere  for  the  granting  of  subsidy  like 
this.  Subsidies  have  been  granted,  it  is  true,  for  the  benefit 
and  encouragement  of  commerce,  both  as  between  the  States 
and  between  this  and  foreign  countries — such  as. the  build- 
ing of  railroads  for  the  transportation  of  freight  and  pas- 
sengers; for  the  encouragement  of  lines  of  steamers  for  the 
transportation  of  mails,  freight,  and  passengers;  the  im- 
provement of  harbors  and  rivers  ;  but  all  for  the  purpose 
of  facilitating,  increasing,  and  encouraging  commerce. 

Now,  here,  it  is  proposed  to  make  a  grant— a  gift,  in  fact — 
of  $3, 000, 000  to  enable  Mr.  Sutro  himself,  or  his  company, 
to  run  a  tunnel  which  he  says  will  own  arid  control  the 
Comstock,  when  he  and  his  company  will  be  the  owners  of 
that.  Where  is  the  country  to  be  benefited  by  that  ?  Will 
anybody  say  that  the  Sutro  Tunnel  Company  would  manage 
things  any  more  honestly,  or  any  more,  fairly  than  the 
present  owner*  •  Are  they  any  better  men ?  Do  they  sus- 
tain any  better  reputation  where  they  live?  Can  they  get 
more  metal  out  of  a  ton  of  ore  than  is  in  it?  Then  I  will 
say  again  that  this  idea  "of  consolidating  the  whole  Com- 
stock is  one  which  is  exceedingly  objectionable.  As  the 
Comstock  is  now  worked,  it  is  owned  in  different  sections 


8G3 

by  different  companies.  There  is  to  sorn#  extent,  in  feeling, 
some  antagonism  amongst  them,  but  not  to  the  extent  of 
interfering  at  &"!!  with  the  working  of  the  mines.  They  buy 
and  sell  each  other's  stock,  but  yoiuallow  this  entire  mine, 
from  one  end  to  the  other,  including  the  tunnel,  to  be  merged 
in  one  immense  corporation,  and  you  control  the  destinies,, 
including  the  politics,  of  that  State.  In  fact  you  own  every 
body. 

Now,  I  submit  that  is  not  a  desirable  thing  to  have 
done,  even  though  it  should  add  a  few  thousand  dollars 
more  to  the  circulation  of  the  country.  We  all  know  the 
power  of  these  immense  corporations.  We  all  know  the 
great  danger  that  this  country  is  now  in.  It  is  from  the 
accumulation  of  power  in  the  hands  of  corporations.  And 
yet  it'is  urged  here,  and  urged  as  a  reason  why  Congress 
should  make  this  appropriation,  that  the  effect  woulfl  be  to 
consolidate  the  entire  Comstock  into  one  company.  If  that 
is  according  to  the  spirit  of  the  age  and  the  wish  of  Con- 
gress, I  have  nothing  more  to  say. 


MR.  SUIRO'S  ARGUMENT, 
/ 

APRIL  22.  1872. 


Mr.  CHAIRMAN.  Eight  years  ago  I  concluded  to  wind  up 
all, the  affairs  in  which  I  was  then  engaged,  in  order  to  de- 
vote myself  to  the  execution  of  a  work  which  I  looked 
upon  and  now  consider  of  the  highest  importance  to  the 
country. 

At  that  time  I  expected  that  many  obstacles  would  pre- 
sent themselves  in  the  execution  of  so  difficult  and  exten- 
sive an  undertaking,  but  little  did  I  dream  that,  after  eight 
years  of  toil,  anxiety,  and  labor,  I  would  find  myself  before 
a  committee  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  still 
under  the  necessity  of  demonstrating  what  appeared  to  me 
self-evident  from  the  beginning. 

Great  improvements,  as  the  word  implies,  often  involve 
the  abandonment  of  the  previous  less  advantageous  meth- 
ods, and  hence  we  almost  invariably  find  more  or  less  hos- 
tility from  some  quarter  or  the  other,  but  sometimes,  also, 
opposition  arrayed  against  undertakings  which  promise 
magnificent  results,  prompted  by  greed,  avarice,  and  jeal- 
ousy. 

I  have  encountered  my  fall  share  of  all  these;  but,  as  ob- 
stacles after  obstacles  presented  themselves,  they  only 
nerved  me  on  to  overcome  them,  and  I  fully  concluded  to 
devote,  if  necessary,  the  whole  balance  of  my  life  to  the 
execution  of  this  one  work,  believing,  as  I  do,  that  it  is 
one  of  the  most  important,  if  not  the  most  important  one 
now  in.  progress  on  this  continent. 

By  your  permission,  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen  of 
the  committee,  I  will  now  proceed  to  give  a  brief  history 
of  the  Sutro  tunnel,  as  it  is  called,  its  advantages  in  facili- 
tating mining  operations,  the  bearing  it  has  upon  the 
national  prosperity,  and  also  throw  some  light  upon  the 
character  and  motives  of  the  opposition. 

964 


865 


HISTORY  OF  THE   TUNNEL. 

The  year  1859  marked  the  discovery  of  the  Comstock 
lode.  Up  to  that  time  no  mines  of  any  importance  were 
known"  to  have  existed  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Sierra 
Nevada  mountains,  and  when  news  suddenly  reached 
California  that  silver  ore  had  been  found  there  of  fabulous 
richness  and  extent,  the  people  became  imbued  with  an 
immense  excitement,  and  rushed  in  thousands  to  the  spot. 
The  winter  set  in  with  its  hindrances,  but  the  rush  con- 
tinued. Spring  came,  and  there  was  no  falling  off.  People 
believed,  and  were  justified  in  the  belief,  that  there  in 
Nevada  they  had  discovered  an  El  Dorado  unsurpassed 
by  any;  and  being  interested  in  miningx  and  feeling  con- 
siderable curiosity  to  see  the  spot  myself,  I  went  over 
there  in  March,  1860 — as  soon  as  it  was  practicable  to 
cross  the  mountains — and  began  a  series'  of  examinations. 
I  had  expected  to  witness  an  extraordinary  deposit,  but  I 
must  say  that  I  was  truly  astonished  at  the  magnitude  and 
importance  of  the  discoveries  which  had  been  made.  At 
that  time  only  forty  tons  of  ore  had  been  taken  from  the 
mines  and  sent  to  San  Francisco.  Their  reduction  yielded 
a  sum  in  the  gross  of  $160,000,  or  an  average  of  $4,000  to 
the  ton — the  most  profitable  forty  tons  probably  that  have 
ever  been  worked  from  that  lode.  I  examined  the  topo- 
graphy of  the  country,  and  recognized  the  fact  at  a  glance 
that  nature  had  so  favored  the  locality  that  the  greatest 
facilities  existed  for  the  construction  of  a  deep  adit  or  tun- 
nel; and  as  early  as  the  month  in  which  I  went  there — 
when  I  had  been  there,  in  fact,  but  a  few  days — I  wrote  a 
letter  to  a  newspaper  published  in  San  Francsico,  the 
Alia  California,  giving  some  interesting  information  about 
the  mines.  The  communication  appeared  on  the  20th  of 
April,  1860,  and  contains  these  reflections: 

"The  \vorking  of  the  mines  is  done  without  any  system  as  yet.  Most  of 
the  companies  commence  without  an  eye  to  future  success.  Instead  of  run- 
ning a  tunnel  from  low  down  on  the  hill,  and  then  sinking  a  shaft  to  meet 
it,  which  at  once  insures  drainage,  ventilation,  and  facilitates  the  work  by 
going  upwards,  the  claims  are  mostly  entered  from  above  and  large  openings 

55 


866 

made,  which  require  considerable  timbering,  and  exposes  the  mine  to  all  sorts 
of  difficulties." 

I  wrote  that  when  I  had  been  there  only  a  week,  and 
when  I  did  not  know  to  my  entire  satisfaction  that  there 
was  an  extensive  vein  of  ore  there.  Such  explorations  as 
had  then  heen  made  did  not  extend  to  a  greater  depth 
than  twenty  or  thirty  feet. 

At  another  point  in  the  same  article  I  remarked: 

"Smelting  furnaces,  quartz  crushers,  and  all  the  machinery  required  for 
the  successful  reduction  of  the  ore,  could  be  erected  in  the  valley,  and  an  in- 
exhaustible supply  of  wood  and  timber  .furnished  by  floating  it  down  Carson 
river  from  points  some  distance  above,  where  there  is  an  abundance  of  it." 

At  this  time,  it  should  be*  borne  in  mind,  not  a  single 
road  had  been  constructed  in  that  country.  The  discovery 
had  barely  been1  made,  and  the  mines  had  only  been  open- 
ed to  a  very  limited  extent.  I  became  interested,  more  or 
less,  in  operations  there.  In  1861  I  erected  a  mill  and  re- 
duction works,  and  took  up  my  residence  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  Comstock. 

FRANCHISE  BY  THE  LEGISLATURE. 

I  watched  the  current  of  events,  and  day  after  day  it  be- 
came plainer  to  me  that  there  was  absolute  necessity  for  a 
deep  mining  tunnel.  It  was  clear  to  my  rnind,  although 
the  idea  was  very  generally  scouted.  People  thought  an 
undertaking  of  the  nature  I  planned  could  never  be  con- 
summated in  Nevada.  It  would  take  too  long  a  time,  and 
funds  would  be  insufficient,  they  said;  but  in  the  fall  of 
1864.  when  our  Legislature  met  at  Carson,  I  petitioned  for 
a  franchise,  and  a  bill  was  drafted,  giving  me  and  my  asso- 
ciates the  right  of  way  for  a  tunnel,  as  far  as  it  lay  in  the 
power  of  the  State  Legislature  to  give  it.  (a)  The  question 
of  payments  to  be  made  to  the  tunnel  company  was  left  an 
open  one,  subject  to  such  agreements  as  we  might  be  able 
to  make  with  the  mines.  It  was,  therefore,  a  sort  of  fran- 
chise such  as  would  have  been  given  to  a  toll  road,  or  any 
similar  improvement,  and  not  that  much.  A  few  thinking 

(a)  See  book  on  Sutro  Tunnel,  page  171. 


867 

men  in  the  Legislature  were  struck  at  once  with  the  idea, 
and  they  investigated  the  matter,  although  the  majority  of 
them  said  I  most  be  hopelessly  insane  to  propose  any- 
thing of  the  kind,  and  would  waste  my  time  for  nothing, 
for  the  project  could  never  he  carried  out — the  majority  of 
them,  I  say,  ridiculed  it.  But  they  granted  the  franchise 
by  a  unanimous  vote,  nevertheless,  and  I  proceeded  with- 
out delay  to  submit  the  question  to  the  companies  owning 
and  operating  the  mines.  I  had  made  a  beginning  then. 
I  had  some  rights  with  which  to  start  out.  I  had 'obtained 
a  franchise.  The  question  had  'assumed  a  tangible  form. 

CONTRACTS  WITH   THE  .MINING  COMPANIES. 

A  number  of  us  entered  into  an  association,  with  Senator 
Stewart  for  president,  and  we  submitted  our  proposition  to 
the  mining  companies.  I  demonstrated  the  advantages 
of  the  tunnel,  and  in  February,  1865,  I  published  a  pam- 
phlet explaining  the  whole  subject,  (a)  and  towards  the  lat- 
ter part  of  the  year,  after  many  months  of  labor,  by  dint 
of  perseverance,  I  succeeded  in  making  certain  contracts, 
which  were  nearly  all  completed  by  February  or  March, 
1866.  There  was  no  little  difficulty  attending  my  progress. 

The  mining  companies,  or  the  men  managing  the  mines, 
felt  very  slight  interest  in  the  question,  and  rather  pre- 
ferred not  to  bother  themselves  with  listening  to  me.  It 
was  not  opposition;  it  was  only  indifference.  There  was 
no  opposition;  yet  it  took  me  eight  months  of  the  hardest 
work  I  have  done  in  this  whole  matter  to  make  the  people 
out  there  understand  the  merits  of  the  case.  We  employed 
some  able  lawyers,  and  so  did  the  mining  companies.  The 
latter  retained,  amongst  others,  Mr.  Crittenden,  whose 
melancholy  death  at  the  hands  of  Mrs.  Fair  you  all  re- 
member, and  on  our  side  were  Judge  Hardy  and  others. 
The  best  lawyers  of  California,  in  fact,  were  retained  in 
our  respective  interests.  They  deemed  the  contracts  very 
important,  and  spent  months  and  months  in  the  prepari- 

(a.)  See  pamphlet,  "Necessity  of  a  Deep  Tunnel." 


tion  of  agreements,  by  which  the  mining  companies  were 
to  bind  themselves  to  pay  the  tunnel  company  $2  a  ton  on 
each  and  every  ton  of  ore  that  might  be  extracted  for  all 
time  to  come.  These  agreements  were  executed  on  parch- 
ment, and  the  care  with  which  they  were  gotten  up  will 
indicate  at  a  glance  that  they  were  intended  to  last  a  great 
many  years,  and  probably  for  a  century,  (a) 

PEOPLE  BECOMING  INTERESTED  IN  THE  SUBJECT. 

After  my  pamphlet  had  been  thoroughly  distributed  and 
discussed,  I  found  almost  everybody  was  becoming  anxious 
to  have  the  tunnel  made.  They  began  to  comprehend  it  then. 
They  appreciated  the.  magnificence  of  the  undertaking,  and, 
instead  of  throwing  obstacles  in  my  way,  they  all  joined 
together  to  help  me,  the  Bank  of  California  among  them. 
They  confessed  that  they  could  see  no  money  in  it  then, 
but  they  could  see  a  great  many  difficulties  ahead,  and 
they  were  willing  to  second  my  endeavors  with  their  as- 
sistance. The  royalty  of  $2  a  ton  was  regarded  as  a  mere 
bagatelle.  No  one  thought  of  it  at  all  as  an  adequate  com- 
pensation for  the  manifold  benefits  the  tunnel  would  con- 
fer; and  the  trustees  of  the  mining  corporations,  who  often 
met  at  my  solicitation,  and  whose  meetings  I  invariably  at- 
tended for  the  purpose  of  explaining  my  project,  the  most 
of  whom  had  been  at  first  unacquainted  with  the  advantages 
a  deep  tunnel  would  furnish,  became  firm  in  their  conviction 
that,  even  at  a  royalty  of  $6  or  $8  per  ton,  it  would  be  ad- 
vantageous to  them. 

THE  BANK  OF  CALIFORNIA  FAVORS  THE  ENTERPRISE. 

The  Bank  of  California  seemed  particularly  anxious  to 
help  me.  They  have  since  been  arrayed  against  me  in  the 
bitterest  hostility.  They  have  left  no  stone  unturned  which 
could  conduce  towards  the  breaking  up  of  the  work;  arid 
Wm.  C.  Ralston,  the  cashier  of  the  bank,  v/ho  lives  in 
princely  style,  in  a  magnificent  dwelling,  with  sixty  horses 

(a)  See  book  on  Sutro  Tunnel,  p.  173. 


in  his  stables — a  man  who  was  at  that  time  a  warm  friend 
of  the  tunnel,  and  has  since  grown  rich  by  manipulating' 
these  mines — is  now  its  enemy.  I  have  in  my  possession 
a  letter  written  by  him  at  that  time,  which  I  have  never 
produced  before,  for  it  is  a  private  letter,  given  me  as  an 
introduction  to  certain  parties,  which  during  six  years  of 
warfare  I  have  kept  inviolate,  although  there  is  nothing  of 
a,  confidential  character  about  it.  I  may  as  well  use  it  now. 
It  will  serve  to  show  the  opinion  this  Mr.  Ralston  once 
entertained  of  the  Sutro  tunnel.  I  will  read  it: 

"THE  BANK  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

"D.  0.  MILLS,  W.  C.  RALSTON, 

"President.  Cashier. 

"SAN  FRANCISCO,  May  4, 1866. 
"To  the  ORIENTAL  BANK  CORPORATION,  London. 

"DEAR  SIRS:  This  letter  will  be  presented  to  you  by  Mr.  A.  Sutro,  of  this 
city,  who  visits  England  with  the  view  of  laying  before  capitalists  there  a 
very  important  enterprise,  projected  by  himself,  and  known  as  the  'Sutro 
tunnel,'  in  the  State  of  Nevada.  This  tunnel  is  designed  to  cut  the  great 
Comstock  lode  or  ledge,  upon  which  our  richest  silver  mines  arc  located,  at 
a  depth  of  two  thousand  feet  from  the  surface,  to  drain  it  of  water,  render  ifc: 
easily  accessible  at  that  point,  and  thus  increase  the  facilities  and  diminish 
the  expenses  of  the  progressive  development  of  these  mines. 

"Too  much  cannot  be  said  of  the  great  importance  of  this  work,  if  practicable 
upon  any  remunerative  basis.  We  learn  that  the  scheme  has  been  very  care- 
fully examined  by  scientific  men,  and  that  they  unhesitatingly  pronounce  in  »te 
favor  on  all  points — practicability,  profit,  and  great  public  utility.  Mr.  Sutrc), 
we  presume,  is  furnished  with  the  necessary  documents  to  make  this  apparent; 
and  our  object  in  this  letter  is  simply  to  gain  for  him,  through  your  kind- 
ness, such  an  introduction  as  will  enable  him  to  present  his  enterprise  to  the 
public  fairly  and  upon  its  merits. 

"Commending  Mr.  Sutro  to  your  courteous  attentions,  we  remain,  dear 
sirs,  yours,  very  truly, ' 

"W.  C.  RALSTON, 

"Cashier" 

That  this  same  Mr.  Ralston  has  since  been  moving  heaven 
and  earth  to  break  up  this  tunnel  enterprise  I  shall  fully 
explain  in  the  course  of  my  remarks. 

LAW    PASSED    BY    CONGRESS. 

After  I  had  finished  the  making  of  these  contracts,  I  set 
out  for  Washington,  with  the  intention  of  getting  certain 
rights  from  the  General  Government  which  no  State  gov- 
ern merit  could  give  me;  for  the  fee  to  the  public  domain,  (a) 

(a)  See  Testimony,  pp.  197,  222,  284. 


870 

as  far  as  these  mines  are  concerned,  was  then  entirely,  and 
is  to  this  day  to  a  large  extent,  in  the  Government,  (a)  I 
was  to  secure  certain  immunities  at  the  capital,  and  then 
go  to  Europe,  for  the  purpose  of  negotiating  stock  or  ob- 
taining the  pecuniary  loans  which  would  be  required  to 
carry  out  the  work.  Nothing  was  said  at  that  time  about 
any  direct  aid  from  the  Government. 

I  arrived  in  Washington  about  the  beginning  of  June, 
1866;  and  on  the  25th  of  July  a  law  of  Congress  was  ap- 
proved, (6)  granting  to  me  the  right  of  way  and  other  privil- 
eges to  aid  in  the  construction  of  an  exploring  and  draining 
tunnel  to  the  Comstock  lode,  in  the  State  of  Nevada.  It 
gave. us  the  privilege  of  buying  some  land  at  the  mouth  of 
the  tunnel,  which  we  already  owned  by  location,  and  the 
right  to  take  such  veins  of  ores  as  we  might  cut  in  running, 
the  tunnel,  and  which  we  would  have  had  under  the  com- 
mon mining  law;  confirms  the  rates  made  in  these  con- 
tracts of  $2  a  ton;  and  makes  the  patents  of  mining  com- 
panies thereafter  obtained  subject  to  the  condition  that 
this  royalty  be  paid,  (c)  It  was  necessary  that  we  should 
have  some  such  protection  as  this  in  the  work,  for  corpora- 
tions are  liable  to  disincorporate,  with  disastrous  effect 
upon  the  binding  force  of  contracts.  I  found,  by  consulta- 
tion with  eminent  lawyers,  that  it  was  absolutely  necessary 
to  have  some  such  rights  from  the  Government;  and  on 
presentation  in  Congress  the  delegation  from  California 
and  Nevada  agreed  with  me,  and  the  bill  which  I  desired 
became  a  law. 

NECESSITY  OF  A  COMPULSORY  LAW. 

Mr.  Sunderland,  in  summing  up  the  evidence  which  has 
been  taken  here,  says  that  this  law  places  some  of  the 
mining  companies  who  did  not  sign  the  contract  under  the 
same  obligations  as  those  who  did.  He  says  he  was  a 
trustee  at  the  time,  and  he  did  not  sign  a  contract.  That 
is  precisely  what  we  wanted  to  remedy.  There  were  men 

(a)  See  Test.,  pp.  190,  222,  223,  373.     (6)  See  Statutes  at  Large,  vol.  14,  p.  242. 
(c)  See  Test,,  pp.  221,  222,  282. 


871 

iu  Nevada  who  were  ambitious  to  play  "  dog  in  the  mau- 
ger."  They  did  not  want  to  do  anything.  They  did  not 
want  to  huild  the  tunnel;  hut  if  it  should  be  built  they 
wanted  to  have  the  benefit  of  it,  for  if  we  should  run  it  in 
it  would  drain  the  mines  for  them  without  expense.  Mr. 
Sunderlaud  was  one  of  those  men  who  would  not  sign  this 

contract.     They  said — 

7 

"Oh,  Sutro  will  build  it,  and  when  done  it  will  drain  our  mines  as  well 
as  others,  and  we  shall  get  the  benefit  for  nothing." 

It  was  necessary  to  compel  them  to  make  a  fair  contri- 
bution, as  I  will  show  by  a  very  familiar  example.  When 
a  number  of  property  owners  on  a  street  want  to  construct 
a  sewer,  and  one  man  stays  out  and  will  take  no  part  in 
the  work,  you  must  run  the  sewer  by  him  or  it  would  be 
useless,  and  if  you  run  it  by  him  he  derives  all  the  advant- 
ages from  it  for  nothing.  It  would  be  an  annoying  and 
insurmountable  difficulty.  Hence,  we  find  in  all  city  char- 
ters authority  for  provisions  making  it  compulsory  on  the 
inhabitants  to  pay  their  proportion  towards  sewers.  It  is 
absolutely  necessary  that  they  should  contribute  to  such 
works,  (a)  We  have  practically  the  same  principle  and  the 
same  thing  to  contend  with  in  mining;  and  I  say  now,  that 
the  time  will  come  when  Congress  will  pass  a  general  law, 
such  as  they  had  in  Spain  and  Germany,  to  compel  mining 
companies  to  pay  in  cases  of  this  kind.  Tunnels  are  nec- 
essary for  mining;  (6)  and  it  is  a  great  mistake  for  the  Gov- 
ernment to. grant  to  any  man  an  absolute  title  to  a  mine. 
The  Government  should  reserve  for  itself  such  privileges 
as  are  required  in  the  development  of  our  mining  interests, 
the  right  to  make  certain  regulations,  (c)  I  do  not  know 
but  that  there  is  a  clause  in  the  present  law  partly  covering 
this  very  point.  There  are  such  laws  in  Europe.  I  sim- 
ply refer  to  these  facts  as  significant  from  the  principle 
embodied.  •  It  has  been  the  experience  in  Mexico,  in 
Spain,  in  Hungary,  and  in  other  countries  where  mining 
is  prosecuted  to  a  considerable  extent,  that  miners  never 

(a)  See  Test.,  p.  372.        (6)  See  Test.,  p.  606.        (c)  See  Test.,  p.  602. 


872 

agree  upon  such  questions,  but  that  they  take  out  all  the 
ore  that  they  can  get  any  money  from,  and  when  the.  mines 
are  gouged  out  it  is  impossible  to  find  any  one  to  make  a 
tunnel. 

THE  UNDERTAKING  PRESENTED  AT  NEW  YORK. 

After  the  act  of  incorporation  passed  Congress,  I 
thought  this  matter  stood  on  a  basis  that  was  not  suscepti- 
ble of  doubt,  and  proceeding  directl^  to  New  York,  from 
Washington,  I  published  a  little  pamphlet,  in  which  I  ex- 
plained the  advantages  of  the  tunnel  and  the  probable 
income  that  would  be  derived  from  it.  The  people  with 
whom  I  came  in  contact  at  that  time  (and  they  were  some 
of  the  wealthiest  and  most  intelligent  of  the  residents  of 
New  York)  took  a  great  deal  of  interest  in  the  tunnel,  al- 
though somehow  they  regarded  it  as  a  vast  undertaking, 
the  accomplishment  of  which  would  be  very  remote.  My 
assertions  that  the  income  from  operating  would  amount 
to  several  millions  per  annum  made  them  incredulous,  and 
they  argued  that  if  that  were  true,  I  could  easily  raise  the 
money  in  California.  Many  of  the  prominent  merchants, 
bankers,  and  capitalists  of  New  York,  however,  united  in 
subscribing  to  a  communication  to  me  in  which  they  prom- 
ised that,  if  I  would  go  back  to  the  Pacific  coast  and  raise 
three  or  four  or  five  hundred  thousand  dollars,  they  would 
get  $3,000,000  for  me  in  the  east,  (a)  In  the  fall  of  1866, 
therefore,  I  returned  to  California,  and  submitted  the  prop- 
osition to  the  mining -companies.  They  were  then  in  a 
pretty  good  condition.  They  were  prosperous  in  busi- 
ness, and  I  found  ready  listeners  when  I  demonstrated  the 
importance  of  the  tunnel  to  mining  operations.  I  pro- 
posed to  them  to  become  interested  in  the  tunnel.  I 
showed  them  that  they  could  come  in  at  such  a  rate  that 
it  would  be  highly  advantageous  to  them,  for  although 
they  would  be  independent  as  mining  concerns,  they  would 
still  be  owners  in  the  tunnel  enterprise,  and  it  would  re- 

(a)  See  Commissioners'  Eeport,  p.  53. 


turn  them,  by  way  of  profit,  all  they  would  have  to  pay  to 
it  in  royalty  for  the  ores  removed  when  in  bonanza;  while, 
on  the  other  hand,  when  out  of  ore,  without  contributing 
a  single  dollar,  the  dividends  from  the  tunnel  would  fur- 
nish them  the  means  for  prospecting.  And  they  saw  it, 
and  recognized  the  fact.  They  began  to  subscribe,  and  in 
May,  1867,  I  think,  I  had  $600,0(JO  subscribed.  A  great 
many  private  people  put  down  their  names  for  $5,000,  or 
$10,000,  or  $20,000  each,  and  I  had  a  fair  prospect  of 
raising  $1,000,000  in  San  Francisco,  and  the  whole  amount 
required,  perhaps,  in  California. 

OPPOSITION  BY  THE  BANK  OF  CALIFORNIA  COMMENCED,  (a) 

Then  it  was  that  the  Bank  of  California  stepped  in  and 
concluded  to  break  up  the  tunnel  enterprise.  But  previous 
to  that  time  I  had  again  visited  the  Nevada  Legislature,  in 
February,  1867, 1  think,  and  asked  the  members  to  memo- 
rialize Congress,  (b)  I  told  them  that  this  was  an  important 
question,  not  only  to  tbe  State  of  Nevada,  but  to  the  whole 
country;  and  they  responded  to  my  wishes,  urging  Congress 
in  the  strongest  teims  to  aid  this  work.  They  gave  their 
reasons,  (c)  They  showed  the  politico-economical  demands 
for  it.  They  demonstrated  what  influence  it  would  have 
on  the  payment  of  the  national  debt.  I  should  very  much 
like  to  quote  from  the  memorial,  but  it  would  take  me  too 
long. 

When  the  California  bank  people  observed  the  action 
the  Legislature  of  Nevada  had  taken,  with  the  conclusive 
logic  of  their  address,  they  ttegan  to  understand  the  prob- 
ability that  the  Government  won  1(1  take  some  steps  to  assist 
in  the  construction  of  the  tunnel.  The  Bank  of  California 
now  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  a  great  enterprise, 
and,  thinking  we  were  about  to  get  a  subsidy  from  the 
United  States,  they  set  out  to  break  it  up.  The  Bank  of 
California  rules  and  runs  that  country.  They  owned  al- 

(a)  See  Test.,  pp.  17, 18, 166,  355,  356.    (&)  See  book  on  Sutro  Tunnel,  p.  xiil 
(c)  See  book  on  Sutro  Tunnel,  p.  77. 


874 

most  everybody  in  it,  and  anybody  that  refuses  to  bend  tbe 
knee  to  them  they  drive  away.  So  they  concluded  to  drive 
me  away;  and,  in  their  unscrupulous  manner  of  doing 
things,  they  began  by  making  the  mining  companies  repu- 
diate their  subscriptions.  That  was  the  first  step  they  took. 
I  had  worked  at  this  undertaking  then  for  several  years. 
1  had  induced  some  of  my  friends  to  invest  some  money 
in  it:  my  means  were  limited.  There  were  large  expenses 
connected  with  the  enterprise,  in  the  way  of  making  sur- 
veys and  maps,  traveling,  arranging  contracts,  and  em- 
ploying lawyers.  The  bank,  as  soon  as  they  had  concluded 
to  repudiate,  declared  that  we  had  not  complied  with  the 
conditions  of  our  contracts. 

THE  QUESTION  OF  CONTRACTS. 

That  was  in  June,  1867.  The  contracts  were  made  in 
the  year  1866,  and  we  agreed  in  those  contracts  that  we 
would  raise  a  certain  sum  of  money  by  the  1st  of  August, 
1867.  Now,  understand,  in  May,  1867,  three  months  be- 
fore our  time  expired,  they  commenced  their  opposition, 
and  said  we  had  not  complied  with  our  contracts.  I  had, 
however,  taken  the  precaution  to  receive  an  extension  from 
the  mining  companies  of  another  year;  and  consequently 
our  contracts  ran  until  August  1, 1868. 

In  order  that  the  circumstances  may  be  thoroughly  com- 
prehended, I  will  refer  to  a  single  company,  the  reports  of 
which  I  have  in  my  possession.  It  is  the  Savage  Mining 
Company,  of  which  Alpheus  Bull,  Esq.,  is  president — a 
gentleman  who  is  connected  with  a  great  many  companies 
out  there,  and  who  is  supposed  to  be  a  very  good  man,  a 
first-rate  man,  a  very  pious1  man,  in  fact;  bat  in  my  opin- 
ion a  great  scamp,  and  a  mere  tool  of  the  Bank  of  Califor- 
nia. This  is  what  he  wrote  in  his  official  report  on  July 
10,  1866,  after  the  contracts  had  been  made: 

"  The  importance  of  affording  drainage  at  a  great  depth,  if  it  can  possibly 
be  obtained,  cannot  be  too  highly  estimated.  The  Sutro  Tunnel  Company  is 
the  only  party  that  proposes  to  undertake  this  important  enterprise,  and  your 
trustees  haye  entered  into  a  contract  with  .that  company,  for  the  purpose  of 
effecting  this  great  object.  It  is  much  to  be  desired  that  success  may  attend 


875 


>y  the  stockholders  at  their  present  meeting."  (a) 

They  did  ratify  it.  That  was  in  1866.  There  was  no 
opposition  then.  Now,  let  us  see  what  he  says — this  same 
man — in  1867;  and  a  very  smooth-talking  fellow  he  is,  too. 
Eecollect,  now,  these  contracts  did  not  expire  till  the  1st 
of  August,  1867,  with  an  extension  of  time  made  until 
August  1,  1868.  There  was  an  extension  from  this  par- 
ticular company,  the  Savage  company,  which  I  might  as 
well  read  right  here,  now  that  I  am  about  it,  so  that  it 
may  be  put  upon  the  record,  and  that  there  may  be  no  ques- 
tion about  the  extension  granted  by  that  company  at  all : 

"ficsohed^  That  the  president  and  secretary  be,  and  are  hereby,  instructed 
to  enter  into'the  following  contract  with  the  Sutro  Tunnel  Company: 

"This  agreement,  made  this  seventh  day  of  March,  A.  D.  1867,jbetween  the 
Savage  Mining  Company,  a  corporation  duly  organized  under  the  laws  of  the 
State  of  California,  and  having  its  mine  on  the  Comstock  lode,  in  the  State  of 
Nevada,  party  of  the  first  part,  and  the  Sutro  Tunnel  Company,  party  of  the 
second  part: 

"  Witnesseth,  That  in  consideration  of  one  dollar  in  gold  coin  of  the  United' 
States  in  hand  paid  to  the  said  party  of  the  first  part  by  the  said  party  of  the 
second  part,  and  of  other  good  and  valuable  considerations,  receipt  whereof 
is  hereby  acknowledged,  said  party  of  the  first  part  agrees  and  covenants  that 
the  said'party  of  the  second  part  shall  have,  and  is  hereby  granted,  an  exten- 
sion of  time  for  one  year,  from  and  after  the  period  specified  in  articles  first, 
third,  fourth,  and  fifth,  of  a  certain  contract  entered  into  betXveen  the  parties 
hereto,  on  the  thirtieth  day  of  March,  A.  D.  1866." 

[Recollect  this  gives  an  extension  till  the  1st  of  August, 
1868.] 

"  And  it  is  hereby  declared  to  be  the  intention  of  said  grant  of  exten- 
sion of  time,  that  the  operation  and  effect  thereof  shall  be  the  same  in  all  re- 
spects as  if- the  1st  day  of  August,  1868,  had  been  originally  inserted  in  said 
contract,  instead  of  the  first  day  of  August,  1867,  wherever  the  date  last  men- 
tioned is  found  therein. 

"In  testimony  whereof  the  Savage  Mining  Company  has  caused  these  pres- 
ents to  be  signed  by  the  president  and  secretary,  and  its  corporate  seal  to  bo 
hereto  affixed,  this  seventh  day  of  March,  A.  D.  1867. 

"  (Signed)  .  ALPHEUS  BULL,  Pres't. 

"E.  B.  HOLMES,  Secy  Savaye  Mining  Co." 

Now  let  us  see  what  this  man  said  that  same  year,  on  the 
18th  of  July,  1867,  before  the  original  contract  expired : 

"On  the  the  26th  of  April,  1867,  the  board  of  trustees  entered  into  an 
agreement  with  the  Sutro  Tunnel  Company  to  subscribe  $150,000  towards 
the  construction  of  the  propOEed  drain  tunnel,  upon  two  conditions:  first, 
that  the  tunnel  company  were  to  procure  bonajide  subscriptions  to  the  amount 


(a)  See  official  report  of  Savage  Company  for  1866. 


876 

of  $3,000,000;  and,  second,  that  the  agreement  should  be  submitted  to  this 
annual  meeting  and  ratified  by  the  stockholders.  The  tunnel  company  have 
failed  to  fulfill  the  first  condition" 

He  said  we  had  failed  to  fulfill  the  . condition  that  we 
were  to  get  $3,000,000  in  bona  fide  subscriptions,  and  our 
time  had  not  yet  expired.  It  was  before  the  original  con- 
tract expired,  and  a  year  and  over  before  the  extension 
expired. 

Then  he  goes  on  to  say: 

"In  addition  to  this,  I  consider  there  are  grave  reasons  for  doubting  the 
policy  of  such  an  agreement  on  the  part  of  this  company.  Suffice  to  say  that 
I  recommend  the  stockholders  to  refuse  to  give  their  approval  to  the  agree- 
ment." (a) 

This  Bull  was  the  tool  of  a  ring,  which  had  then  been 
formed  by  the  Bank  of  California,  and  they  thought  they 
could  explode  the  tunnel  project.  It  was  next  to  impossi- 
ble to  obtain  redress.  You  could  not  do  anything  in  any 
court  of  law.  It  was  reported  that  they  could  manage 
almost  every  judge  in  that  part  of  the  country,  and  that 
they  had  vast  influence  with  all  the  newspapers.  They 
thought  they  could  ride  rough-shod  over  my  rights,  but  I 
did  not  let  them  do  it,  nor  do  I  think  I  ever  shall.  I  hold 
in  my  hand  the  paper,  dated  April  26,  1867,  in  which  the 
Savage  company  agreed  to  pay  $150,000  to  the  tunnel  com- 
pany, yet  that  man  had  the  assurance,  three  mouths  later, 
to  say  we  had  not  complied  with  the  conditions  of  our 
contract,  when  we  had  a  year  and  over  to  do  it  in. 

RING   RASCALITIES. 

They  put  their  heads  together  then,  and  said: 

"  Let  us  break  up  the  Sutro  tunnel.  We  will  get  hold  of  it  in  a  year  or 
two  anyhow;  and  in  the  meantime  we  will  make  the  mining  companies  give 
the  money  subscribed  to  the  tunnel  company  towards  a  railroad,  which  we 
will  build  and  own,  and  that  will  kill  Sutro,  and  he  will  not  be  able  to  get 
the  money  he  wants." 

As  a  result  of  what  I  have  just  stated,  in  April,  1868, 
this  man  Bull  wrote  in  the  official  report  of  the  company : 

"  I  am  so  strongly  impressed  with  the  importance  of  the  early  construction 
of  this  railway,  and  the  great  benefits  it  would  confer  upon  this  company, 
that  I  earnestly  recommend  to  the  stockholders  the  repeal  or  amendment  of 

(a)  See  official  report  of  Savage  Company  for  1867. 


877 

the  4th  article  of  the  by-laws,  so  as  to  enable  the  in-coming  board  of  trustees, 
if  in  their  judgment  they  deem  it  advisable,  to  increase  the  subsidy  of  this 
company  to  the  railway  enterprise  by  an  additional  sum  of  fifty  thousand 
dollars. 

"  With  this  road  constructed  and  'in  operation,  and  with  a  deep-drain  tun- 
nel which  in  a  few  years  will  be  run,  and  with  a  further  saving  in  the  reduc- 
tion of  ore,  and  also  to  increase  the  returns  of  the  assay  value  of.  them  from 
65  per  cent.,  the^  present  standard,  to  80  or  85  per  cent.,  it  is  reasonable  to 
believe,  with  all  these  advantages  secured,  we  can  transmit  the  danger  of 
profits  from  silver  mining  at  Virginia  and  Gold  Hill  to  another  generation."  (a) 

Now,  if  that  record  will  not  damn  any  set  of  men,  I 
would  like  to  know  what  will.  There  is  falsehood  proven 
on  them  out  of  their  own  mouths. 

To  recapitulate,  then,  you  find  that  on  April  3,  1866, 
this  man  Bull,  as  president  of  the  Savage  company,  makes 
a  contract  with  the  Sutro  Tunnel  Company,  and  recom- 
mends its  confirmation  at  the  annual  stockholders'  meet- 
ing in  July  of  that  year,  which  was  duly  made. 

On  the  7th  of  March,  1867,  following,  he  extends  the 
time  for  the  fulfillment  of  that  contract  until  August  1, 
1868.  On  the  26th  of  April,  of  that  same  year,  (1867,)  the 
board  of  trustees  of  the  Savage  company,  through  him, 
(Bull,  their  president,)  subscribed  $150,000  to  the  Sutro 
Tunnel  Company;  and  on  the  18th  of  July,  of  that  same 
year,  he  repudiates  it  all. 

The  California  Bank  ring  saw  the  tunnel  was  going 
ahead,  and  while  they  wanted  to  break  it  up,  they  at  the 
same  time  wanted  to  appropriate  the  money  subscribed 
by  the  mining  companies  to  themselves;  and,  in  order  to 
accomplish  that,  they  got  up  this  railroad  enterprise. 

Thus  we  find  this  same  man  Bull,  in  his  next  annual 
report  in  1868,  recommending  the  subscription  of  this 
identical  sum  of  §150,000  to  the  railroad  company,  which 
he  had  repudiated  the  year  before,  as  far  as  the  tunnel 
company  was  concerned;  and  so  confident  was  he  that  the 
tunnel  project  was  killed  for  good,  that  he  lets  out  their 
plans  for  the  future,  by  saying  that  a  deep  tunnel  woidd 
be  constructed  before  long — of  course  meaning  by  the  bank 
ring.  He  thought  it  was  killed  off;  his  indecent  haste  was 

(a)  See.  official  report  of  Savage  Company  for  1868. 


878 

so  great  that  he  called  in  the  undertaker  before  the  child 
was  dead. 

THEY  WANT  TO  APPROPRIATE  AID   FROM  THE   GOVERNMENT   TO 
THEMSELVES. 

They  now  turned  around,  and  their  persecution  fairlj 
commenced.  They  thought  the  tunnel  was  a  good  thing, 
having  read  my  pamphlets.  They  had  not  had  brainft 
enough  to  see  it  in  the  beginning;  but  when  they  did  se« 
it,  notwithstanding  our  rights,  obtained  from  the  United 
States  Government,  they  thought  they  would  break  it  up: 
after  the  Nevada  Legislature  had  shown  that  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  was  interested  in  that  enterprise 
more  intimately  than  in  any  other  in  the  country,  and  they 
concluded  to  appropriate  any  aid  from  the  federal  Govern- 
ment to  themselves.  There  you  have  the  Bank  of  Califor- 
nia. That  is  the  way  they  do  things  out  there.  They 
thought  in  a  few  years  I  would  be  entirely  used  up,  for  ] 
had  no  money  to  fight  these  people  with,  and  they  had 
millions,  and  were  making  millions  out  of  these  mines 
every  year,  fleecing  the  people,  as  I  shall  show  further  on. 
I  charge  them  with  these  things,  and  I  am  ready  to  prove 
them. 

THE  RING  HAS  NO  MONEY  INVESTED  IN  THE  .RAILROAD. 

What  does  Mr.  Sunderland  say  in  his  argument  ?  He 
says  this  tunnel  ought  not  to  receive  any  aid  from  the 
Government,  because  it  would  ruin  their  railroad.  Why, 
that  is  no  objection.  They  got  the  money  subscribed  to 
themselves  away  from  us,  and  with  it  built  that  railroad  in 
opposition  to  the  tunnel.  They  built  it  several  years  after  I 
obtained  my  rights.  They  designed  that  it  should  break 
up  the  tunnel.  They  tried  to  make  people  believe  that,  when 
the  railroad  should  be  made,  they  could  bring  wood  on  it 
so  cheap,  that  they  would  be  enabled  to  use  it  for  pumping 
water  out  of  the  mines  cheaper  than  it  would  run  out  by 
itself,  and  the  people  had  no  interest  to  differ  from  them.  One 


879 

of  Mr.  Sunderland's  reasons  against  the  tunnel  is,  that  the 
railroad  cost  $3,000,000.  The  truth  is,  it  only  cost  $1,500,- 
000.  According  to  his  own  statement,  they  got  from  the 

mining  companies-— $800,000 

And  a  gift  from  three  counties  of 575,000 


Making  a  total  of $1,375,000 

So  there  is  not  much  of  their  money  in  it. 

The  railroad  may  cost  $3,000,000,  if  they  build  it  to 
Reno,  which  would  make  it  more  than  double  its  present 
length. 

Mr.  WALDRON.  What  is  its  present  length  ? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Twenty-three  miles  from  Virginia  to  Carson. 

Now,  I  want  to  call  attention  to  the  fact,  that  more  than 
one  half  of  that  railroad  never  will  be  injured  a^alL  There 
are  only. ten  miles  that  the  tunnel  could  hurt,  and  I  pre- 
tend to  say  that  even  that  ten  miles  would  not  become  en- 
tirely useless,  and  that  Virginia  City  will  continue  to  exist 
to  a  very  considerable  extent.  He  says  these  mining  com- 
panies have  paid  $800,000  already,  and  they  ought  not  to 
pay  anything  towards  this  tunnel.  So  far  as  I  am  con- 
cerned, I  can  neither  see  sense  nor  philosophy  in  that 
argument.  He  says,  also,  that  if  we  had  complied  with 
our  contract  there  would  not  have  been  any  necessity  for 
making  this  railroad.  I  have  shown  that  these  people  have 
prevented  us  from  complying  with  the  contracts.  Their  own 
statements  show  it.  They  are  full  of  discrepancies.  They 
say  they  wanted  us  to  complete  the  tunnel,  and  they  threw 
all  sorts  of  obstacles  in  our  way. 

NO  RUIN  TO  ANYTHING. 

Mr.  Sunderland  next  says  tl^at,  if  made,  the  tunnel  will 
ruin  Virginia  City  and  Gold  Hill.  It  has  been  stated  here 
that  the  property  there  is  worth  $5,000,000  or  $6,000,000; 
but  in  any  mining  town  everybody  knows  that  mining  will 
some  day  cease,  particularly  if  operations  continue  to  be 
carried  on  as  they  are  in  those  mines,  and  property  will 
be  worth  but  very  little.  I  think  the  tunnel  will  injure 


880 

Virginia  City  and  Gold  Hill  some,  and  I  think  it  will  in- 
jure ten  miles  of  that  railroad,  but  not  much,  for  they 
can  take  up  their  rails  and  lay  them  to  the  mouth  of  the 
tunnel,  and  I  prophesy  that  a  large  city  will  spring  into 
existence  there.  Five  years  hence  we  shall  see,  perhaps, 
50,000  people  gathered  near  its  mouth.  Where  they 
have  two  or  three  thousand  miners  employed  now,  they 
will  then  have  15,000;  and  the  few  thousand  who  will  then 
remain  at  Virginia  City  will  find  plenty  of  employment  in 
surface  digging,  for  there  will  he  more  or  less  of  mining 
operations  conducted  independent  of  the  tunnel.  It  will 
take  a  long  time  to  complete  the  ramifications  from  the 
tunnel — fifty  years,  I  do  not  douht.  In  the  course  of  time 
we  shall  have  in  the  argentiferous  depths  of  those  hills  a 
hundred  miles  of  tunnel — nay,  two  hundred.  That  which 
we  seek  to  start  to-day  is  the  main  artery,  as  it  were.  "We 
go  in  four  miles,  and  we  will  have  tunnels  branching  from 
us  in  every  direction ;  we  will  have  a  subterranean  world, 
with  avenues  and  rock-paved  streets,  an  interminable  traffic 
of  cars,  loaded  with  men,  ore,  and  material,  (a)  There  will 
be  a  business  in  this  underground  world  such  as  no  one  can 
have  any  conception  of.  The  whole  mountain  will  be  ex- 
plored, and  everything  connected  with  mining  cheapened; 
and  the  objection  that  Virginia  City  and  Gold  Hill  will 
be  injured  falls  to  the  ground;  it  amounts  to  nothing,  (b) 

Mr.  Sunderland  has  also  stated  that  the  mills  of  the 
Carson  river  will  be  injured.  There  has  been  a  great  deal 
said  here  about  making  a  large  dam  near  the  mouth  of  the 
tunnel;  but  we  do  not  propose  to  make  that  dam.  That 
is  a  dam  proposed  by  the  commissioners.  They  thought 
a  dam  would  be  a  profitable  investment,  and  that  may  be 
probably  so;  but  in  none  of  my  pamphlets  or  books  have  I 
ever  proposed  making  one/  There  is  no  necessity  for  it  at 
all,  as  I  will  show  when  I  reach  that  subject. 

He  has  told  us,  furthermore,  there  will  be  $13,000,000 
or  $14,000,000  worth  of  property  destroyed ;  that  is  to  say, 

(a)  See  Test.,  p.  27,        (6)  See  Test.,  pp.  185, 186. 


in  property  at  Virginia  City,  the  mills  on  the  Carsou,  and 
this  railroad;  but  I  assert  (the  mills  not  being  affected  at 
all)  that  the  loss  will  not  exceed  $1,000,000.  And  they 
are  going  to  get  a  benefit  from  the  tunnel  of  more  than 
$10,000.000  a  year.  The  yield  of  those  mines  will  be  so 
immense,  that  the  people  there  cannot  help  growing  rich 
from  them.  But  Mr.  Sunderland  says  every  one  will  be 
bankrupted.  The  solution  of  the  enigma  is,  the  Bank  of 
California  is  still  bent  upon  breaking  up  our  project, 
although  we  are  now  in  a  condition  to  push  our  work 
ahead.  We  have  300  or  400  men  at  work  there  at  present, 
and  we  are  going  to  construct  that  tunnel  in  spite  of  all 
their  machinations. 

• 

RETURN  TO  NEW  YORK. 

After  I  saw  the  power  the  Bank  had  out  there,  I  con- 
cluded it  would  be  of  no  use  for  me  to  go  on  there  any  longer 
to  try  to  accomplish  anything.  I  perceived  that  nearly 
everybody  was  shunning  me,  as  long  as  it  was  pat- 
ent that  the  Bank  was  against  me,  and  I  could  not 
raise  a  cent.  Men  of  business  were  all  afraid  of  the 
institution.  Most  of  them  were  more  or  less  in  want 
of  accommodations,  and  have  business  ramifications  which 
leave  them  at  the  mercy  of  a  great,  unscrupulous  mon- 
eyed concern,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  so  that  they 
may  be  broken  and  ruined  any  day,  and  no  redress 
could  be  had;  and  when  I  would  relate  the  facts  peo- 
ple would  not  believe  me,  and  I  could  get  no  satis- 
faction. I  therefore  concluded  to  return  to  New  York, 
where  the  people  had  told  me,  "  You  go  and  raise  three 
or  four  hundred  thousand  dollars."  .Upon  my  arrival 
VI  showed  the  documents,  in  which  the  mining  com- 
panies and  others  had  subscribed  $600,000.  I  told  them 
why  they  withdrew,  but  I  could  not  explain  that  away;  no 
matter  what  I  might  have  said,  they  would  not  have  believed 
it.  I  did  not  know  what  to  do  about  this  matter.  I  was  not 
going  to  give  it  up,  because  I  had  said  I  would  carry  it  out, 
and  I  was  more  determined  than  ever  not  to  give  it  up 
56 


882 

under  any  circumstances.  I  thought  to  myself, "  I  have  that 
indorsement  from  the  Nevada  Legislature;  I  will  explain  it 
to  Congress,  and  submit  it  there,  and  let  them  know  what 
this  Bank  of  California  is;  what  a  set  of  scamps  they  are, 
and  how  they  had  acted  towards  me,  in  what  bad  faith ; 
how  they  had  perverted  facts,  and  done  everything  to  break 
up  the  enterprise;  and  I  will  submit  this  report  of  the  Ne- 
vada Legislature,  which,  I  repeat,  is  a  most  conclusive  argu- 
ment for  Government  aiding  this  work,  and  developing  the 
vast  mineral  resources  of  the  country." 

Soon  after  I  arrived  atNqw  York,  I  went  in  one  day  to 
Leese  &  Waller's,  the  agents  of  the  Bank  of  California, 
though  I  knew  they  would  be  against  me,  and  I  found  a 
placard  posted  up,  saying  that  the  Savage  company  had 
repudiated  the  subscription  to  the  tunnel  company,  and 
that  the  same  was  null  and  void.  I  was  astonished  to  find 
in  a  banking  office  in  New  York  a  placard  like  that.  Every- 
body from  the  Pacific  coast  would  come  in  and  read  it,  and 
would  think  I  had  committed  some  crime,  or  been  guilty 
of  some  rascality.  I  saw  what  they  were  up  to.  They 
wanted  to  ruin  me  in  New  York,  so  I  could  get  no  money 
there,  (a) 

TRIP  TO  EUROPE. 

I  concluded  to  go  to  Europe  and  try  to  raise  some  funds 
there,  and  at  the  same  time  post  myself  on  mining.  I 
was  familiar  with  the  great  works  on  mining  written  by 
the  scientific  men  in  Europe,  who  had  spent  a  lifetime 
in  studying  what  had  been  experienced  by  others  dur- 
ing centuries,  and  some  of  whom  had  traveled  all  over 
the  world  to  get  experience  themselves,  and  I  wanted  to 
come  in  contact  with  those  people  and  consult  with  them. 
I  also  wanted  to  visit  the  mines  there  myself,  and  study 
the  continuance  of  mineral  lodes  in  depth.  I  met  such  men 
as  Yon  Beust,  (6)  Sir  Roderick  Murchison,  (c)  Yon  Cotta,  (d) 

(a)  See  Commissioners'  Report,  p.  55.         (c)  See  Test.,  p.  614. 

(b)  See  Test.,  pp.  607,  608.  (d)  See  Test,,  pp.  608,  609,  610. 


883 

Weissbach,  (a)  Kerl,  (6)  Rivot,  (c)  Chevalier,  and  many  others, 
the  great  scientific  celebrities  of  the  world.  Their  books 
are  used  in  many  schools  and  universities.  They  all  in- 
dorsed this  project.  Some  of  their  letters  are  published  in 
my  book,  (tf)  in  which  they  compliment  me  on  this  magnifi- 
cent undertaking:  the  greatest  undertaking,  they  thought, 
going  on  in  America.  They  indorsed  it  heartily,  these 
men,  thoroughly  familiar  with  mining  science.  Baron 
Richthofen,  a  celebrated  geologist,  had  some  time  previous 
written  a  treatise  about  the  geology  of  the  Comstock  lode, 
(e)  and  in  regard  to  this  tunnel,  which  he  recommended 
highly.  They  saw  the  benefits  of  the  tunnel  at  a  glance. 
They  understood  its  whole  effect.  They  knew  by  their 
own  experiences  what  it  would  be. 

CAPITALISTS  ALARMED. 

While  I  was  in  Europe  I  made  some  inquiries  as  to  what 
I  <x>uld  do  in  the  way  of  raising  money  there.  I  had  a 
great  many  letters  of  introduction.  I  have  read  one  from 
Mr.  Ralston,  which  I  never  used.  I  had  letters  of  intro- 
duction from  many  of  the  bankers  and  prominent  people 
in  California  to  leading  people  in  London,  Paris,  Frank- 
fort, Amsterdam,  and  Berlin.  They  thought  the  tunnel 
was  a  magnificent  work;  but  a  work  of  that  kind  is  diffi- 
cult to  carry  out,  and  still  more  difficult  to  raise  money 
for.  When  a  capitalist  lends  money,  he  wants  to  have  the 
returns  in  hand  before  he  lets  it  go.  You  know  how  dif- 
ficult it  is  to  do  anything  with  such  people;  but  the  great 
obstacle  in  1867,  about  the  time  the  Exposition  was  going 
on  in  Paris,  was  a  feeling  all  over  Europe,  in  diplomatic 
and  financial  circles,  that  there  was  going  to  be  a  war  be- 
tween Prussia  and  France.  Everybody  knew  it  was  com- 
ing, and  the  bourse,  which  is  the  most  sensitive  barometer 
there  is  in  the  world,  as  far  as  money  is  concerned,  felt  it; 
and  everybody  in  London  told  me  that  nothing  could  be 
done  with  American  enterprises,  either  railroads  or  tun- 

(a)  See  Test.,  p.  614.  (c)  See  Test,  p.  613. 

(6)  See  Test.,  p.  613.  (d)  See  book  on  Sutro  Tunnel,  pp.  33-74. 

(e)  See  book  on  Sutro  Tunnel,  p.  95. 


884 

nels,  or  anything  else,  because  war  was  bound  to  come. 
It  did  not  come  for  two  years  afterwards,  but  it  did  come. 
At  that  time,  however,  it  made  the  impression  I  am  pic- 
turing. There  was  a  perfect  plethora  of  money  in  Eng- 
land. It  was  lending  at  one  per  cent,  a  year.  '"If  that  is 
so,"  said  I  to  them,  "you  ought  to  be  glad  to  make  a  good 
investment."  "No,"  they  replied,  "the  reason  money  is 
so  low  is  because  people  are  afraid  to  invest  it  in  anything." 
They  would  rather  let  it  lay  in  the  banks.  But  when  there 
is  confidence  they  are  ready  to  invest,  and  it  comes  up  to 
four  and  five  per  cent,  a  year.  That  I  did  not  know  then, 
but  I  am  quite  sure  I  know  it  now. 

EFFORTS  IN  THE  FORTIETH  CONGRESS. 

About  the  close  of  1867  I  returned  to  Washington.  I 
think  I  left  Liverpool  on  the  1st  of  December,  1867.  I 
submitted  the  memorial  of  the  Nevada  Legislature  to 
Congress,  which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Mines 
and  Mining,  of  which,  at  that  time,  Mr.  Higby  of  Cal- 
ifornia was  chairman;  the  other  members  were  Judge 
"Woodward  of  Pennsylvania,  Mr.  Ashley  of  Nevada,  J. 
Proctor  Knott  of  Kentucky,  M.  C.«  Hunter  of  Indiana, 
Judge  Ferris  of  New  York,  Mr.  Mallory  of  Oregon, 
General  Ashley  of  Ohio,  Mr.  Driggs  of  Michigan. 
They  became  deeply  interested  in  this  question;  they 
often  met  twice  a  week,  nearly  every  member  present. 
They  would  meet  at  that  same  room  where  the  Mining 
Committee  meets  now,  every  Monday  or  "Wednesday, 
and  I  would  talk  to  them  about  mining.  I  went  into 
all  the  details  of  mining;  explained  it  all  to  them;  and 
they  became  deeply  interested  in  it,  so  much  so,  that  they 
were  anxious  for  me  to  come  before  them  and  talk  about 
everything  connected  with  mining,  independently  of  this 
tunnel  question.  I  became  acquainted  with  nearly  all  the 
members  of  the  House,  and  I  found  a  great  many  friends. 
After  this  lengthy  examination  of  the  subject  they  made 
an  able  report  to  the  House,  recommending  a  loan  of 


ooO 

$5,000,000,  with  a  mortgage  to  the  Government  on  all  the 
property,  (a) 

IMPEACHMENT  OF  PRESIDENT  JOHNSON. 

Just  then,  when  the  committee  was  about  to  be  called 
in  the  House,  the  impeachment  of  Andrew  Johnson 
commenced,  and  that  lasted  for  months.  During  that 
time  nothing  was  done  by  Congress;  they  kept  on  with 
their  meetings  in  the  Mining  Committee,  but  nothing 
was  done  in  the  House.  I  do  truly  believe,  from  my  ac- 
quaintance with  the  opinions  of  members  of  that  House, 
that  that  bill  would  have  passed  with  a  three-quarters  or 
five-sixths  vote  could  it  only  have  been  reached.  There 
was  Thad.  Stevens:  the  old  man  felt  a  great  interest  in  this 
question  of  getting  down  deeper  into  the  bowels  of  the 
earth  than  had  ever  been  reached  before  in  the  world.  I 
explained  it  to  the  old  man  when  he  was  sick,  and  sat  by 
him  many  times  when  he  was  in  bed.  He  would  have  my 
book  with  him  in  bed,  and  kept  reading  it.  He  said  it  was 
a  magnificent  project.  I  explained  to  him  that  during 
thousands  of  years  man  had  never  penetrated  to  a  greater 
depth  than  2,700  feet,  and  that  we  should  go  down  a  mile, 
and  see  what  was  there.  Well,  Thaddeus  Stevens  was  ready 
to  do  anything  for  it;  but  Congress  adjourned,  and  the 
old  man  died,  and  I  went  home  again,  after  exhausting 
all  my  powers,  almost  despairing,  and  being  under  large 
expense,  and  that  Bank  of  California  quietly  and  secretly 
fighting  me,  being  in  telegraphic  communication  with 
their  agents  at  Washington  all  the  time.  (6)  Many  members 
of  Congress  promised  that  next  winter  they  would  cer- 
tainly act  in  this  matter.  But  I  had  accomplished  noth- 
ing, and  returned  to  California  again.  I  remained  a  few 
months  on  that  side,  and  then  came  back  to  Washington 
during  the 

SESSION  OF  1868-'69. 

I  remained  here  that  winter.      Grant  had  just  been 

(a)  See  H.  R.  No.  50,  2d  Session  40th  Congress. 
(6)  See  Commissioners'  Report,  p.  56. 


886 

elected  President,  and  you  know,  gentlemen,  that  at 
that  session  there  was  no  disposition  to  undertake  any 
legislation.  It  was  a  short  one,  and  the  whole  time 
was  occupied  in  passing  appropriation  bills.  In  fact, 
while  Johnson  was  at  the  head  of  the  administration 
there  was  no  disposition  to  do  anything  until  after 
Grant  should  come  in,  so  I  went  back  to  California  once 
more,  and  kept  up  communication  with  financial  men 
all  the  time ;  but  it  did  not  succeed  in  doing  anything.  In 
the  summer  of  1869  the  "Ways  and  Means  Committee  paid 
a  visit  to  California.  I  saw  them  in  San  Francisco.  Mr. 
Hooper  of  Boston  was  the  acting  chairman:  Mr.  Schenck,  the 
.  chairman,  having  gone  over  to  Europe.  I  saw  the  import- 
ance of  getting  those  gentlemen  over  to  Virginia  City.  They 
were  a  very  influential  committee;  a  committee  composed  of 
gentlemen  of  the  highest  standing,  and  I  urged  them  all 
personally  in  San  Francisco  to  go  over  to  Virginia  City. 

VISIT  OF  THE  WAYS  AND  MEANS  COMMITTEE. 

While  they  were  in  San  Francisco  of  course  they  were 
more  or  less  shown  around  by  the  Bank  of  California. 
They  could  not  help  that,  because  they  are  prominent  peo- 
ple, and  have  ramifications  among  all  the  wealthy  residents 
of  the  Pacific  coast;  in  fact,  they  run  things  out  there 
pretty  much,  and  they  entertained  those  gentlemen  to 
some  extent.  I  urged  them  very  much  to  go  to  the  mines 
on  their  return  to  the  east.  Well,  they  told  me  that  they 
would  certainly  go;  they  promised  me  faithfully,  every 
one  of  them,  that  they  would ;  but  the  Bank  people,  who 
had  heard,  in  the  meantime,  of  the  determination  of  the 
committee,  said  they  would  take  them  over.  I  told  them 
"all  right."  It  could  not  be  helped.  The  Bank  folks  had 
them  in  charge.  They  for  a  long  time  endeavored  to  per- 
suade them  not  to  go,  but  when  they  saw  they  were  deter- 
mined upon  making  the  trip,  they  concluded  to  take  charge 
of  the  party.  They  came  over  to  Virginia  City,  and  they 
were  the  guests  of  Mr.  Sharon ;  but  they  had  promised  to 
come  and  see  me.  I  could  not  possibly  call  to  see  them, 


887 

being,  as  they  were,  in  the  house  of  my  enemies.  But 
they  did  come  to  see  me  at  the  hotel.  They  had  mean- 
while visited  some  of  the  mines  and  seen  that  I  was  correct. 
They  were  such  thoroughly  intelligent  gentlemen,  that 
they  perceived  at  once  that  I  had  been  representing  things 
as  they  existed;  and  the  very  fact  that  this  Bank  of  Cali- 
fornia was  trying  to  injure  me  and  denounce  me  made 
them  the  more  earnest  in  my  favor.  Mr.  Sharon  told 
Governor  Blair  (and  there  is  no  more  thoroughly  honor- 
able man  than  Mr.  Blair  in  the  United  States)  that  they 
wanted  to  drive  me  out  of  the  country.  They  didn't  want 
the  tunnel  built.  I  showed  them  the  lay  of  the  country,  and 
they  came  away  most  fully  convinced  of  the  justice  of 
my  case  and  the  outrageous  character  of  the  persecution 
to  "which  I  was  subjected.  I  think  it  was  a  very  fortunate 
circumstance  that  these  gentlemen  came  over  there,  be- 
cause I  thought  it  would  secure  to  me  at  last  a  hearing  in 
Congress.  They  became  entirely  satisfied  that  what  I  had 
stated  in  regard  to  this  undertaking  was  correct;  they 
went  down  into  those  mines  in  that  terrible  heat,  and 
came  near  fainting  in  the  attempt.  Mr.  Hooper  of  Bos- 
ton. Judge  Kelley  of  Pennsylvania,  Mr.  Maynard  of  Ten- 
nessee, Judge  Marshall  of  Illinois,  Governor  Blair  of 
Michigan,  and  Mr.  Brooks  of  New  York  all  went  down 
into  those  mines.  They  saw  it  all;  and  if  you  ask  any  of 
those  gentlemen  about  it,  they  will  express  but  one  opinion, 
every  one  of  them. 

SPEECH  AT  VIRGINIA  CITY. 

Well,  I  had  now  gone  on  some  years  in  this  affair.  I 
was  about  getting  crushed  out  by  the  bank.  They  were 
getting  more  and  more  bitter  as  the  time  passed,  for  they 
were  annoyed  at  my  persistance,  which  prevented  them 
from  starting  the  tunnel  themselves.  I  had  no  chance  to 
explain  myself  to  the  public.  They  owned  all  the  news- 
papers, and  they  wouldn't  print  anything  about  the  tun- 
nel either  for  pay  or  otherwise,  and  I  made  up  my  mind 
to  get  up  in  Virginia  City,  right  in  their  midst,  show  up 


their  rascalities,  and  explain  the  persecution  they  had  in- 
stituted against  me.  I  made  a  speech  there,  and  that 
speech  has  been  printed,  (a)  In  it  I  made  an  appeal  to  the 
workingmen,  the  men  who  have  to  delve  and  toil  in  those 
mines  with  the  thermometer  at  100°  and  110° :  men  who 
become  consumptive  working  in  that  heated  and  foul  at- 
mosphere. I  explained  it  all  to  them,  and  appealed  to 
them  that  if  each  one  would  put  in  $5  or  $10  apiece  we 
could  go  on  with  the  work  and  carry  it  out.  Why,  there 
was  the  greatest  enthusiasm  about  this  matter.  They 
would  not  go  to  bed  that  night,  but  stood  about  the  streets 
talking  it  over.  They  thought  they  could  carry  it  out  at 
once.  The  Miners'  Union  subscribed  $50,000  then.  That 
helped  to  start  the  work  going.  These  laboring  miners 
did  that.  Of  course  they  received  an  interest  in  the  tun- 
nel company,  and  they  put  in  this  trifling  amount  of 
money.  I  told  them  that  if  they  would  go  in  together  and 
put  in  $5  a  month  apiece,  they  would  own  the  tunnel  in 
time  and  would  own  the  mines.  Mr.  Sunderland  has 
quoted  me  as  saying  that  the  Tunnel  company  would  own 
the  mines,  but  he  has  not  stated  in  what  connection  the 
assertion  was  made.  I  did  tell  these  people  that  they 
would  and  should  own  the  mines.  I  told  them  to  join 
together  into  a  great  co-operative  association  and  build 
that  tunnel.  I  told  them  they  were  spending  $5  a  month 
apiece  for  whiskey ;  I  said," Put  it  in  the  tunnel."  That,  for 
3,000  miners,  would  have  been  f  15,000  a  month.  If  they 
would  join  together  in  this  great  work  the  politicians  out 
there  could  not  afford  to  oppose  them.  Well,  they  came 
and  subscribed  to  the  stock.  They  put  in  some  money. 

Mr.  Sunderland  has  denounced  that  speech  as  the  speech 
of  a  demagogue.  He  says  I  was  inciting  these  men  against 
the  owners  of  these  mines.  These  men  were  already  bit- 
ter against  this  Bank  of  California ;  and  I  told  them  not 
to  use  any  violence.  I  told  them  to  go  in  and  own  this 
tunnel.  Mr.  Sunderland  says  that  was  the  way  to  incite 
them  to  violence.  I  did  not  so  understand  it.  (b) 

(a)  See  Commissioners'  Report,  p.  48.      (b)  See  Commissioners'  Report,  p.  48. 


889 


START  WORK  ON  THE  TUNNEL. 

Well,  we  at  last  set  to  work  on  the  19th  of  October, 
We  had  raised  some  money  over  there  and  in  California, 
and  we  started  work.  We  had  some  festivities  when  we 
started.  Many  of  the  laboring  men  came  down,  and  the 
officers  of  the  laboring  associations;  but  nobody  from  the 
Bank  of  California  showed  himself.  They  kept  away  at 
that  time.  We  started  the  tunnel  going  on  a  small  scale, 
for  our  means  were  limited;  but  we  were  acting  under  the 
rights  given  us  by  Congress. 

We  started  in,  and  we  simply  made  a  beginning,  it  is 
true;  but,  having  started,  I  thought  we  better  incorporate 
as  a  company  in  San  Francisco.  This  was  in  December, 
1869.  In  the  spring  of  1870,  while  I  was  managing  our 
financial  affairs  in  California,  raising  more  money  to  carry 
on  the  work,  I  received  telegrams  from  Washington  that 
I  had  better  come  on  there  right  away;  the  bank  had  sent 
men  there  to  get  our  franchise  repealed.  So  I  rushed  off. 
I  went  overland,  and  came  to  Washington.  What  did 
I  find?  Why,  that  Mr.  Fitch,  our  Representative  from 
Nevada,  had  introduced  a  bill  to  repeal  the  third  section 
of  the  law  of  Congress  which  secured  us  our  royalty.  That 
was  the  new  dodge  of  the  Bank  of  California  to  break  us 
up.  They  had  hired  newspapers  to  abuse  me.  They 
abused  me  in  the  worst  possible  manner,  and  warned 
people  from  coming  in  with  me;  but  the  miners  all  under- 
stood it.  They  are  laboring  miners,  who  work  in  the 
bowels  of  the  earth,  and  go  down  1,000  or  1,200  feet,  and 
bring  out  the  rock.  These  men  understood  it  all.  They 
put  in  their  money,  and  when  the  bank  saw  that  we  were 
going  ahead,  and  running  this  tunnel  in,  with  the  chances 
of  cutting  a  vein  any  day,  they  became  alarmed,  and  hur- 
ried on  to  Washington  to  get  this  law  repealed. 

THE  BANK  ATTEMPTS  TO  REPEAL  OUR  FRANCHISE. 

Mr.  Ilillyer,  a  prominent  lawyer  of  Nevada,  had  been 
sent  on,  and  tried  to  get  that  law  repealed.     Perhaps  some 


890 

of  you  gentlemen  recollect  the  fight  that  we  had  over  that 
bill  in  the  Fortieth  Congress.     Then  my  good  fortune  was 
that  these  gentlemen  of  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee 
had  been  over  there  and  seen  it  all,  and  they  stood  by  me. 
If  they  had  not  been  over  there,  I  should  have  been  beaten- 
Mr.  Blair  stood  up  for  me  like  a  man.    So  did  Judge  Kel- 
ley.     They  all  stood  up  for*  me.     Those  that  did  not  make 
speeches  went  around  and  told  the  Representatives  that 
this  was  a  great  outrage  about  to  be  perpetrated,  and  they 
protected  my  interests;  and  the  members  of  the  Mining 
Committee  of  that  and  the  previous  Congress  all  stood  up 
for  me.     The  Committee  had  made  a  unanimous  report 
against  the  repeal,  with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Sargent. 
Judge  Orange  Ferris,  a  man  as  true  as  steel,  was  chairman, 
and  had  charge  of  the  bill;  he  made  a  gallant  fight,  and 
was  assisted  by  Mr.  Strickland  and  all  the  other  members 
of  the  Committee.     Coming  here  in  March,  I  had  no  time 
to  see  the  new  members  of  Congress,  for  the  matter  came 
up  on  the  17th  of  March,  after  I  had  just  arrived  here  in 
Washington,  and  they  had  it  all  cooked  up.     They  had 
had  no  bill  printed,  so  that  nobody  should  see  what  was 
t  being  done.     But  I  had  it  printed  myself.     I  had  some 
other  documents  printed  which  showed  them  up.     Here 
is  one  of  them.     That  bill  was  printed  for  the  first  time 
in  this  document.     They  had  put  that  bill  in  writing,  and 
being  filed  away  amongst  the  Speaker's  papers,  it  would 
have  remained  there  until  it  passed,  without  my  know- 
ing anything  about  it,  if  my  friends  had  not  informed  me, 
and  if  I  had  not  come  here.     The  vote  upon  the  measure 
was  124  to  42.  (a)     General  Banks  doubtless  recollects  it. 
He  voted  against  that  bill  to  repeal  our  rights.     After  this 
bill  had  been  defeated  in  Congress,  I  had  to  remain  here  to 
watch  these  people,  because  I  knew  they  would  try  to  steal 
in  something  or  other,  and  get  it  through  in  an  under- 
handed way.     I  asked  to  have  a  provision  inserted  in  a 
general  mining  bill  in  the  Senate,  protecting  my  rights; 

(a)  See  Congressional  Globe,  March  17,  22,  and  23,  1870. 


891 

and  Judge  Trumbull,  of  Illinois,  stood  up  for  our  rights, 
and  showed  that  this  sort  of  thing  ought  not  to  be  allowed. 
So  they  protected  me  in  my  rights  again. 

WAR  BETWEEN  PRUSSIA  AND  FRANCE. 

Then  I  commenced  negotiations  in  Europe  once  more. 
I  had  a  gentleman  over  there,  an  American,  who  had  been 
out  in  Nevada,  and  he  tried  to  raise  this  money  in  London. 
While  he  was  doing  that,  he  received  a  proposition  from 
Paris  and  went  over  there,  and  made  some  preliminary  ar- 
rangements to  furnish  us  with  15,000,000  francs.  That 
was  in  June,  1869.  I  was  waiting  for  Congress  to  adjourn, 
and  wanted  to  sail  for  Europe  on  the  20th  of  July.  I  had 
arranged  to  sail  with  Reverdy  Johnson,  of  Baltimore,  our 
former  minister  to  England,  who  had  agreed  to  go  over  to 
Europe  to  assist  me.  He  was  to  sail  with  me  on  the  20th 
of  July.  He  was  at  Baltimore,  and  I  was  here  in  Wash- 
ington. I  met  him  once  in  a  while,  and  we  talked  the 
matter  over.  While  he  had  been  American  minister  to 
England  he  had  made  a  great  many  friends  over  there,  who 
I  thought  would  probably  assist  me,  not  knowing  for  sure 
whether  this  15,000,000  francs  loan  would  be  consummated. 
I  thought  I  better  have  all  the  assistance  I  could  get.  I 
received  letters  from  Reverdy  Johnson  while  J  was  in 
correspondence  with  him  on  this  subject,  written  in  the 
early  part  of  July,  1870,  when  this  war  cloud  arose.  He 
wrote  me,  about  the  10th  of  July,  it  was  no  use  to  go  over, 
and  sure  enough  on  the  15th  of  July,  when  I  had  reason 
to  suppose  I  had  secured  all  the  money  required,  news 
came  that  war  had  broken  out  between  France  and  Prus- 
sia. That  broke  up  our  negotiations.  Not  another  word 
was  said  about  it.  You  could  not  raise  $5  for  any  enter- 
prise whatever  in  Europe  or  America.  After  all  this  tight 
in  Congress;  after  showing  the  injustice  of  the  movement 
against  me,  after  this  great  victory,  and  believing  the  road 
to  success  clear  now,  when  I  was  almost  certain  of  getting 
the  money  required,  the  war  broke  out  and  spoiled  all. 


"What  was  I  to  do?    I  couldn't  raise  one  dollar  in  Europe 
or  in  the  United  States,  so  I  returned 

BACK  TO  NEVADA  AGAIN. 

"We  carried  on  our  work  all  the  time,  struggling  to  get 
money  to  pay  for  it.  We  were  paying  $4  a  day  to  our 
miners,  in  8  hours'  shifts,  that  is  $3  in  money,  and  $1  in 
stock.  We  were  using  powder,  tools,  and  timbers.  We 
had  to  put  up  steam  machinery,  and  I  had  to  provide  the 
funds  or  stop  the  work,  arid  that  I  was  determined 'should 
not  happen.  I  tried  to  get  along  the  best  way  I  could, 
waiting  the  termination  of  that  European  war,  intending 
to  commence  negotiations  for  money  anew. 

Of  course  that  Paris  matter  was  broken  up  forever 'as 
soon  as  that  war  commenced;  but  I  thought  I  would  prob- 
ably be  able  in  England,  or  other  parts  of  Europe,  to 
raise  the  money  needed. 

In  December,  1870, 1  was  back  in  Washington.  I  could 
do  nothing  in  California,  and  I  thought  it  probable  I 
might  induce  Congress  to  do  something  in  this  matter. 
I  had  to  come  here  to  watch  these  people  any  way, 'because 
1  knew  they  would  smuggle  in  something  or  other  into  a 
law  to  injure  me  if  I  did  not.  It  was  a  most  mortifying 
condition  of  affairs  to  me,  to  see  some  of  the  Representa- 
tives from  the  Pacific  coast  arrayed  against  me.  They 
nearly  all  opposed  me.  They  knew  the  Bank  of  California 
was  the  stronger,  and  so  they  helped  the  bank.  I  was  the 
weaker,  and  they  tried  to  kick  me  out.  That  is  the  way 
some  of  our  Pacific  coast  politicians  do.  Right  or  wrong, 
you  always  find  them  on  the  strongest  side,  or  the  side 
which  they  expect  will  win.  That  is  a  fact,  and  I  know  it. 

APPOINTMENT  OP  A  COMMISSION. 

I  came  back  to  Washington,  I  say,  in  December,  1870. 
It  was  another  short  session.  I  watched  after  these  peo- 
ple. The  agents  of  the  bank  kept  up  their  misrepresent- 
ations, telling  members  that  the  tunnel  was  all  a  humbug; 
it  was  not  necessary;  that  the  mines  had  given  out;  that 


there  was  no  need  for  a  tunnel.  In  the  spring  of  1871,  in 
order  to  settle  this  affair  at  last,  after  all  these  years  of  labor 
and  fighting  and  attempts  to  drive  me  away  from  this  un- 
dertaking, I  asked  for  a  commission  to  go  out  there.  I  said 
to  gentlemen  in  the  House  and  Senate,  "Send  a  commis- 
sion out  there,  and  let  them  report  upon  this  question,  and 
let  them  see  what  there  is  of  it,  and  whether  I  have  .been 
telling  the  truth  or  not; "  and  a  bill  to  do  this  passed  both 
branches,  and  the  President  signed  it  on  the  4th  of  April 
of  last  year.  I  thought  that  would  settle  the  Question  for 
good.  Gentlemen  of  the  highest  character  would  be  sent 
out  to  investigate  this  subject,  and  there  would  be  no  more 
caviling  about  it.  It  would  stop  the  misrepresentations  of 
the  bank,  because  we  would  get  these  commissioners  to  go 
there  and  examine  into  all  the  facts.  And  the  President  ap- 
pointed Major  General  H.  G.  Wright,  (and  a  more  honor- 
able gentleman  never  lived;  a  high-toned,  excellent  man;) 
Major  GeneralJohu  G.Foster;  and  Professor  W.  Newcomb, 
(a  gentleman  of  scientific  attainments  and  straightforward, 
honorable  character.)  These  commissioners  saw  as  soon  as 
they  were  appointed  what  there  was  about  this;  they  saw 
that  the  Bank  of  California  was  against  me.  They  saw 
there  had  been  a  great  fight.  They  became  rather  timid. 
They  did  not  know  precisely  what  course  to  pursue.  They 
saw  they*  might  get  placed  in  a  false  position.  They 
would  not  say  much  to  me  after  I  arrived  out  there  to  meet 
them.  We  were  all  very  friendly,  but  the  bank  made  des- 
perate efforts  to  impress  them  their  own  way.  I  saw  that 
they  would  be,  to  a  large  extent,  under  the  guidance  of 
these  bank  people,  of  the  superintendents  of  the  mines, 
some  of  whom  are  very  much  under  the  thumb  of  this 
bank,  which  regulates  matters  over  there ;  and  I  perceived 
the  danger  that  they  might  not  get  at  the  whole  truth. 
They  were  very  cautious,  I  must  say,  and  careful,  and  I 
thought  they  would  try  to  get  at  the  facts;  and  no  one  who 
has  listened  to  the  testimony,  particularly  of  General 
Wright  or  Professor  Newcomb,  can  help  thinking  that 
they  are  men  of  the  highest  truth  and  character.  They 


894 

X 

made  straightforward  answers  to  whatever  questions  were 
asked  them. 

EXAMINATION  OF  THE  MINES  BY  THE  COMMISSIONERS. 

Well,  these  gentlemen  remained  some  time  over  there  in 
Nevada.  They  visited  the  mines  under  the  guidance  of 
the  superintendents,  (a)  and  there  are  probably  200  miles  of 
drifts  in  those  mines.  Why,  I  can  take  you  in  those  mines 
and  give  you  half  a  dozen  views  of  the  whole  matter.  You 
would  not  know  the  difference.  (6)  You  cannot  see  the  water 
in  the  mines.  There  is  a  sump  (c)  covered  over,  way  down, 
that  they  pump  out  of.  They  might  take  you  into  com- 
partively  cool  drifts,  where  the  ventilation  is  good ;  but 
these  gentlemen  found  the  thermometer  was  110°  in  sonie 
places,  notwithstanding. 

They  went  down  to  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  several 
times.  They  went  down  there  and  saw  it,  and  took  great 
care  in  examining  it;  but,  surrounded  as  they  were  by' 
the  satellites  of  the  bank,  who  were  straining  every  nerve 
to  impress  them  against  the  tunnel,  it  is  a  marvel  they  did 
as  well  understand  the  matter.  This  man  Sharon  told 
them  the  first  time  he  met  them  that  he  was  going  to 
break  up  this  tunnel,  (d)  During  the  examination,  I  asked 
General  Wright  whether  he  thought  Mr.  Sharon  would 
set  aside  a  law  of  Congress,  and  he  said  certainly  he 
thought  he  would;  he  was  going  to  break  up  the  tunnel  if 
he  could.  These  bank  people  come  here  to  run  Congress. 
They  would  like  to  run  this  Government;  arid  what  I  want 
to  find  out  is,  whether  they  are  going  to  run  this  Govern- 
ment or  whether  Congress  is.  They  have  been  running 
the  legislature  out  there,  I  know.  I  do  not  think  they  can 
succeed  quite  as  well  here. 

ANOTHER  TRIP  TO  EUROPE. 

While  these  commissioners  were  out  there,  some  gentle- 
men arrived  there  having  connections  in  England — the 

(a)  See  Test,  pp.  167,  182.         (c)  See  Test.,  pp.  183,  184. 

(b)  See  .Test.,  p.  183.  (d)  See  Test.,  pp.  164,  165,  177,  355,  356. 


895 

same  parties  that  had  been  negotiating  for  me  before  over 
the  water — and  I  showed  them  the  whole  of  this  affair  agai  n , 
and  they  investigated  it  and  set  out  for  Europe;  and,  while 
I  was  still  in  Nevada,  I  received  dispatches  from  them,  that 
probably  they  could  arrange  some  financial  matters  for  me 
over  there.  So  I  remained  in  Nevada  until  the  15th  of  Au- 
gust. The  commission  was  still  there  at  that  time.  I  then 
started  for  New  York,  and  on  the,  30th  of  August  I  sailed 
for  Europe.  I  came  to  London,  and  in  a  few  days  arranged 
for  $650,000  in  gold  coin.  I  remained  there  a  few  days,  and 
went  to  Paris.  That  was  this  last  year.  I  went  to  Paris,  and 
then  came  right  back  to  the  United  States,  within  thirty 
days  from  the  time  I  had  left  New  York;  and  from  New 
York  I  proceeded  directly  to  California  and  to  Nevada. 
Having  the  means  now  to  start  the  work  on  a  large  scale, 
we  set  all  the  shafts  going,  buying  all  the  necessary  ma- 
chinery, and  employing  all  the  people  that  were  necessary; 
and  our  whole  works  have  been  in  full  progress  since  last 
December.  We  are  working  day  and  night,  and  we  have 
some  300  or  400  men  employed.  We  are  pushing  the  work 
ahead  just  as  fast  as  we  can ;  (a)  and  I  believe  in  two  or  three 
years  the  whole  tunnel  will  be  finished  to  the  Comstock 
lode,  provided  we  can  secure  the  balance  of  the  money.  I 
will  state  that,  since  I  came  from  Europe,  we  have  made 
another  arrangement  over  there  for  $800,000  more,  so  that 
we  have  now  $1,450^000 — a  pretty  good  sum  towards  con- 
structing that  tunnel.  It  gives  us  a  good  start,  and  we  do 
not  owe  a  single  dollar  to  anybody.  If  we  get  any  loan 
through  Congress,  we  can  give  the  Government  a  clear 
first  mortgage  on  all  this  vast  properey,  entirely  unincum- 
bered,  and  with  a  million  and  a  half  of  dollars  already  in- 
vested. 


After  we  had  everything  in  running  order  out  there,  I 
started  back  to  Washington  last  January,  but,  being  de- 

(a)  See  Report  of  Superintendent  of  Sutro  Tunnel  for  first  quarter  1872. 


896 

layed  on  the  way  by  a  snow  blockade  in  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, I  came  here  rather  late.  When  I  arrived  here,  I 
found  that  the  commissioners  had  sent  in  their  report  to 
Congress;  and  here  there  was  another  disappointment.  I 
had  begun  to  think  I  was  entirely  out  of  the  woods,  that 
there  would  be  no  more  chance  for  misrepresentation  now 
that  these  gentlemen  had  been  out  there,  who,  I  had  been 
led  to  believe,  would  give  the  most  complete  and  exhaustive 
statements  in  regard  to  the  mines  and  tunnel.  I  was  very 
much  disappointed  in  regard  to  the  lack  of  information 
about  several  important  facts.  Certainly  a  great  many 
other  points  are  stated  by  the  commissioners  which  are 
conceded  to  be  absolutely  correct. 

They  state  that  the  tunnel  is  entirely  feasible,  (a)  ("Well, 
really  nobody  ever  doubted  that  except  the  California 
Bank  people,  who  said  the  tunnel  could  not  be  made.) 

They  give  the  cost  of  the  work  at  $4,500,000.  (b)  They 
state  that  it  could  be  completed  in  three  or  four  years;  by 
machinery  in  two  years  and  a  half,  (c) 

They  also  state  in  their  report  that  the  yield  of  thq  Corn- 
stock  mines  heretofore  had-been  $125,000,000,  and  that  the 
present  yield  is  $15,000,000  per  annum,  (d)  These  latter 
facts  they  ascertained  from  the  published  reports  and  from 
the  books.  There  is  no  question  about  those  points.  No- 
body doubts  them  at  all;  they  are  patent  to  everybody  that 
lives  out  there. 

Then,  furthermore,  they  declare  the  Comstock  lode  to 
be  a  true  fissure  vein,  reaching  down  into  the  earth  indefi- 
nitely; (e)  that  those  mines  will  be  worked  as  deep  as  me- 
chanical means  will  allow;  aud  that  the  amount  of  low- 
grade  ores  in  the  lode,  which  cannot  be  taken  out  now  on 
account  of  the  expensive  system  of  mining,  is  almost  un- 
limited in  extent;  that  that  class  of  ores  which  is  abso- 


(a)  See  Test.,  pp.  314,  321,  322,323;  also  Commissioners'  Report,  p.  13. 

(b)  See  Commissioners'  Report,  p.  14. 

(c)  See  Commissioners'  Report,  p.  14. 

(d)  See  Commissioners'  Report,  p.  15. 

(e)  See  Commissioners'  Report,  p.  15. 


897 

lately  known  to  remain  in  the  mines  is  immense,  (a)  There 
is  no  theoretical  conclusion  about  that.  That  ore  they  as- 
certained to  exist,  and  conclude  that  it  has  almost  no  limit. 

IN  WHAT  THE  COMMISSIONERS  WERE  MISLED. 

They  also  state  that  there  would  he  two  important  veins 
cut  in  running  the  tunnel  in.  (6)  On  all  these  points  the 
commissioners  are  perfectly  clear.  Those  are  all  points 
which  they  could  either  ascertain  from  their  own  observa- 
tion or  from  records  and  authentic  statements  which  have 
been  published.  They  are  able  engineers,  and  their  calcu- 
lation upon  the  cost  is  also  as  reliable  as  the  nature  of  the 
work  will  allow.  They  evidently  tried  to  arrive  at  a  fair 
conclusion  in  that  respect. 

But  now  let  us  come  to  that  part  of  the  report  which, 
from  the  manner  it  was  arrived  at,  must  prove  very  unsat- 
isfactory indeed.  When  they  came  to  the  important  points 
of  drainage,  transportation,  and  concentration,  what  did 
they  do?  Why, they  addressed  a  note  to  the  superintend- 
ents of  those  mines,  the  employes  of  the  Bank  of  Califor- 
nia, and  asked  them,  to  answer  certain  questions.  The 
important  part  of  their  report  they  proposed  to  base  upon 
the  evidence  furnished  by  the  superintendents,  (c)  -They 
were  to  tell  them  how  much  water  there  was  in  those  mines. 
They  were  to  tell  them  what  facilities  there  were  for  work- 
ing those  mines,  and  what  they  thought  of  the  Sutro  tun- 
nel; and  they  readily  answered  all  these  questions,  and  the 
commissioners,  taking  those  reports,  gave  their  figures  on 
the  basis  furnished  thereby,  (d)  What  reliance  can  be  placed 
upon  these  deductions,  when  we  know  that  most  of  the 
superintendents  are  the  sworn  enemies  of  the  enterprise? 
The  commissioners'  comparative  cost  of  working  by  means 
of  the  tunnel,  and  the  way  they  are  doing  it  now,  is  cer- 
tainly erroneous.  These  people  were  all  interested.  Their 

Ji)  See  Commissioners'  Report,  p.  20. 
!>)  See  Test.,  pp.  151,  152,  205,  215,  286,  287,  429,  430. 
;)  See  Commissioners'  Report,  p.  8;  also  Test.,  pp.  2,  3,  4,  14,  15,97,  201, 
,  307,  329,  374. 
(d)  See  Test,  pp.  2,  3,  4,  14, 15,  97,201,  228,  307, 329,  374. 

57 


898 

profits  depend  upon  carrying  on  these  mining  and  milling 
operations  as  they  are  carried  on  now.  They  are  all  get- 
ting rich  and  fat  on  them  at  the  expense  of  the  stockhold- 
ers. They  are  wealthy.  They  want  to  maintain  the  present 
state  of  things.  There  are  manipulations  going  on  there 
which  it  is  not  for  the  interest  of  the  country  to  have  go 
on.  These  commissioners  are  old  army  officers.  They  are 
not  quite  up  to  the  rascalities  of  that  bank  ring  out  there; 
not  quite  up  to  these  stock-jobhing  operations.  They  took 
many  things  for  granted  which  these  men  told  them ;-  took 
it  all  for  gospel;  thought  it  was  all  just  so.  They  were 
not  sharp  enough  for  them  at  all.  Reading  their  report,  it 
must  strike  you  that  they  rather  tried  not  to  offend  either 
side.  They  did  not  make  any  positive  report.  They  were 
deceived  to  some  extent  by  those  people  out  there.  There 
is  no  question  about  that. 

EXAMINATION  OF  THE  COMMISSIONERS. 

It  appeared  to  me  absolutely  necessary,  in  order  to  arrive 
at  all  the  facts  and  set  matters  right,  to  request  the  chair- 
man of  the  Mining  Committee  to  ask  that  these  gentlemen 
be  cited  before  the  committee,  and  the  Secretary  of  War 
was  asked  to  have  them  ordered  to  Washington.  So  they 
arrived;  they  testified;  and  we  have  the  result  in  810  pages 
of  printed  matter,  making  the  case  as  clear  as  you  can 
make  any  case  in  the  world.  It  shows  everything.  We 
did  not  leave  a  stone  unturned  to  show  up  every  point. 
Some  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  committee  must  have  be- 
come tired  and  weary.  It  was  rather  an  imposition  to  ask 
the  members  of  the  committee  to  come  to  twenty-five 
hearings,  night  after  night,  although  it  was  probably  some- 
what interesting  to  them.  There  are  a  great  many  scien- 
tific facts  brought  out  in  the  evidence.  It  is  a  valuable 
book  on  mining,  a  great  deal  more  so  than  a  great  many 
other  books  printed  by  Congress;  and  that  book  is  a  com- 
plete confirmation  of  everything  that  I  have  said  and  writ- 
ten on  the  tunnel  for  the  last  eight  years.  Every  statement 
I  have  made  is  borne  out  there  by  these  witnesses. 


899 


THE  TESTIMONY  MAKES  A  CONCLUSIVE  CASE. 

I  am  glad  to  be  able^to  submit  the  whole  case  upon  this 
testimony,  and,  taking  it  altogether,  it  is  a  most  conclusive 
argument  upon  the  importance  of  that  tunnel.  I  cannot 
ask  members  of  Congress  to  read  the  whole  of  that  volume, 
but  I  suppose  they  can  some  day  look  it  over  and  draw 
their  own  conclusions.  We  went  along,  and  the  three 
commissioners  were  examined;  and,  by  the  by,  they  were 
all  cross-examined  by  the  attorney  of  the  Bank  of  Califor- 
nia, Mr.  Sunderland,  sent  here  from  the  Pacific  coast  to 
get  out  all  the  damaging  facts  he  possibly  could.  He 
brought  out  everything  he  could,  but  he  did  not  bring  out 
one  single  fact  that  goes  against  the  tunnel  in  that  whole 
examination.  After  the  commissioners  had  been  exam- 
ined, the  bank  party  became  alarmed.  They  saw  that  they 
were  gone  up;  that  they  had  no  case;  and  Mr.  Sunderland 
telegraphed  to  Nevada  for  two  of  those  superintendents, 
who  had  made  statements  to  the  commissioners,  to  come 
on  here,  in  order  to  set  themselves  right.  He  appealed  to 
the  committee,  and  told  them  that  he  must  have  those 
people  here;  that  their  veracity  had  been  attacked.  Well, 
we  consented  to  it,  and  he  insisted  on  examining  six  more 
witnesses;  and  we  asked  the  same  privilege.  Then  the 
committee  passed  a  resolution  that  there  should  be  six  more 
witnesses  examined  on  each  side;  that  there  should  be  no 
more  than  eight  hearings;  and  that  the  whole  testimony 
should  be  closed  by  the  1st  of  April.  Well,  the  Bank  of 
California  sent  Mr.  Requa,  the  superintendent  of  the  Choi- 
lar  Potosi  mine,  and  Mr.  Batterman,  and  they  were  going  to 
annihilate  all  the  previous  testimony,  (a)  The  first  question 
I  asked  both  of  them  was  whether  they  were  mining  engi- 
neers. (6)  No;  never  had  any  experience  on  any  mines  ex- 
cepting those  on  the  Comstock  lode.  They  were  glad  to 
get  away  from  us.  I  asked  them  who  sent  them  here,  and 
they  had  to  admit  that  they  were  sent  by  Mr.  Sharon,  the 

(a)  See  Test,,  pn!  540,  550,  575.     (6)  Seo  Test ,  pp.  101, 462,  463,  504,  681. 


900 

agent  of  the  Bank  of  California;  and  they  were  glad  to 
get  off  when  we  let  them.  They  were  in  tight  quarters. 
I  nad  Mr.  Requa  tell  how  much  profit  the  Chollar  Potosi 
company  had  paid  to  the  Union  Mill.and  Mining  Company 
(which  is  owned  by  the  Bank  of  California)  in  one  year. 
$376,000.  He  had  to  tell  all  about  that.  That  is  their  kind 
of  operations.  They  paid  them  over  $1,000,000  for  work- 
ing in  one  single  year,  and  the  clear  profit  paid  to  the  Bank 
of  California  out  of  that  sum  was  $376,000.  (a) 

TESTIMONY  OF  PROFESSOR  RAYMOND  AND  MR.  LUCKHARDT. 

The  committee  thought,  since  there  was  more  testimony 
to  be  heard  on  this  subject,  they  had  better  cite  Mr.  Ray- 
mond, the  United  States  Commissioner  on  Mines  and  Min- 
ing, (b)  and  hear  what  he  had  to  say  on  this  question.  Mr. 
Raymond  came  here  at  the  request  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury.  Now,  here  we  had  a  distinguished  mining  en- 
gineer before  the  committee,  a  man  of  intelligence,  a  stu- 
dent of  Freiberg,  a  man  who  had  visited  nearly  all  the 
mines  of  Europe  and  in  this  country,  who  is  president  of 
the  American  Institute  of  Mining  Engineers.  Here  was 
valuable  testimony.  The  evidence  in  favor  of  the  tunnel 
became  stronger  and  stronger. 

Then  we  examined  Mr.  Luckhardt,  (c)  who  was  employed 
by  the  Bank  of  California  (d)  for  five  years  to  make  reports, 
so  as  to  furnish  them  with  secret  information  which  the 
public  could  not  get.  Luckhardt's  testimony  is  most  con- 
clusive, so  is  Mr.  Raymond's.  They  are  scientific  men, 
and  they  showed  the  facts.  It  was  about  as  complete  an 
investigation,  I  believe,  on  a  single  subject,  as  has  ever 
taken  place  in  Congress,  and  I  do  hope  that  members  will 
take  time  to  read  that  book  or  devote  a  few  hours  to  it. 

There  is  an  index  attached,  and  part  of  it  will  be  found 
quite  interesting.  The  testimony  of  Luckhardt  and  Ray- 

a)  See  Test.,  p.  520. 
6)  See  Test.,  pp.  597,  598. 
c)  See  Test.,  pp.  677,  678. 
(d)  See  Test.,  pp.  678, 679,  680,  681,  682, 722, 723. 


901 

mond  is  highly  valuable.  It  will  be  looked  upon  as  a  val- 
uable acquisition  to  mining  literature.  As  I  have  said,  that 
evidence  is  a  complete  confirmation  of  my  statements  on 
the  subject  of  the  tunnel  during  the  last  eight  years. 
These  Government  witnesses  have  indorsed  them.  Your 
commissioners  have  set  themselves  right  ou  every  ques- 
tion by  their  testimony,  and  nearly  everything  has  been 
finally  established. 

CORRECTNESS  OF  STATEMENTS  ATTACKED. 

Mr.  Sunderland,  in  his  argument,  has  tried  to  create 
the  impression  that  some  of  my  statements  are  incorrect. 
He  says  I  have  stated  in  one  of  my  pamphlets  that,  the 
tunnel  will  cost  $1,950,000;  and  that  the  revenue,  during 
its  construction,  would  be  $500,000;  consequently,  all  the 
money  required  would  be  $1,450,000.  Now,  gentlemen 
know  how  difficult  it  is  to  make  an  estimate  for  a  work  of 
that  kind.  You  have  an  illustration  of  that  in  the  Hoosac 
tunnel,  in  Massachusetts.  They  thought  it  would  only  cost 
$2,000,000,  but  it  has  cost  much  more.  The  $1,950,000 
given  in  my  pamphlet  seven  years  ago  was  for  the  main 
tunnel  only.  Branches  were  not  included  in  that;  and 
those  figures  were  given  in  gold.  Then,  Mr.  Sunderland 
attacks  the  statement  made  by  the  committee  of  the  40th 
Congress.  The  committee  stated  that  that  tunnel  would 
probably  cost  $8,000,000.  These  gentlemen  in  Congress 
had  reports  on  the  Hoosac  tunnel  and  every  other  tunnel. 
They  made  the  figures  by  drawing  comparisons  between 
the  costs  of  hundreds  of  tunnels  in  Europe,  and  they  ar- 
rived at  the  conclusion  that  the  whole  work,  with  the 
branches,  would  probably  cost  $8,000,000  in  currency.  We 
have  now  had  a  commission  out  there  of  very  able  en- 
gineers. There  can  be  no  question  as  to  the  high  order  of 
ability  of  both  General  Wright  and  General  Foster  as  en- 
gineers. They  have  figured  on  it  carefully,  and  they  de- 
clare it  will  cost  $4,500,000.  Now,  Mr.  Sunderland  and 
these  bank  people  have  searched  for  years  to  bring  out 
something  against  me  and  that  tunnel  enterprise,  and 


902 

lie  has  discovered  that  I  said  at  one  time  the  work  would 
only  cost  about  $2,000,000,  and  that  is  about  the  most 
damaging  fact  he  can  discover. 

TOTAL  YIELD  OF  MEXICAN  MINES. 

He  also  sa^s  that  I  have  stated  in  one  of  these  books 
here  that  these  mines  on  the  Oomstock  produce  nearly  as 
much  as  the  whole  of  Mexico,  and  that  it  has  been  shown 
in  this  examination  that  the  mines  of  Mexico*  produce 
$29,000,000,  while  the  Comstock  produced  only  $18,000,000 
in  one  year.  That  is  another  damaging  fact,  by  which  he 
wants  to  impeach  my  statements. 

Now,  the  fact  is,  the  mines  of  Mexico,  between  1795  and 
1810,  when  in  their  most  prosperous  condition,  were  yield- 
ing more  money  than  they  ever  did  at  any  one  time  before. 
They  were  yielding  then,  according  to  Humboldt,  $22,000,- 
000  a  year.  In  1810,  when  the  revolution  took  place,  it 
dropped  down  to  $9,000,000  at  once,  and  it  went  down  as 
low  as  $4,000,000, 1  think,  for  a  number  of  years,  (a)  It  rose 
from  that  to  $15,000,000  or  $16,000,000,  until  within  the 
last  few  years,  when,  under  the  administration  of  Juarez, 
such  an  impetus  was  ^iven  to  mining,  that  it  came  up  last 
year,  I  believe,  to  $29,000,000.  That  is  one  of  the  damag- 
ing facts  Mr.  Sunderland  brings  out  in  all  this  amount  of 
testimony  against  my  statements,  which  I  claim  now  are 
as  nearly  correct  as  they  could  have  been  given  with  the 
information  in  my  possession  at  that  time. 

Then  he  gives  us  some  more  figures  here.  He  says  I 
state  in  that  book  it  costs  $4,000,000  a  year  to  pump  the 
water  out  of  the  Comstock.  The  commissioners  say  it  costs 
$124,000.  I  admit  that  the  former  is  a  large  figure.  But, 
supposing  all  that  district  be  opened  up,  as  it  should  be,  to 
a  depth  of  2,000  feet,  and  all  the  mines  connected,  it  would 
nearly  cost  that  amount  to  pump  the  water  out,  counting 
all  the  machinery  which  would  be  required,  and  the  wear 
and  tear,  and  considering  the  great  cost  of  machinery  at 

(a)  See  Huraboldt's  Political  Essay  on  New  Spain. 


903 

that  time.  "Well,  the  commissioners  put  it  at  $124,000. 
That  was  taken  from  the  statements  of  these  superintend,, 
ents,  the  agents  of  the  Bank  of  California.  I  will  say  now 
that  it  costs  over  §1,000,000  at  the  present  time,  if  you 
count  the  whole  expense.  If  you  get  down  2,000  feet  all 
along  the  lode,  it  will  cost  an  enormous  sum.  They  did 
not  include  any  indirect  cost  in  this  report  made  to  the 
Government,  and  th'at  causes  by  far  the  greatest  part  of 
the  cost  of  pumping. 

PRESENT  MANNER  OP  MINING. 

We  have  shown,  by  the  testimony  of  every  one  of  those 
gentlemen,  that  these  mines  are  worked  for  stock-jobbing. 
In  order  to  explain  myself,  I  will  have  to  go  into  the  mode 
of  mining  as  it  is  carried  on  now.  These  mines  are  opened 
by  means  of  shafts  all  along  this  lode.  There  is  a  shaft 
sunk  down  every  2,000  or  3,000  feet.  There  is  large 
machinery  on  these  shafts,  (a)  The  water  is  pumped  out  by 
means  of  great  steam  engines  from  the  bottom  of  these 
shafts,  and  the  ore  is  hoisted  out  to  the  surface,  and  then 
carried  on  this  railroad  we  have  spoken  of  to  the  mil's. 
In  working  mines  in  that  way  they  open  one  level  only 
at  a  time.  It  is  immensely  difficult  sometimes  to  go  down 
a  single  hundred  feet  in  these  shafts,  and  open  up  a  new 
level,  because  the  water  which  you  encounter  and  the  diffi- 
culties of  pumping  are  very  great.  But  they  do  not  want 
to  open  up  more  than  one  level  at  a  time,  because  they 
want  to  keep  the-condition  of  the  mine  in  the  dark. 

STOCK-JOBBING  OPERATIONS,    (b) 

I  want  to  explain  now  how  these  manipulations  are  car- 
ried on.  These  mining  companies  are  joint-stock  companies, 
and  they  are  used  for  speculation  by  the  people  who  buy  the 
stock,  which  is  scattered  all  over  the  country.  It  is  held 
on  the  street  by  brokers,  and  they  speculate  and  operate 

(a)  See  Test.,  pp.  32,  33,  34,  179,  203,  2p4,  213,  371, -007,  644,  648,  691. 
IW  See  Test,,  pp.  165,  168,  174,  178,  215,  278,  300,  301,  342,  343,  344,466, 
468,  601,  682,  683. 


904 

in  these  stocks  for  the  sake  of  making  money  out  of  the 
rise,  or  they  sell  short  to  make  money  out  of  the  decline. 
Consequently  the  mines  are  really  owned  by  nobody,  (a) 
Some  mines,  when  they  get  in  very  fine  condition,  are 
bought  up  and  looked  after  by  the  owners;  but,  as  a  gen- 
eral thing,  they  are  owned  by  nobody,  as  far  as  legitimate 
mining  is  concerned.  (6)  Men  dealing  in  these  stocks  do  not 
find  out  whether  the  mines  are  worked  to  advantage  or  not. 
The  people  engaged  in  this  kind  of  operation  are  of  a 
very  speculative  turn  of  mind.     They  invest  $1,000  in  a 
certain  stock,  and  when  they  think  they  see  another  chance 
they  pawn  that  stock  and  get  $500  on  it,  and  buy  more, 
and  then  they  pawn  that  again;  and  the  Bank  of  California 
has  started  an  agency  at  Virginia  City,  put  a  man  in  charge 
by  tne  name  of  Sharon  to  manage  the  bank,  and  they  play 
a  very  smart  game  there.     They  loan   money  on  these 
shares.     Everybody  speculates,  every  miner,  or  chamber- 
maid, or  washerwoman;  and  as  soon  as  they  get  into  one 
stock  they  want  to  speculate  in  other  stock,  and  they  have 
to  pawn  it,  and  the  Bank  of  California,  a  regular  pawn- 
broker shop,  loans  money  on  them,  (c)     They  have  men 
throughout  these  mines  who  keep  them  informed.     In  fact, 
they  employed  Mr.  Luckhardt  for  five  years  to  furnish 
a  daily  report  about  the  condition  of  the  mines  on  the 
Comstock. 

HOW  TRUSTEES  ARE  ELECTED,  (d) 

Now,  mark  what  these  people  do.  When  the  election 
comes  off,  all  this  stock  stands  in  the  name  of  the  Bank  of 
California,  because  when  they  loan  money  on  the  stock  it 
is  transferred  to  them  or  to  one  of  their  clerks.  They 
do  not  place  it  in  the  name  of  the  bank,  which  would  make 
it  responsible  for  debts,  but  have  it  transferred  to  the  name 
of  a  clerk.  Then,  when  the  annual  election  comes,  they 

(a)  See  Test.,  p.  178. 

(6)  See  Test.,  pp.  174,  175. 

(c)  See  Test.,  p.  196. 

(d)  See  Test.,  pp.  346,  347,  348,  349,  350,  687,  688. 


905 

vote  all  this  pawned  stock  and  get  all  the  proxies  they  can, 
which  gives  them  a  majority,  and  so  they  put  in  a  board 
of  trustees  of  their  own  making.  They  do  not  own  any 
stock  in  many  of  these  mines,  but  they  put  in  a  board  of 
trustees  and  manage  the  mine.  They  also  loaned  money 
to  many  of  these  mills,  and  afterwards  foreclosed  the  loan, 
and  got  hold  of  them  for  one-fifth  of  the  price.  Mills  that 
cost  §5,000,000,  they  obtained  for  less  than- $1,000,000.  (a) 
They  had  the  management  of  the  mines,  and  withheld  the 
ore  from  the  mills  they  wanted  to  break  up.  Thus  they 
secured  many  of  these  mills,  (b)  and  they  get  $12  for  every 
ton  worked.  It  has  been  shown  that  they  can  reduce  in 
their  mills  1,000  tons  a  day,  for  which  they  get  $12,000, 
including  freight  on  the  railroad,  which  they  also  own. 

PROFITS  OF  MILLING. 

"We  have  the  statement  here  of  Mr.  Hequa,  one  of  the 
bank's  superintendents,  (c)  He  says  milling  costs  them 
$4  50  per  ton.  Consequently  they  make — how  much?  Take 
$2  off  for  hauling,  that  leaves  $10;  $4  50  from  $10  leaves 
$5  50,  and  on  a  thousand  tons(d)  that  makes  $5,500  a  day 
clear  profit,  (e)  That  is  what  they  make — $5,500  a  day  clear 
profit.  ISTow,  by  having  control  of  a  mine,  it  .becomes  very 
easy  for  them  to  manage  to  get  out  as  much  ore  as  possi- 
ble; they  do  not  care  whether  the  mine  makes  any  money 
or  not,  because  they  do  not  own  the  mine;  they  own  the 
mills,  and  consequently  they  take  out  as  much  ore  from 
these  mines  as  they  can,  and  if  they  have  no  ore,  they 
take  out  bed  rock;  take  out  the  country  rock,  that  con- 
tains nothing  at  all,  and  send  it  to  the  mills-  and  mix  a 
little  ore  with  it,  and  crush  it,  and  get  $12  a  ton  for  work- 
ing that  ore,  and  not  enough  comes  out  to  pay  for  hauling 
sometimes.  (/)  They  make  $5,500  a  day  profit,  and  it  runs 
the  mines  behind.  If  they  take  out  $6  a  ton,  and  the  mill 
gets  $12,  the  mining  company  loses  $6  on  every  ton. 

(a)  See  Test.,  pp.  351,  352.       (d)  See  Test.,  p.  203. 

(6)  See  Test.,  pp.  163,  354,  515.    (e)  See  Test,  pp.  519,  520,  521. 

(c)  See  Test.,  pp.  176,  535.       (/)  See  Test.,  pp.  203,  297,  353,  686. 


906 

What  is  the  result?  When  there  is  no  money  in  the 
treasury  and  the  mine  runs  behind,  the  trustees,  who  are 
the  agents  of  the  bank,  put  on  an  assessment,  and,  if  not 
paid,  the  stock  is  sold  out. 

HIDING  ORE.  (a) 

But  the  great  game  is  this:  By  having  control  of  a  mine, 
they  know  exactly  what  is  going  on  in  that  mine.  If  it  con- 
tain but  a  little  good  ore,  or  low-grade  ore,  it  sells  at  a  low 
rate.  They  keep  watching  it;  these  superintendents  have 
men  in  the  mine  watching;  and  when  a  body  of  ore  is  struck, 
they  are  shut  up  at  once.  Nobody  is  allowed  to  go  in  there 
except  the  few  men  who  are  digging.  They  put  a  bulkhead 
across.  They  just  prospect  it  sufficiently  to  find  out  what  it 
amounts  to,  and  keep  the  men  down  there  digging  away,  and 
treating  them  in  splendid  manner,  (they  give  them  cham- 
pagne.) (6)  The  moment  they  find  there  is  ore  down  there, 
they  telegraph  in  cipher  (c)  to  San  Francisco,  as  it  is  shown 
in  the  testimony,  and  buy  up  the  stock,  (d)  And  sometimes 
this  ring  goes  to  work  and  breaks  the  stock  down  first  before 
they  buy;  they  start  the  miners  on  drifts  in  the  wrong  direc- 
tion, and  say  there  has  been  a  cave,  for  fear  anything  would 
leak  out  about  it.  They  take  out  poor  ore,  or  bed  rock, 
which  necessitates  assessments,  and  thus  run  the  stock 
down.  Everybody  that  owns  stock  is  assessed,  (e)  and  they 
get  it  all  in  the  end.  We  had  a  striking  instance  of  this 
kind  in  one  of  the  mines  lately.  The  stock  went  down  to 
$2  a  share,  when  gradually  the  ring  got  all  the  stock  con- 
centrated in  their  hands — got  it  away  from  the  poor  fel- 
lows who  were  paying  assessments  (/) — and  then  they  made 
known  the  existence  of  this  ore,  which  they  had  concealed, 
and  the  stock  went  up  to  an  immense  figure.  They  are  in 
a  perfect  fever  just  now.  The  stocks  on  the  Comstock 
lode  have  gone  up  from  §3,000,000  to  $50,000,000  in  a  year. 
Just  now  the  ring  owns  largely  in  stocks,  and  they  will 

(a)  See  Test.,  pp.  295,  166,  174,  176,  466.  (d)  See  Test.,  p.  175. 

(6)  See  Test.,  p.  175.  (e)  SeeTest,,  pp.  176,  690. 

(c)  See  Test.,  p.  551.  (/)  See  Test.,  p.  300.  . 


907 

realize  millions  out  of  them,  and  they  have  managed  such 
operations  about  twice  a  year  since  the  mines  were  discov- 
ered. Most  of  the  outsiders  who  huy  these  stocks  get 
swindled  in  the  end,  and  I  suppose  the  people  out  there 
think  that  is  smart ! 

CERTAIN  RUIN  TO  OUTSIDERS. 

When  the  stocks  get  about  the  highest  the  ring  steps 
out,  and  a  crash  takes  place,  which  ruins  all  the  others,  (a) 
And  such  a  crash  is  impending  now;  it  will  certainly  come 
before  many  months.  It  will  appear  very  clearly  to  you, 
that  this  California  Bank  ring,  or  the  Union  Mill  and 
Mining  Company,  (it  is  all  one  affair,  as  has  been  shown 
here,)  are  managing  things  over  there  just  to  suit  them- 
selves; (6)  and  the  head  manipulators  are  Ralston,  the  head 
of  the  Bank  of  California  at  San  Francisco,  and  Sharon, 
their  agent  at  Virginia  City.  They  get  the  profits  out  of 
the  mines  and  mills,  and  I  tell  you,  gentlemen,  they  are 
making  millions  out  of  it.  I  do  not  wonder  that  Mr. 
Ralston  can  live  in  a  princely  residence,  and  keep  60 
horses  for  his  own  use.  The  ring  is  filching  it  out  of  the 
people.  They  do  not  get  it  honestly. 

These  people  are  opposed  to  the  tunnel,  and  why?  If 
that  tunnel  goes  in,  it  fully  opens  the  mines;  there  will  be 
no  hiding ;(c)  from  the  surface  down  through  the  whole 
length  of  that  lode  a  new  basis  of  operations  will  be  made; 
and  it  will  lay  open  every  mine  down  to  the  tunnel  level — 
yes,  every  mine  will  be  laid  open.  They  cannot  hide  the 
ore  any  longer.  That  is  one  of  the  causes  of  opposition. 

The  second  reason  is,  it  will  be  a  great  deal  cheaper  to 
get  the  ore  out  through  the  tunnel;  and  we  shall  erect  re- 
duction works  at  the  mouth,  which  can  work  so  much 
cheaper  and  get  more  out,  which  will  stop  the  whole  of 
their  milling  operations.  Now,  to  defeat  this  project  they 
misrepresent  it.  They  say  the  tunnel  is  useless.  The  truth 

(a)  See  Test.,  p.  302.  (b)  See  Test.,  pp.177, 178,  686,  687. 

(c)  See  Test.,  pp.  193,  214,  278,  279. 


908 

is,  it  is  going  to  stop  these  rascally  operations,  and  that  is 
why  they  oppose  it.  (a)  These  mines  lose  $8,000,000  a  year  in 
the  yield,  as  operations  are  at  present  carried  on.  We  can 
get  out  $6,000,000  of  that  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  that 
they  do  not  get  out  at  all  now;  that  is  wasted  now.  I  have 
tried  to  explain  the  management  of  these  mines  and  some  of 
the  manipulations  of  the  Union  Mill  and  Mining  Company, 
and  hope  I  have  made  myself  understood. 

PERCENTAGE  EXTRACTED  FROM  ORES.  (6) 

There  is  another  most  important  item,  which  these  peo- 
ple profit  by  in  working  these  ores,  and  that  is  the  tail- 
ings, (c)  We  have  shown,  by  nearly  every  one  of  the  wit- 
nesses, that  they  only  get  out  65  per  cent,  from  the  ore; 
consequently  35  per  cent,  remains  in  the  tailings.  The  mines 
yield  $15,000,000  a  year  in  bullion;  that  would  therefore 
bring  the  assay  value  of  the  ore  to  $23,000,000,  showing  aloss 
of  $8,000,000  a  year  in  tailings.  The  Union  Mill  and 
Mining  Company  will  some  day  sell  those  tailings,  and 
get  millions  for  them,  besides  the  millions  they  get  for 
milling  the  ores.  That  is  what  they  get,  and  they  get  it 
out  of  the  people  who  own  the  stock.  That  is  a  perquisite 
of  the  mills. 

IsTow,  Mr.  Sunderland  has  tried  to  show  by  two  of  his  own 
men,  Requa  and  Batter  man,  who  were  sent  to  testify 
by  the  Bank  of  California,  that  they  take  out  as  much  as 
88  per  cent.  Every  other  witness  has  stated  that  they 
cannot  take  out  over  65  per  cent.  One  of  the  witnesses 
has  said  that  they  may  get  72  per  cent.  Mr.  Luckhardt, 
who  was  the  most  competent  witness  we  had  here,  who 
was  five  years  on  the  lode,  and  whose  business  it  was  to 
go  down  into  these  mines  and  examine  them,  and  who  is  a 
scientific  and  educated  gentleman  and  a  mining  engineer, 
says  you  cannot  take  out  more  than  65  per  cent.,  because 
the  other  35  per  cent,  are  rebellious  metal.  You  cannot 

(a)  See  Test.,  pp.  177,  310,  311,  346,  355. 

(6)  See  Test.,  pp.  159,  160,  256,  311,  354,  630,  631,  632,  706,  707,  708,  754. 

(c)  See  Test.,  pp.  266,  310,  354. 


909 

take  out  the  other  35  per  cent,  by  amalgamation.  I  will 
add  ray  own  testimony  to  that.  I  have  made  repeated  ex- 
periments for  months  and  months — sat  up  all  night  in 
order  to  follow  out  some  experiments — to  find  out  what 
could  be  obtained  by  raw  amalgamation,  and  I  give  my 
testimony  that  you  cannot  get  out  more  than  65  per  cent. 
I  have  analyzed  what  remains,  and  it  is  a  combination  of 
silver  and  lead,  copper  and  zinc,  and  other  base  metals, 
and  sometimes  of  sulphur.  You  might  run  it  in  the  pans 
for  a  year,  and  could  not  get  out  any  more  by  amalgamation. 
That  portion  of  the  ore  has  to  be  worked  by  smelting  or 
chlorodizing-roasting,  (a)  and  I  would  not  care  if  they  would 
send  one  hundred  witnesses  here  to  swear  to  the  contrary. 
I  know  there  must  be  some  mistake  about  their  assays  or 
results  somewhere;  you  cannot  do  it.  Mr.  Luckhardt 
most  emphatically  declares  so. 

Mr.  Raymond  states,  that  all  the  reports  received  by  him 
give  the  yield  at  65  per  cent.  It  is  no  use  for  Mr.  Sunder- 
land,  or  the  Bank  of  California  people,  to  say  that  they 
get  88  per  cent. ;  it  is  not  so. 

SIXTY-FIVE  PER  CENT.  THE  AVERAGE  YIELD. 

These  rebellious  ores  are  called  in  Mexico  "bronzes." 
Every  Mexican  knows  that  will  not  amalgamate  at  all. 
You  cannot  do  it.  It  cannot  be  done.  Mr.  Requa  has  told 
us  they  get  out  92  per  cent.  He  says  that  the  Union  Mill 
and  Mining  Company  paid  reclamations  to  his  company. 
He  has  told  us  that  they  have  paid  during  the  last  year 
$16,400  in  reclamations.  In  order  to  explain  that,  I  will 
state  that  these  mill  companies  have  to  guarantee  65  per 
cent.  It  is  only  a  nominal  guarantee.  It  does  not  amount 
to  anything,  because  they  take  out  just  what  they  please. 
There  is  but  one  crowd  managing  it,  but  he  says  they 
paid  this  reclamation.  The  Chollar  company  took  out  last 
year  $3,440,023,  and  they  had  paid  to  them  a  reclamation 
of  $16,400.  He  wants  to  make  out  that  they  received  more 

(a)  See  Test.,  pp.  735,  736. 


910 

than  65  per  cent.,  because  the  Union  Mill  Company  paid 
that  reclamation,  (a)  'Now,  gentlemen,  I  will  tell  you  how 
much  that  amounts  to — one  half  of  one  per  cent., 
what  they  received  back  in  reclamations,  and  he  wants 
to  make  us  believe  that  is  a  fact  worth  mentioning.  Sixty- 
five  per  cent,  were  guaranteed,  and  they  paid  back  one- 
half  of  one  per  cent,  or  $16,400  oil  this  immense  sum 
of  $3,500,000  nearly.  That  is  to  make  the  people  be- 
lieve they  pay  reclamations.  It  is  all  a  humbug.  I  do  not 
believe  they  get  out  60  per  cent. — only  make  the  people 
believe  they  get  out  65  per  cent,  and  over.  (6) 

Now,  see  what  Mr.  Luckhardt  says  about  this.  It  is  a 
very  important  point  : 

"  Q.  So  they  do  not  seem  to  get  out  more  than  65  per  cent,  of  the  assay 
value  of  the  ore  which  is  returned  to  the  mines? 

"A.  I  think  a  great  many  people  there  say  that  they  get  out  80  or  85  per 
cent.,  and  I  think,  in  some  instances,  judging  from  the  character  of  the  ore 
found,  that  it  is  possible  to  get  out  that,  but  not  as  a  general  thing,  because  the 
ores  of  the  Comstock  are  of  such  a  nature  that  any  man  who  knows  the  nature 
of  the  ores,  and  knows  how  to  judge  of  ores,  would  consider  it  to  be  a  pre- 
posterous idea  to  get  out  80  or  85  per  cent,  by  crude  amalgamation.  By 
treating  those  ores  by  previous  processes  anterior  as  to  amalgamation,  you 
may  get  from  ,80  to  85  per  cent.,  but  I  think  from  60  to  65  per  cent,  is  the 
general  yield  of  those  ores."(c) 

In  the  cross-examination  Mr.  Sunderland  tried  to  con- 
fuse him  on  that  point,  and  wanted  to  know  what  ex- 
perience Luckhardt  had  in  milling.  Now,  Luckhardt  is 
the  most  practically  experienced  man  we  have  had  here  as 
a  witness,  and  there  is  probably  no  man  living  at  the  present 
day  who  knows  so  much  about  those  mines  as  he  does.  He 
was  asked: 

"Q.  Then  if  that  is  the  only  experience  you  have  had  of  milling,  and  the 
only  opportunity  you  have  had  of  knowing  what  percentage  is  saved  from 
the  assay  value  of  the  Comstock  ores,  how  can  you  state  that  they  only 
saved  from  60  to  65  per  cent.? 

"A.  Because  I  have  so  frequently  assayed  those  ores,  and  I  know  their 
character  so-  well.  I  know  what  will  amalgamate  and  what  will  not  amal- 
gamate: that  is  just  as  good  proof  to  me  as  if  I  had  stayed  and  worked  there 
for  twenty  years. "  (d) 

He  is  a  scientific  man.     He  knows  you  cannot  amalga- 

(o)  See  Test.,  p.  522. 

(b)  See  Test.,  pp.  159, 160,  256,  311,  354,  630,  631,  632,  706,  707,  708,  754. 

(c)  See  Test,  p.  707. 

(d)  See  Test.,  p.  759. 


on 

mate  it,  and  that  is  exactly  what  I  know.     That  disposes, 
I  think,  of  that  part  of  Mr.  Sunderland's  argument. 

WATER  THE  GREAT  OBSTACLE  IN  MINING,  (a) 

Now,  in  regard  to  drainage,  which  is  a  very  important 
point,  these  people  have  strenuously  tried  to  show  that 
there  is  no  water  in  those  mines.  They  have  tried  to  im- 
press that  on  the  people,  and  have  hired  the  newspapers  to 
say  there  is  no  water  in  the  mines,  and  consequently,  as  they 
argued,  there  would  be  no  necessity  for  the  tunnel.  They 
have  done  that  for  years.  They  have  "been  trying  by  every 
effort  to  break  up  the  enterprise,  by  saying  there  is  no  water 
in  the  Comstock.  We  have  shown  that  to  be  false  here 
by  the  testimony  of  every  witness,  and  false  by  their  own 
statements.  Water  is  the  great  obstacle  in  mining.  It  has 
nearly  ruined  some  of  those  mining  companies.  After  the 
tunnel  is  run  in,  and  these  shafts  which  now  exist  are  con- 
nected with  it  by  bore-holes,  such  as  you  bore  for  oil-wells 
in  Pennsylvania, the  water  will  run  out;  nobody  can  deny 
that.  (6)  They  have  stated  there  are  clay  seams  as  tight  as  a 
bottle,  and  that  the  water  will  all  stay  in,  but  these  bore- 
holes will  let  it  run  out.  They  have  been  denying  my  state- 
ments for  years.  I  cannot  inform  the  whole  world.  I  have 
told  them  all  they  have  got  to  do  is  to  make  a  bore-hole, 
and  repeated  it  a  thousand  times,  and  at  last  we  have 
it  on  record  to  show,  but  they  will  keep  oft  denying  it  not- 
withstanding. That  is  their  style  of  warfare. 

Now,  as  far  as  the  Ophir  mine  is  concerned,  I  put  to  Gen- 
eral Wright  some  questions  in  regard  to  the  quantity  of 
water  in  that  mine.  We  have  the  statement  here  of  the 
former  superintendent  of  the  Ophir  mine,  who  says  that 
"  it  is  a  dry  country,  and  there  is  no  water  in  it ;  everybody 
knows  it;"  and  I  have  shown  here,  by  that  same  man's 
official  statements,  as  they  are  called,  how  much  water 
they  took  out  of  that  mine  every  day.  I  asked  General 

(a)  See  Test,,  pp.  82,  87,  88,  89,  91,  96, 180, 182,  217,  304,  306,  307,  308,  330, 
331,  333,  334, 335,  338, 340,  358,.359,  360,  361,  69V,  692, 693, 694, 695,  697, 742. 
(6)  See  Test.,  pp.  41,  42,  232,  675. 


912 

"Wright  how  much  they  were  pumping  from  that  mine 
every  twenty-four  hours,  according  to  this  same  superin- 
tendent's statement.  He  said  the  weight  of  the  water 
was  336  tons,  of  2,000  pounds  each,  per  day,  and  they 
were  only  hoisting  12  tons  of  rock.  They  pumped  that  out, 
which  is  pretty  nearly  equal  to  lifting  it  out.  Then  Tasked 
him  as  to  the  average  per  day  for  the  year  commencing 
with  June,  1870,  and  ending  June  1,  1871. 

The  average,  he  said,  was  lOf  inches. 

"How  much,"  I  asked,  " would  that  be  in  tons  in  24 
hours?" 

He  answered: 

"  THE  AVERAGE  IS  SEVEN  HUNDRED  AND  EIGHTY-ONE  TONS  OF  WATER  PER 
DAY  IN  THAT  ONE  MINE.'1  («) 

There  it  is — 781  tons  of  water  out  of  one  of  the  mines 
every  day  for  a  year.  Let  me  read  that  statement,  furnish- 
ed to  the  commissioners  by  Mr.  Day.  These  people  feel 
outraged  because  their  statements  are  doubted  here;  they 
may  be  high-toned  men,  but  they  are  in  with  the  bank, 
and  that  condemns  them.  This  is  his  statement: 

"  I  hold  that  there  is  no  more  certain  event  of  the  future  than  that  the  water 
will  decrease  in  the  Comstock  as  the  mines  grow  deeper,  the  opinions  of  Mr. 
Sutro,  Baron  Richthofen,  or  any  other  scientific  gentleman  to  the  contrary 
notwithstanding,  and  the  idea  of  running  a  tunnel  four  miles  or  more  in 
length,  at  an  outlay  of  millions  of  dollars,  to  tap  what  is  almost  certain  to  be 
very  nearly  a  dry  fissure,  seems  to  me  to  partake  of  the  absurd  in  the  extreme. 
This  is  a  dry  country,  and  all  who  have  looked  upon  it  know  it." 

General  "Wright  testifies  that  the  average  for  last  year 
was  781  tons  of  water  per  day  out  of  that  one  mine — that 
identical  mine  of  which  that  man  was  speaking,  and  of 
which  he  was  the  superintendent.  Then  I  asked  General 
Wright— 

"  Did  you  make  any  figures  on  the  maximum  quantity  for  the  year,  as  stated 
by  Mr.  Day,  which  is  18  inches?" 

And  General  Wright  answered : 

"Eighteen  inches  gives  the  weight  for  24  hours  at  1,313  tons" 

That  they  had  to  pump  out  per  day  to  get  out  12  tons  of 


(a)  See  Test.,  p.  360. 


913 

rock,  (a)    That  was  shown  by  the  testimony.   In  the  Gould 
and  Curry  mine  he  says  there  was  more  water  than  that. 

Then,  if  we  take  the  aggregate  of  all  the  mines,  it  amounts 
to  at  least  three  or  four  thousand  tons  for  every  24  hours 
that  they  are  pumping  out;  (6)  and  then  it  must  be  recol- 
lected that  these  gentlemen  were  over  there  at  the  end  of 
three  years  of  immense  drought,  (c)  The  whole  country 
had  dried  up.  The  springs  had  dried  up.  There  was  no 
water  there,  comparatively. 

INDIRECT  COST  OF  PUMPING,  (d) 

Now,  gentlemen,  the  actual  expense  of  pumping  water  is 
but  a  merejtrifie  compared  with  the  indirect  cost,  which 
is  perfectly  fearful;  while  you  are  sinking  a  shaft,  and 
are  hampered  with  water,  you  cannot  progress  with  your 
work;  thus  you  are  shut  off  for  mouths  sometimes,  and 
cannot  goon;  and  the  expenses  of  the  whole  concern,  for 
office,  engineers,  &c.,  are  going  on  all  the  time.  The  in- 
direct expense  of  working  is  probably  three  or  four  or  five 
times  as  much  as  the  direct  cost.  The  commissioners  did 
not  bring  that  into  account  in  their  report  at  all.  It  is  diffi- 
cult to  get  any  data  on  the  indirect  cost.  I  think  Mr. 
Luckhardt  was  asked  a  question  about  the  cost  of  raising 
water.  He  said : 

11  Where  there  is  much  water  there  is  always  a  great  retardation  of  the 
work. 

^'Q.  Isn't  that  a  greater  expense  than  the  actual  pumping? 

"  A.  Oh,  to  be  sure.  The  pumping  itself  is  the  least  of  the  expense  of  get- 
ting rid  of  the  water." 

Now,  as  far  as  pumping  water  from  great  depth  is  con- 
cerned, I  have  telegrams  in  my  pocket  which  came  within 
the  last  two  or  three  days,  about  this  very  Ophir  mine  and 
also  the  Savage.  Mr.  Sunderland  has  stated  here  in  his 
speech  that  two-thirds  of  the  Comstock  lode  is  as  dry  as  this 
floor;  and  that  is  what  they  have  been  trying  to  show  for 

(a)  See  Test.,  pp.  5,  6,  7,  13,  14,  15,  42,  305. 
(6)  See  Test.,  pp.  84,  90,  95,  378,  379,  453. 

(c)  See  Test.,  pp.  180, 181,  304,  307,  329. 

(d)  See  Test.,  p,  772. 

58 


914 

years;  and  I  say  it  is  not  true.    There  is  one  dispatch  dated 
April  13,  the  other  April  15.     One  says: 

"In  S'avage  they  had  to  stop  working  on  shaft  between  1,400  and  1,500 
feet  levels,  on  account  of  large  volumes  of  water.  Ophir  also  much  troubled 
with  water." 

Dispatch  dated  15th  says: 

"  Expenses  for  pumping  in  the  Ophir  for  March,  $5,800.  This  is  official 
statement  made  by  the  superintendent." 

THEIR  OWN  LETTERS  CONDEMN  THEM,    (a) 

That  is  on  the  loth  of  this  month.  2sfow,  I  want  to  call 
the  attention  of  the  committee  fo*  a  few  moments  to  some 
extracts  that  we  have  been  fortunate  enough  to  get  hold 
of,  and  at  the  same  time  I  will  reply  to  the  motion  of  Mr. 
Sunderland  to  have  that  testimony  stricken  out.  They 
have  heen  denying  for  years  that  there  is  any  water  in  those 
mines,  and  that  has  been  their  great  fight  all  along;  and 
when  we  offered  this  testimony — the  extracts  from  letters 
written  by  this  same  man  Bay,  whose  statement  I  have 
just  read,  saying  that  "  this  is  a  dry  country,  and  everybody 
that  looks  upon  it  knows  it" — when  we  have  that  man's 
own  letters,  written  to  his  superior  officers  in  San  Francisco 
from  day  to  day,  making  reports  of  the  mine,  and  have  got 
these  extracts  sworn  to  by  the  present  superintendent  of 
that  mine,  he  made  a  motion  to  have  that  testimony  ruled 
out.  Of  course  he  would  like  to  have  that  done.  TVe 
have  caught  them  in  the  act  now.  They  have  been  telling 
untruths,  and  here  we  have  the  proofs  on  them.  WQ  have 
got  them  on  the  record.  Here  are  this  man's  letters,  which 
he  wrote  to  the  president  of  the  company  from  day  to  day, 
stating  how  much  w^ater  there  is  in  the  mine  aii-d  how 
inuch  they  are  troubled  with  water,  and  that  very  motion 
of  Mr.  Sunderland's  is  pending  before  this  committee  to 
have  that  testimony  ruled  out.  On  what  grounds  does  he 
want  it  ruled  out?  On  some  pettifogging  law  quibble. 
He  says  they  are  "  copies  of  copies."  "We  ought  to  produce 
the  originals.  Why,  gentlemen,  they  are  copies  made 

(a)  See  Test,,  pp.  791-810. 


915 

from  the  press  copybook.  They  are  copies  of  letters  sent 
to  San  Francisco,  and  tfce  present  superintendent  copies 
them  and  swears  they  are  correct,  (a)  The  other  evidence 
introduced  here  in  the  commissioners'  report  is  not  sworn 
to  in  any  shape  whatever.  They  want  to  get  the  truth 
ruled  out  by  a  legal  quibble.  Mr.  Sunderland  must  think 
that  Congress  is  a  petty  justice's  court,  where  prisoners 
known  to  be  guilty  are  often  rescued  on  insignificant  tech- 
nicalities of  the  law.  This  is  the  best  testimony  we  have 
got.  It  convicts  them  fully  of  a  most  'outrageous  perver- 
sion of  facts.  It  also  shows  the  difficulties  of  pumping,  the 
breaking  down  of  machinery,  and  the  consequent  enormous 
indirect  expense.  I  will  read  a  few  extracts  from  that 
man's  letters.  He  writes  on  June  10,  1868 : 

"  Depth  of  shaft,  287  feet.  I  assumed  full  charge  on  Monday.  Work  at 
shaft  is  progressing  as  well  as  can  be  expected  under  the  circumstances.  We» 
are  raising  a  large  amount  of  water,  more  than  the  pump  we  are  using  has 
capacity  for." 

Then,  in  the  same  letter,  he  says: 

"If  no  accident  happens  to  the  pumping  machinery  within  the  next  two 
days,  the  tank  and  screw  drift,  with  the  necessary  machinery,  will  be  com- 
plete to  station  the  first  plunge  pump,  and  the  shaft  deep  enough  to  swing  the 
sinking  pump  for  the  second  lift.  That  being  done,  I  see  no  reason  why  we 
should  not  make  good  progress  in  sinking." 

June  14,  be  writes: 

"  Friday  we  were  occupied  in  making  preparations  for  putting  in  two  12- 
inch  pumps." 

Gentlemen,  I  wish  to  call  your  attention  particularly  to 
the  fact,  that  these  extracts  will  show  what  the  enormous, 
indirect  cost  consists  of,  independent  of  pumping.  The 
commissioners  only  gave  the  presumed  direct  cost  of 
pumping  the  water  out. 

On  October  16,  1867,  this  same  man  (Day)  writes : 

"Largo  amount  of  water  coming. in  from  face  of  main  drift,  which  is 
boarded  up  at  present  to  prevent  a  run." 

October  21: 

"  Large  flow  of  water." 

October  22,  1869: 

"The  purnp  rod,  to  lower  pumps,  broke  at  8  o'clock  last  evening,  and  has 
not  yet  been  brought  to  the  surface.  One  man  killed  this  morning  by  the 

•(a)  See  Test,  p.  780. 


916 

cable  breaking  in  the  pump  shaft.     It  is  difficult  to  farm  an  estimate  of  the 
delay  it  will  occasion  us." 

• 

They  do  not  count  the  life  of  a  laboring  miner.  They 
count  the  dollars  and  cents  only. 

October  24 : 

• 

"Our  present  flow  of  water  seems  to  be  entirely  independent  of  the  water 
in  the  old  mine,  which  I  regard  as  indicating  the  existence  of  a  body  of  ore 
to  the  north,  and  separate  from  that  worked  in  the  old  mine." 

November  6: 

"The  water  is  still  rising  in  the  shaft,  and  now  stands  about  270  feet  from 
the  bottom." 

Mind,  now,  it  says  270  feet  of  water  in  the  shaft.  They 
had  to  get  out  270  feet  of  water  in  order  to  get  to  work  again. 
Then  he  goes  on  to  say,  in  the  same  letter: 

"  We  are  now  taking  water  from  the  shaft  at  the  rate  of  20,000  gallons  per 
hour ;  and  when  the  machinery  (hoisting)  is  ready  for  use,  we  will  increase 
tj^at  amount  10,000  gallons.  It  is  impossible,  at  this  time,  to  form  an  intel- 
ligent opinion  of  the  time  that  will  be  required  to  free  the  drifts  of  water." 

November  10: 

"  Our  misfortunes,  in  connection  with  the  strike  of  water  in  Ophir,  seem  to 
follow  us  up.  Last  Sunday  morning,  when  our  second  or  lower  plunger  was 
covered  about  60  feet  with  the  rising  flood,  it  very  suddenly  ceased  to  throw 
water,  and  is  now  about  200  feet  underwater.  [That's  a  dry  country !]  We 
are  building  a  500-gallon  tank  to  use  with  the  new  engine.  With  that,  and 
the  one  now  in  use  of  300  gallons,  will  enable  us  to  raise  to  the  surface  16,000 
gallons  per  hour:  As  I  stated  in  my  last,  it  is  impossible  at  this  time  to  form 
an  intelligent  opinion  of  the  time  necessary  to  clear  the  drifts  of  water.  Of 
one  thing  I  am  convinced,  however:  that  our  consumption  of  wood  for  the 
next  six  months  will  be  perfectly  frightful" 

Recollect,  gentlemen,  if  that  tunnel  had  been  made, 
every  drop  of  that  water  could  have  been  run  out,  and 
under  our  contracts  they  only  have  to  pay  us  $2  a  ton  for 
the  ore  taken  out;  and  they  have  had  no  ore  in  that  mine 
for  five  years;  yet  they  protest  against  that  tunnel.  "We 
have  shown  that  f  of  the  mines  have  no  ore;  f  get  the 
benefit  of  the  tunnel  for  nothing;  only  |  will  have  to  con- 
tribute to  it. 

December  16: 

"  Our  progress.in  lowering  the  water  is  quite  satisfactory.  To-day  it  stands 
in  the  new  shaft  about  220  feet  deep." 

December  19: 

"  We  are  bending  all  our  energies  in  our  endeavors  to  free  the  new  work* 
from  water,  and  gaining  gradually  upon  it." 


917 

It  does  look  like  a  dry  country — "  we  have  now  220  feet 
of  water  in  the  shaft!" 
December  22: 

""  We  are  working  all  our  machinery  to  utmost  capacity,  consequently  acci- 
dents arc  liable  to  occur,  but%will  guard  against  them  as  much  as  possible.'" 

December  24  : 

"I  assure  you  there  will  be  no  let  up,  and  I  believe  few  drawbacks,  until 
we  have  the  water  well  under  control." 

December  25: 

"We  have  just  succeeded  in  completing  repairs  to  the  lower  plunger  or 
middle  pump,  and  made  connection  with  tne  lower  pump." 

December  27: 

"Yesterday  evening  we  had  the  water  at  a  lower  point  than  at  any  pre- 
vious time;  but  immediately  after  the  first  earthquake,  shock,  it  came  up  in 
the  shaft  some  25  or  30  feet  in  a  short  time." 

December  28: 

"  We  have  the  water  down  25  feet  below  lower  plunge  pump,  which  leaves 
175  feet  in  shaft."11 

December  31: 

"Am  pleased  to  be  able  to  report  to  you  a  decided  gain  upon  the  water 
to-day — 155  feet  from  the  bottom;  but  it  is  very  stubborn,  and  requires  heavy 
<and  persistent  work.  I  have  no  doubts  as  to  the  result." 

January  5,  1870: 

11  We  are  crowding  the  work  steadily  in  the  shaft  to-day.  We  have  only- 
ISO  feet  of  water." 

January  10: 

"Since  my  last,  we  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  one  of  our  large  tanks," 

January  12: 

"  We  do  not  succeed  in  getting  the  water  in  the  shaft  any  lower  than  here- 
tofore reported.1' 

January  17 : 

"  We  are  still  making  vigorous  battle  with  the  water,  and  driving  it  slowly 
down.  We  have  it  now. within  110  feet  of  the  bottom." 

January  25: 

"Owing  to  some  delay  in  repairing  tanks,  the  water  is  considerably  up  in 
the  shaft. 

January  28 : 

"  We  do  not  make  rapid  progress;  but  we  do  gain,  and  hold  all  that  we 
get,  which  is  encouraging,  and  shows  that  it  is  entirely  a  question  of  time  as 
to  when  the  new  works  will  be  cleared  of  water," 

January  31 : 

"Mount  Davidson  has  been  shaking  again,  ancl  consequently  the  Ophir 
water  has  increased,. as  usual  in  such  cases.  Sunday  morning  there  was  only 
74  feet  of  water  in  shaft,  and  going  down  nicely.  To-day  there  is  95  feet, 


918 

notwithstanding  pumping  and  bailing  has  been  going  on  without  any  inter- 
ruption." 

February  3: 

"  There  was  some  delay  last  night,  both  with  pump  and  large  tank,  conse- 
quently the  water  in  shaft  is  higher  to-day  than  usual." 

February  12: 

"  Water  at  No.  1  at  600-foot  station.  It  sticks  to  that  point  with  great  ten- 
acity; but  we  are  bound  to  get  the  best  of  it  in  time.  We  will  be  compelled 
to  stop  our  large  tank  about  three  days  next  week,  to  refill  the  large  cog- 
wheel." 

February  14: 

"  This^water  is  a  monster  elephant,  but  I  know  we  can  handle  him  ;  but  it 
wont  do  to  relax  in  the  least  the  grip  we  have  on  it.  In  No.  1  the  water  is 
about  150  feet.  In  old  mine  it  has  lowered  in  last  48  hours  3  feet." 

Now,  what  reliance  do  you  place  on  that  man  ?  He  told 
the  commissioners  it  was  a  dry  country,  and  they  believed 
him. 

February  15 : 

"Water  in  No.  1,160  feet;  filling  wheel  will  be  completed  this  evening." 

March  4 : 

"  We  are  repairing  again  to-day  at  shaft  No.  1.  About  one  half  the  cogs  in 
large  wheel  gave  out  last  night." 

You  see  these  are  the  indirect  costs.  These  people 
have  not  mentioned  them  at  all.  They  were  working  there 
four  years  in  order  to  get  down  a  few  hundred  feet  in  a 
shaft. 

March  5 : 

"The  repairs  at  shaft  No.  1,  spoken  of  yesterday,  are  completed,  and  ma- 
chinery moving  as  usual:  150  feet  of  water  in  shaft  No.  1." 

March  18 : 
"  Water  in  No.  1,  65  feet." 
March  21  : 

"  The  bucket  to  our  lower  pump  has  been  failing  for  the  last  few  days.  If 
we  succeed  in  replacing  with  a  newly-dressed  bucket,  there  will  be  but  little 
delay  in  pumping.  Should  we  not  succeed  in  this,  an  extra  pump,  which  we 
have  in  readiness,  will  have  to  be  lowered,  which  will  cause  at  most  only  a 
few  days  delay." 

March  22 : 

"At  No.  1  we  have  not  succeeded  in  drawing  bucket  from  lower  pump; 
have  commenced  active  preparations  for  putting  in  extra  pumps." 

March  24: 

"  There  is  to-day  100  feet  of  water  in  No.  1 ;  lowerpumps  working  to  about 
half  capacity." 


919 

s. 

March  26  : 

"  Water  to-day  in  No.  1  is  about  80  feet;  will  commence  fitting  large  cog- 
wheel this  evening.  You  can  assure  Ophir  stockholders  that  we  are  doing 
all  in  our  power  to  reduce  this  water.  Delays  to  some  extent  are  unavoida- 
ble. There  is  no  time  when  there  is  not  a  large  stream  of  water  coming 
to  the  surface  at  Ophir  shaft,  and  it  must  tell  before  long." 

March  31 : 

"Have  just  commenced  lowering  pump.  Putting  this  pump  in  place  is 
attended  with  so  many  difficulties,  that  it  is  impossible  to  say,  with  much  cer- 
tainty, the  length  of  time  that  will  be  required,  but  probably  about  three 
days." 

April  1 : 

"At  shaft  No.  1  we  are  still  engaged  in  putting  down  pump;  getting  along 
very  well ;  foundation  to  pump-bob  is  becoming  a  little  shaky,  and  it  may  be 
necessary  to  overhaul  it  before  making  our  next  great  effort  at  lowering  the 
water." 

April  9: 

"At  shaft  No.  1  we  have  repaired  old  pump,  and  it  is  doing  good  work." 

April  11: 

At  shaft  No.  1  the  drift  is  free  of  water.  And  right  here  allow  me  most 
sincerely  to  tender  you,  as  president  of  the  Ophir  S.  M.  Co.,  and  your  as- 
sociate trustees,  my  heartfelt  thanks  for  the  generous  co-operations  with 
which  you  have  sustained  me  in  this  fight;  for  truly  a  battle  it  has  been,  of 
no  ordinary  magnitude,  and  I  feel  that  a  great  weight  of  anxiety  and  re- 
sponsibility has  been  removed." 

Recollect,  now,  after  pumping  for  years  to  get  into  that 
drift — doing  nothing  but  pumping — he  comes  at  last  and 

says : 

"  No.  1  is  free  from  water." 

He  thought  he  had  got  rid  of  the  water,  but  he  had  not. 
He  congratulated  them  too  soon.     That  was  April  llth. 
On  May  7th  he  writes : 

"  Increase  of  water  referred  to  yesterday  still  continues,  but  I  have  no  fears 
of  being  flooded."  • 

May  16 : 

"  Water  about  as  last  reported." 

May  26 : 

"Quite  an  increase  of  water." 

June  3 : 

"  Last  ni^ht,  about  midnight,  the  irons  on  one  end  of  our  pitman  rod  broke, 
which  renders  our  pumps  useless  until  repaired,  which  will  not  be  before  to- 
morrow morning.     Consequently,  our  drifts^are  filling  with  water,  but  , 
not  apprehend  any  serious  damage  to  them." 

June  4 : 

'Started  pump  this  morning  at  7  o'clock." 


920 


June  9: 


"  The  pump  is  laid  up  to-day,  owing  to  the  breaking  of  some  of  the  upper 
gearing  last  night." 

June  10 : 

"At  shaft  No.  1  pumping  machinery  is  very  much  demoralized.  The  very 
best  that  we  can  do,  it  will  probably  require  ten  or  twelve  days  before  we 
can  regain  the  ends  of  our  drifts  and  resume  work.  I  regret  this  very  much, 
but  do  not  see  any  way  by  which  this  accident  could  have  been  foreseen  or 
avoided." 

June  14: 

"Depth  of  water,  150  feet." 

They  had  it  dry  before;  now  it  was  filling  up  again. 
June  16: 

"  Water  is  175  feet  in  depth,  and  slowly  rising." 

June  20 : 

"  Pump  started  last  evening  at  7  o'clock.  The  water  is  now  lowered  to  a 
depth  of  60  feet." 

They  put  in  so  many  more  pumps  that  they  could  master 
the  water  at  last. 

On  September  2  he  says : 

"The  water  is  wholly  under  control  of  the  pump." 

February  16 : 

"In  the  upraising  there  is  a  slight  increase  of  water  to-day,  somewhat  im- 
peding progress  of  work." 

Then  there  is  more  trouble  of  water;  but  I  will  read  no 
more.  This  man  Day,  I  must  remark,  was  discharged 
last  December,  because  the  bank  ring  lost  control  of  the 
mine,  and  a  new  set  of  trustees  came  in;  this  is  the  first 
time  we  have  been  enabled  to  get  at  any  of  the  mining 
company's  books.  The  new  superintendent  came  in  Jan- 
uary, and  he  writes  on  January  2,  1872,  this  year: 

"There  are  three  12-inch  plunger' pumps,  and  one  of  10  inches  in  service, 
and  the  fifth  one,  10  inches,  is  under  construction,  and  will  be  ready  to  put 
in  place  as  soon  as  needed.  We  are  raising  146,000  gallons  of  water  per 
twenty-four  hours." 

That  disposes  of  this  water  question.  I  will  comment 
on  it  no  further.  The  commissioners  went  out  there  to 
find  out  all  about  these  mines,  and  the  quantity  of  water; 
and  the  difficulties  of  pumping  it  out,  direct  and  indirect, 
was  one  of  the  principal  questions  to  be  decided.  But 
they  took  the  superintendent's  statements,  who  told  them 


921 

that  it  is  a  dry  country,  and  they  made  their  report,  based 
upon  the  statements  furnished  by  these  people. 

VENTILATION.  («) 

I  now  come  to  the  subject  of  ventilation,  and  a  very  im- 
portant one  it  is  in  mining.  I  cannot  go  into  the  evidence 
at  length  which  was  taken.  It  would  carry  me  too  far 
altogether.  "We  have  asked  every  witness  we  had  here 
about  ventilation,  and  I  believe  they — particularly  New- 
comb,  Eaymond,  and  Luckhardt — spoke  about  the  great 
importance  of  ventilation  in  mines,  and  what  it  accom- 
plishes. In  this  connection  I  will  read  a  short  extract,  one 
from  the  latest  number  of  the  "American  Engineering  and 
Mining  Journal,"  which  came  to-day,  in  which  are  a  few 
remarks  in  regard  to  the  commissioners'  report.  It  says: 

"  Our  view  is  confirmed  by  an  exceedingly  elaborate  and  able  treatise  on 
the  Comstock  vein,  its  mines,  and  their  intersection  by  the  proposed  deep 
tunnel,  which  has  recently  appeared  in  the  Berq-yeist  of  Cologne,  one  of  the 
leading  mining  journals  of  the  world.  The  author  is  Bergrath  Burkart,  who 
writes  with  all  the  published  works  on  the  subject  before  him,  and  draws 
conclusions  quite  favorable  to  the  tunnel.  His  criticisms  upon  the  report  of 
the  United  States  commission  are  rather  severe ;  he  blames  the  commission 
for  accepting  without  question  the  statements  of  the  mine  superintendents, 
and  shows  that  on  the  subject  of  mine  ventilation  these  gentlemen  have  made, 
and  the  commission  has  too  confidingly  adopted,  assertions  wholly  unfounded 
in  the  theory  or  practice  of  mining.  The  particular  proposition  which  Burk- 
art attacks  is  unfortunately  repeated  several  times  in  the  Report  and  Appen- 
dix, viz:  that  when  the  tunnel  is  done,  and  tne  shafts  connected  with  it,  the 
air-current  will  go  straight  up  the  shafts;  and  that  it  will  be  impracticable 
to  carry  air  to  the  headings  where  men  are  at  work.  Of  course  this  state- 
ment is  ridiculous;  and  we  are  mortified  that  a  foreign  critic  should  find  it  in 
an  official  and  professional  document.  The  superintendents  of  the  Comstock 
mines  are  in  many  instances  agreeable  gentlemen,  good  business  _men,  and 
excellent  mechanics  and  engineers  so  far  as  their  experience  goes.  It  is  their 
boast  that  none  of  them  are  "scientific  theorists;  "  and  no  doubt  their  prac- 
tical skill  is  better  than  mere  theory  for  many  purposes.  But  what  they 
lack,  though  it  may  surprise  them  to  hear  it,  is  not  theory,  but  practice.  If 
they  had  had  any  real  practical  experience  in  deep  mining  and  the  natural 
ventilation  of  mines,  they  would  not  have  talked  such  rubbish  to  the  com- 
mission on  that  subject.  When  a  man  pronounces  his  particular  locality  to 
be  "an  anomaly;"  says  you  can't  tell  which  way  the  air  will  go  in  his  mine; 
that  a  deep  tunnel  connecting  the  bottom  of  his  mine  with  daylight,  on  a  level 
two  thousand  feet  below  the  top,  will  give  him  no  better  ventilation  than  a 
level  connecting  the  bottoms  of  two  shafts,  or  that  the  natural  air-current 
developed  by  such  an  enormous  difference  in  altitude  and  temperature  can- 
not be  conducted  wherever  it  is  wanted  throughout  the  mine,  he  is  really 
propounding  the  wildest  kind  of  theory,  and  what  he  needs  is  practice." 

(a)  See  Test.,  pp.  179,  199,  395,  624,  625,  700,  739,  749. 


322 

The  opinion  given  here  is  by  a  gentleman  who  must  be 
seventy  years  of  age,  for  he  is  mentioned  in  Ward's  book 
on  Mexico,  published  in  1827,  as  a  leading  mining  engi- 
neer in  Mexico,  and  who  "is  now  looked  upon  as  one  of  the 
great  authorities  of  Germany  on  mining  questions.  This 
gentleman  has  taken  a  great  interest  in  the  mines  of  the 
Cornstock  lode  and  a  deep  tunnel,  and  he  has  managed  to 
obtain  all  the  documents  and  all  the  publications  on  the 
subject.  I  do  really  believe  that  he  is  more  familiar  to- 
day with  that  lode  and  all  its  general  details  than  almost 
any  other  man,  even  out  in  that  country  where  these  mines 
are  located.  About  the  great  improvement  in  ventilation  of 
the  mines  there  can  be  no  question :  (a)  after  the  tunnel  is 
completed,  connecting  with  shafts  from  the  surface  2,000 
feet  in  depth,  there  will  be  a  draft  of  air  through  there 
that  will  bring  a  welcome  supply  to  the  miners  who  are 
compelled  to  delve  and  labor  for  eight  or  ten  hours  every 
day  in  that  stagnant  atmosphere.  We  have  reports  here 
of  a  commission  appointed  by  the  English  Parliament,  and 
it  is  stated  that  forty-two  per  cent,  of  the  miners  die  of 
miners'  consumption;  that  they  don't  find  it  out  that  they 
are  becoming  consumptive  until  they  leave  the  mines. 
They  feel  unwell,  and  go  off  somewhere  to  die.  It  is 
highly  desirable  to  have  the  thorough  ventilation  which 
this  tunnel  will  make  possible. 

In  regard  to  the  saving  of  timbers,  we  find,  according  to 
the  testimony,  there  are  16,000,000  feet  of  lumber  used  in 
that  lode  every  year.  It  will  last  two  or  three  years  with 
poor  ventilation,  and  probably  ten  years  on  the  average 
with  good  ventilation.  That  would  make  an  annual  saving 
of  several  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

TEMPERATURE,  (b) 

The  question  of  temperature  is  one  of  the  great  ques- 
tions connected  with  ventilation,     According  to  the  State- 
fa)  See  Test.,  pp.  168, 169, 170, 171, 199,  624,  625. 
(6)  See  Test.,  pp.  169, 170,  171,  172,  627. 


923 

ments  we  have  here,  the  heat  in  these  mines  is  from  85° 
to  110°,  and  nobody  will  pretend  to  say  that  men  can  do 
as  much  work  in  a  temperature  of  even  95°  as  they  can  at 
70°.  To  put  the  lowest  estimate  upon  it,  twenty-five  per 
cent,  in  the  cost  of  labor  will  be  saved  by  having  those 
mines  thoroughly  ventilated,  over  what  can  be  done  with 
the  present  system  of  ventilation,  where  the  thermometer 
rises  to  100°  and  110°;  and  when  they  go  down  deeper  it 
will  be  still  higher.  One  of  the  most  important  things 
this  tunnel  will  do  is  this:  it  will  allow  the  sinking  of  a 
great  number  of  shafts,  (a)  which,  as  I  have  shown  in  this 
question  of  drainage,  can  only  be  made  under  the  present 
system  at  an  enormous  expense.  They  were  about  four 
years  and  a  half  sinking  the  shaft  of  the  Ophir  mine, 
whereas  if  they  had  had  a  bore-hole  down  to  the  tunnel 
they  could  have  put  their  shaft  down  in  a  year.  If  they 
had  these  shafts  all  in,  they  could  connect  them  at  each 
level,  and  have  the  most  perfect  system  of  ventilation  pos- 
sible. We  have  the  testimony  of  these  witnesses  about  the 
reduction  of  temperature  on  completion  of  the  tunnel  and 
the  sinking  of  these  shafts.  General  Foster  states,  on  page 
72,  some  facts  in  relation  to  this.  I  asked  him: 

"Should  you  think  they  could  do  two-thirds  as  much  work  with  this  high 
temperature  as  with  the  lower  one? 

"A.  I  don't  think  they  would  do  half  as  much." 

On  page  173  we  have  Dr.  !N"ewcomb's  testimony.  I 
asked  him : 

"  Would  you  consider  that  the  working  capacity  of  the  men  employed  ia 
the  mines  below  the  1,000-foot  level  would  be  increased  twenty-five  per  cent? 

"  A.  To  what  other  depth? 

"Q.  To  the  tunnel  level;  from  1,000  to  2,000  feet? 

"A.  Well,  I  should  think  it  would.  The  lower  a  level  the  greater  the 
heat,  and  the  more  difficult  to  work  in  the  mines." 

The  other  witnesses  were  asked  a  great  number  of  ques- 
tions on  this  subject,  and  they  all  agreed  in  their  answers.  (6) 

General  BANKS.  Th'ere  is  no  question  about  that. 

Mr.  SUTRO.  These  gentlemen  have  disputed  this  all  the 
time.  They  make  the  wildest  kind  of  arguments  against 

(a)  See  Test.,  pp.  42,  43,  44, 198,  438,  439, 440,  443. 

(b)  See  Test.,  pp.  72,  74, 172, 173,  392,  393,  394,  395,  627,  699,  700,  703,  704, 


924 

it.  Mr.  Raymond  and  Mr.  Luckhardt,  and  in  fact  all, 
agree  there  will  be  an  increase  of  twenty-five  per  cent,  in 
the  capacity  of  labor.  All  these  shafts  could  be  made, 
and  connections  therefrom,  with  the  greatest  facility.  It 
becomes  a  very  important  question,  when  you  employ  3,000 
miners  at  $4  each  a  day,  ($12,000  a  day.)  If  you  can  save 
twenty-five  per  cent,  of  that  sum,  or  $3,000  a"  day,  you 
save  over  $1,000,000  a  year.  That  the  commissioners  have 
not  taken  into  account  at  all. 

TRANSPORTATION,    (a) 

I  now  come  to  transportation.  Instead  of  hoisting  out 
this  ore  as  it  is  done  now,  to  the  top  of  the  ground,  then 
carrying  it  on  this  railroad  down  to  the  mills,  (b)  the  ore  may 
be  lowered  down  at  a  cost  of  ten  cents  a  ton,  and  it  can  be 
carried  out  on  the  railroad  for  from  eight  to  ten  cents  a 
ton  for  the  whole  distance  by  stationary  engines  at  the 
mouth  of  the  tunnel,  running  cars  in  and  out  by  means  of 
a  wire  rope  —  ten  cents  a  ton  delivered  at  the  mills  at  the 
mouth  of  the  tunnel,  (c) 

General  BANKS.  What  does  it  cost  now? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  It  costs,  according  to  the  statements  of  these 
superintendents  - 

General  BANKS.  What  do  you  think  it  costs  ? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  It  costs  $1  a  ton  to  raise  it  out,  and  waste 
rock  costs  $2,  or  $3,  or  $4  a  ton,  in  mines  where  no  ore 
is  taken  out.  It  costs  more  a  ton  to  take  out  a  small 
quantity  than  it  does  to  take  a  large  quantity.  Then 
it  costs  from  $1  50  to  $2  50  a  ton  to  transport  it  to  the 
mills  on  the  river,  (d)  Where  we  propose  to  erect  the 
mills  it  will  cost  for  transportation,  according  to  the  state- 
ments of  several  of  the  witnesses,  twentj^-five  cents  a  ton. 
I  put  it  at  about  ten  cents  a  ton.  According  to  these  state- 
ments, hoisting  and  transportation  now  cost  from  $2  to 


(a)  See  Test,  pp.  20,  21,  22,  24,  26,  202,  457,  458,  663,  704,  705. 
(6)  See  Test,  pp.  158,  309. 

(c)  See  Test.,  p.  309. 

(d)  See  Test.,  p.  158. 


925 

$2  50  a  ton,  but  I  know  it  certainly  costs  from  $3  to  $4. 
General  Dodge  states  it  costs,  on  ordinary  railroads,  1 J  cents 
per  ton  a  mile.  We  have  to  transport  it  over  four  or  five 
miles  of  tunnel.  At  five  miles  the  cost  would  be  6J  cents. 
Call  it  10  cents  to  carry  it  out,  and  5  cents  to  lower  it  to 
the  cars.  One  of  the  commissioners  gives  the  cost  at  about 
35  cents.  It  is  a  known  fact,  in  all  the  reports  we  have 
here  on  mines  in  Europe,  that  stationary  engines,  with 
wire  ropes  attached,  for  a  distance  of  from  one  to  five 
miles,  are  the  cheapest  appliances  that  can  be  used.  It 
is  cheaper  than  rolling  stock  and  locomotives  on  railroads. 
It  certainly  would  not  cost  any  more  than  25  cents  under 
any  circumstances.  What  probably  costs  them  now  from 
$3  to  $4  a  ton,  if  the  whole  truth  were  known,  and  the  sav- 
ing made,  would  amount  tp  at  least  $3,000  a  day;  that  is, 
on  the  present  yield,  without  counting  any  increased  pro- 
duction. 

REDUCTION   OF   ORES. 

I  will  now  refer  to  the  reduction  of  these  ores.  At  pres- 
ent they  are  taken  to  little  mills  all  along  these  ravines, 
and  down  the  river  to  mills,  which  are  scattered  all  over 
the  country,  where  they  have  no  chance  for  concentrating 
independently  of  the  difficulties  from  lack  of  water,  which 
by  themselves  would  be  insurmountable.  They  lose  35 
per  cent.,  as  I  have  shown  already  by  testimony  which  can- 
not be  questioned,  although  these  people  try  to  show  that 
the}7  have  taken  out  as  high  as  90  per  cent.  It  is  not  cor- 
rect, and  is  shown  to  be  impossible. 

An  important  question  connected  with  this  tunnel  and 
with  the  wholo  mining  interest  is  the  concentration  of  the 
ores,  (a)  We  all  know  that  the  metallic  parts  contained  in 
this  ore  are  of  greater  specific  gravity  than  the  vein  mat- 
ter itself,  whether  it  be  limestone,  or  quartz,  or  any  other 
gangue;  and  consequently,  by  allowing  the  pulp  after  it  is 
reduced,  to  pass  over  concentrating  tables,  of  which  there  ia 

(a)  See  Test.,  pp.  153,  248,  628,  708,  709. 


926 

'a  great  variety  in  use  in  Europe,  we  can  get  rid,  in  ten  tons 
of  ore,  of  nine  tons  of  waste,  and  retain  one  ton,  which  con- 
tains almost  the  whole  value,  (a) 

LARGE  ADDITIONAL  YIELD. 

Now,  I  mean  to  say  this,  provided  there  are  concentrat- 
ing works  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  for  the  erection  of 
which  extraordinary  facilities  exist,  that,  after  the  ore  is 
amalgamated,  these  tailings  maybe  run  over  concentrating 
tables,  and  nine  tons  out  often  got  rid  of,  which  leaves  us 
one  ton  to  be  reduced;  we  can  put  that  one  ton  in  a  chlori- 
dizing  Stetefeldt  furnace,  and  get  90  per  cent,  out  of  those 
concentrations.  In  fact,  the  figures  given  by  Mr.  Luekhardt, 
which  are  quite  conclusive,  show  that,  instead  of  getting  65 
per  cent,  out  of  these  ores,  we  can  get  out  90  per  cent, 
making  full  allowance  for  loss  in  concentration.  Conse- 
quently, we  save  25  per  cent  above  the  present  yield.  The 
value  of  the  ore  extracted  is  $23,000,000  per  annum,  (/;) 
which  yields  $15,000,000;  the  additional  25  per  cent,  would 
amount  to  $5,750,000.  (c)  We  get  that  out  in  addition  to 
what  is  taken  out  now.  The  reason  why  we  can  do  that, 
and  they  cannot  at  their  present  mills,  is  this  :  In  order  to 
establish  those  concentrating  works,  you  have  to  have,  in 
the  first  place,  an  abundance  of  water.,  which  the  tunnel  will  fur- 
nish, (d)  and  a  large  space  adapted  to  that  purpose.  At  the 
mouth  of  the  tunnel  there  are  hundreds  of  acres  of  the  very 
best  land,  sloping  down  towards  the  river  gradually — a  grad- 
ual decline  of  155  feet,  in  a  distance  of  a  mile  and  a  half.  It 
gives  the  natural  slope  necessary  to  make  these  concentrat- 
ing works  self-acting.*  The  pulp,  by  means  of  the  water,  will 
pass  from  one  machine  to  another,  and  it  does  not  require 
the  labor  of  hands  at  all  hardly.  It  does  its  own  work, 
and  the  worthless  part  of  the  rock,  the  nine  toils  out  of  ten, 
passes  off,  and  we  retain  only  one ;  and  in  that  manner  we 
can  get  some  90  per  cent,  out  of  the  ore. 

(a)  See  Test.,  pp*  205,  206,  207,  214,  629,  70S,  709. 

(6)  See  Test,,  p.  160. 

fe)  See  Test.,  p.  161. 

(d)  See  Test.,  pp.  628,  629,  710. 


927 


GREAT  WATER  POWER  WITHOUT  ANY  DAM. 

The  commissioners  have  stated  in  their  report,  that 
there  must  be  a  large  dam  constructed  on  the  river,  in 
order  to  secure  a  water  power.  We  have  shown  most 
conclusively,  by  several  of  the  witnesses,  that  we  can  re- 
duce the  ore  at  $5  a  ton,  and  that  the  whole  difference 
between  water  and  steam  power  is  only  $1  on  a  ton,  and 
the  saving,  by  means  of  concentration  and  otherwise,  will 
probably  average  §15.  General  Wright  states  that  we 
would  get  86,445  (a)  horse  power,  if  a  large  dam  be  con- 
structed on  the  river;  but  if  there  is  no  dam  at  all  con- 
structed, if  the  water  is  taken  out  at  that  same  point,  we 
get  100  feet  of  fall  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel;  and  if 
reservoirs  are  provided  in  the  mountains,  to  store  up  the 
water  accumulated  from  rain  and  winter  snows,  to  be  used 
in  summer  time,  we  would  still  get  33,900  horse  power,  as 
deduced  from  the  above  figures,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
tunnel;  and  all  that  is  required  at  the  present  rate  of  pro- 
duction is  2,000  horse  power;  that  is,  to  reduce  1,000  tons 
a  day.  That  is  all  that  is  required;  yet  we  would  get 
33,900  horse  power,  even  if  we-  make  no  dam  at  all. 

'Mr.  Sunderland  says  the  commissioners  state,  that  if 
that  dam  is  not  made  the  tunnel  will  be  of  no  value.  That 
statement  is  founded  upon  the  reports  furnished  by  the 
superintendents,  which  we  have  already  shown  are  not 
correct.  We  have  the  testimony  of  two  of  the  witnesses, 
both  Raymond  and  Luckhardt,  that  the  tunnel  itself  will  fur- 
nish water  for  all  these  concentrating  purposes,  (b)  You  will 
acquire  a  large  quantity  of  water  by  draining  six  or  seven 
or  eight  square  miles  of  country,  at  a  depth  under  Mount 
Davidson  of  3,600  feet.  It  will  be  quite  sufficient  for  all 
concentrating  operations.  That  water  is  absolutely  neces- 
sary, (c)  and  they  cannot  obtain  it  in  the  canons,  (d)  while 
at  the  present  mills  on  the  river  they  cannot  secure  the 

(a)  See  Test.,  pp.  380,  381,  382.          (c)  See  Test.,  pp.  153,  384,  628. 
(6;  See  Test.,  pp.  628,  629,  710.         (d)  See  Test,  P.  154. 


928 

proper  fall,  where  they  hare  only  8  or  10  feet  of  slope,  and 
are  crowded  in  near  the  banks  of  the  river,  (a)  We  have  at 
the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  155  feet  of  fall.  (6)  We  can  erect 
the  largest  kind  of  concentrating  works,  (c)  as  I  have 
stated,  and  concentrating  can  be  done  there,  according 
to  Mr.  Luckhardt's  statement,  at  75  cents  a  ton.  (d) 

Mr.  WALDRON.  Then  your  theory  is,  that  the  tunnel 
will  furnish  all  the  water  required  for  concentrating,  but 
not  for  power  ? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Yes,  sir.  We  mean  to  use  coal  or  wood  (e)  for 
generating  power,  and  we  can  mill  for  $5  a  ton  by  steam 
power  where  they  are  paying  $12  a  ton  now.  We  can  get  coal 
there,  by  constructing  35  miles  of  railroad,  at  $12  a  ton.  (/) 
So  that  all  the  elaborate  testimony  in  regard  to  that  dam, 
and  the  removal  of  the  present  mills  on  the  river,  amounts 
to  nothing.  We  do  not  want  any  dam.  We  do  not  require 
any  dam  there.  We  do  not  interfere  with  other  people's 
mills.  We  do  not  have  any  interference  in  any  shape  at  all. 
We  can  pay  65  per  cent,  for  the  ore  at  the  mine,  without  any 
charge  for  milling  whatever;  (g)  for  we  can  go  to  work  and 
take  out  90  per  cent,  of  the  ore  at  the  mouth  of  the  tun- 
nel, using  the  water  it  furnishes,  and  driving  our  mills  by 
steam  power.  That  would  make  a  clear  saving  to  the 
mining  companies  of  $12  on  each  ton,  or  $12,000  per  day, 
or  $4,380,000  per  annum,  and,  deducting  the  only  expense 
they  would  be  under — that  is,  the  royalty — it  would  still 
leave  them  a  clear  saving  of  $3,680,000  per  year,  (h) 

EXPLORATION  OF  THE  COUNTRY. 

Another  important  consideration  in  the  construction  of 
the  tunnel  is  the  exploration  of  the  country  through  which 
it  will  pass.  It  will  cut  a  number  of  lodes  nearly  at  right  an- 

a)  See  Test.,  pp.  154, 156,  383, 384. 
6)  See  Test.,  pp.  155,  156,  157. 
c)  See  Test.,  p.  630. 
(d)  See  Test.,  p.  769. 

See  Test,  pp.  187,  188, 189. 
See  Test,  pp.  630,  670,  713,  773,  774,  775. 
See  Test.,  pp.  633,  634,  710,  712. 
(h)  See  Test.,  pp.  634,  711. 


929 

gles  before  it  reaches  the  Comstock  lode,  (a)  as  we  find  it 
stated  in  the  commissioner's  report.  That  these  veins  of  ore 
are  of  considerable  value  they  do  not  doubt.  They  contain 
immense  masses  of  low-grade  ores,  which  can  be  reduced  at 
the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  with  advantage  and  profit,  and  will 
largely  increase  the  production  of  bullion  in  that  section. 
As  a  question  of  science, 'as  a  question  of  geology,  of  cut- 
ting at  that  depth  through  a  section  of  country  composed 
of  volcanic  rocks  of  three  different  geological  ages,  it  is  of 
the  highest  value.  Our  knowledge  of  geology  is  largely  de- 
rived from  superficial  observations,  and  is  to  a  great  extent 
supposititious.  Here  we  make  an  exact  examination  of  the 
geological  formation  of  that  mountain,  going  through  it  at 
right  angles,  which  will  be  of  immense  value  geologically, 
and  contribute  largely  to  our  knowledge  on  the  subject. 

WATER-PRESSURE  ENGINES.  (6) 

To  recur  now  to  the  value  of  this  tunnel,  as  far  as  min- 
ing is  concerned,  it  gives  us  a  new  basis  of  operations  2,000 
feet  below  the  present  surface  of  much  greater  advantage 
than  exists  commencing  at  the  original  surface,  (c)  In  this 
connection  I  must  refer  to  this  question  of  water  again, 
and  will  state  that  this  very  water  that  is  found  to  exist  in 
those  mines,  which  gives  so  much  trouble  to  get  out,  can  be 
collected  within  the  mines;  and  since  a  large  amount  of  that 
occurs  within  the  first,  500  or  600  feet  from  the  surface,  (d) 
it  can  be  carried  down  in  pipes  to  the  tunnel  level,  1,000  or 
1,500  feet  below  the  point  where  it  is  collected,  which  gives 
a  column  of  water  capable  of  operating  a  vast  amount  of 
machinery  by  means  of  water-pressure  or  other  hydraulic 
engines.  We  have  the  evidence  here  that  we  get  1,400 
horse  power,  and  in  that  way  we  get  power  to  go  down 
below  the  tunnel  level  at  least  2,000  feet,  or  4,000  feet 
from  the  surface. 


a)  See  Test.,  p.  651. 

ft  See  Test.,  pp.  215,  216,  217,  218,  389,  390,  458,  459,  618,  649,  696. 
c)  See  Test.,  pp.  216,  217,  218,  219,  449,  450,  $18,  676,  698,  699. 
(d)  See  Test.,  p.  216. 

59 


930 


WE  WILL  REACH  GREATER  DEPTH  THAN  HAS  EVER  BEEN  REACHED 

BEFORE. 

We  turn  this  very  water,  which  is  now  of  immense  trou- 
ble in  the  mines,  to  account;  we  utilize  it  to  go  down  be- 
low the  tunnel  level.  Now,  what  do  we  attain?  Why,  we 
get  down  below  the  tunnel  level  2,000  or  3,000  feet.  It 
allows  us  to  go  down  into  the  bowels  of  the  earth  5,000 
feet,  while  the  deepest  hole  dug  by  man  since  the  world 
has  existed  is  only  2,700  feet  deep;  (a)  and  it  remains  for  the 
youngest  nation  on  earth  to  contribute  more  to  science  and 
geology,  by  giving  opportunities  of  studying  the  formation 
of  mineral  veins  at  greater  depth,  than  has  ever  been  ac- 
complished by  any  other  nation  in  the  world.  We  reach 
down  a  mile  into  the  earth.  If  we  show  practically  what 
scientific  men  theoretically  know  to  be  the  case,  that  these 
veins  reach  down  indefinitely,  it  will  give  a  value  to  our 
mineral  lands  which  we  cannot  compute.  It  is  beyond  all 
calculation,  the  increased  value  it  will  give  to  our  mineral 
domain.  It  will  give  confidence  to  people.  It  will  give 
confidence  in  mining  operations.  I  have  already  shown 
what  an  immense  saving  the  tunnel  will  make  in  all  these 
different  manipulations  of  mining.  It  will  make  a  great 
highway  under  the  mountain.  It  will  be  a  little  under- 
ground world  by  itself  in  the  course  of  time.  We  are 
asking  aid  from  the  Government  now  to  help  us  make  four 
miles  of  that  tunnel,  which  will  result  in  200  miles  of 
tunnel.  After  that  four  miles  is  completed,  we  have  a 
main  artery,  as  it  were,  and  we  can  spread  out  and  drift 
under  that  mountain,  and  open  up  new  avenues  of  explora- 
tion everywhere.  We  shall  have  streets  and  avenues  be- 
neath that  mountain.  We  may  employ  20,000  people  then. 
All  the  capital  required  will  be  bone  and  sinew,  (b) 

General  BANKS.  Is  that  on  one  lode? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  On  that  and  others.     There  will  be  ramifi- 
cations of  drifts  on  that  lode  and  also  on  other  lodes  under 

(a)  See  Test.,  p.  312.  (6)  See  Test.,  pp.  213,  371,  373. 


931 

that  mountain,  (a)  and  it  will  take  hundreds  of  miles  of 
streets  and  avenues  to  reach  them  all. 

General  BANKS.  You  will  want  no  further  aid  from  the 
Government  at  all? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  No  further  aid  at  all. 

General  BANKS.  Why  will  you  not  want  more  aid? 

Mr.  SUTRO.  Because,  after  we  make  that  four  milt-;  of 
tunnel  we  reach  the  mines,  and  have  an  income  then  that 
will  make  it  self-sustaining,  and  we  can  run  drifts  in  every 
direction,  and  the  loan  we  ask  from  the  Government  will 
be  repaid  in  two  or  three  years  after  the  main  tunnel  is 
completed.  We  shall  continue  running  these  tunnels  and 
drifts  all  under  that  mountain  in  every  direction.  There 
can  he  no  question  about  it. 

IMMENSE  SAVING  TO  THE  MINING  COMPANIES. 

The  royalty  these  people  will  pay,  which  is  a  perfect  trifle 
to  them  compared  to  the  benefits  they  derive,  will  yield  us 
a  large  revenue.  We  have  shown  here  in  this  testimony, 
by  several  of  the  witnesses,  that  not  over  \  (one  witness 
said  only  J)  (6)  of  the  mines  are  producing,  and  only  £, 
therefore,  will  have  to  pay  any  royalty  to  the  tunnel,  (c) 
The  others  will  get  the  benefit  for  nothing,  though  their 
mines  will  be  drained  and  ventilated.  We  do  not  ask  a 
single  cent  of  contribution  to  the  tunnel  compnny  until 
a  mine  finds  ore  and  is  able  to  pay.  Probably  only  fa 
of  what  they  save  will  be  contributed  to  the  tunnel 
company;  (d)  and  that  is  under  the  contracts  and  under  the 
law  of  Congress.  Here  is  where  the  commissioners  have 
made  their  mistake.  They  give  a  statement  of  the  cost, 
which  does  not  make  a  fair  comparison;  they  have  left 
out  the  most  important  facts,  (e)  What  they  do  state  they 
give  upon  the  basis  of  what  these  superintendents  fur- 

(o)  See  Test,,  p.  734. 
(6)  See  Test.,  pp.  367,  368. 

(e)  Soe  Test.,  pp.  40,  41,  44,  45,  46,  47,  48,  213,  22 1,  22'  22- -,  362,  363, 
364,  365,  369,  371,  556. 

(d)  See  Test,,  pp.  159,  203,  204,  225,  226. 

(e)  See  Te«t.,  pp.  209,  227. 


nish  thorn;  the  people  who  are  the  enemies  of  this  great 
work,  and  whose  only  aim  is  to  break  it  up  if  they  can, 
and  get  hold  of  it  themselves.  Xow,  I  want  to  giye  a 
lew  figures  to  show  the  diiierenee  between  the  state- 
ments which  the  commissioners  have  furnished  and  those 
which  have  been  elieited  by  the  testimony.  I  will  show 
ho\v  entirely  wrong  and  incomplete  those  statements  are. 
According  to  the  commissioners'  estimate  it  would  cost 
about  as  nmeh  to  work  by  the  tunnel,  and  according  to 
one  of  their  ealeulations  would  cost  more,  than  what  it 
costs  by  the  present  method.  I  have  taken  their  figures 
as  far  as  given,  for  it  is  quite  unnecessary  to  question  them 
in  this  calculation.  I  have  simply  added  what  they  left 
out;  what  they  did  not  bring  into  account:  and  they  are 
the  most  important  items.  But  these  figures  will  tell  their 
own  story;  they  cannot  be  doubted,  for  they  are  based 
upon  the  testimony  furnished  by  the  commissioners  them- 
selves upon  their  examination,  and  that  of  other  witnesses. 
I  will  now  read  this  comparative  statement,  which  most 
conclusively  shows  an  annual  saving  by  the  mining  com- 
panies of  $9,891,151,  after  paying  the  royalty  and  all  other 
expenses. 

FAIR  COMPARATIVE  STATEMENT. 

Cost  of  working  by  the  present  method.     Taking  the  commis- 
sioners' figures,  (a)  and  adding  what  they  left  out. 

Hoisting  365,600  tons  of  pay  ore,  at  0.51.19 

cents—- $187,077 

Transportation  of  same  to  mills,  at  81.50 548,400 

Pumping  for  last  year  (commissioners'  esti- 
mate)  - 124,674 

Hoisting  and  lowering  8,000  miners,  at  8  cents 

each  way,  1(3  cents - 175,000 

To  this  should  be  added: 

Hoisting  365,000  tons  waste  rock,  at  §2  (b) 731/JOO 

(a)  See  Commissioners'  Report,  p.  9. 

(6)  See  Test,,  pp.  8,  9,  10,  11,  12,  13,  209,  465,  466. 


Indirect  cost  of  pumping  at  the  16  mines  now 
being  worked,  including  wear  of  machinery 
and  additions,  $3,000  per  month $456,000 

Wages  of  3,000  miners,  at  $4  per  day, 

$12,000  (a) 4,380,000 

Consumption  of  timber,  16,000,000  feet  per 

mmum,  $25  (6) . 400,000 

Cost  of  milling  365,000  tons  of  ore,  $10.50  (c)-       3,838,800 

Loss  by  present  method  of  reduction,  35  per 

cent,  on  $23,000,000,  assay  value  (d) 8,050,000 

Total - - $18,891,151 

Cost  of  working  by  tJie  Sutro  tunnel.     Taking  the  commissioners' 
figures,  (e)  and  adding  what  they  left  out. 

Lowering  365,600  tons  pay  ore,  at  10  cents—  $36,560 
Transportation  of  same,  average  of  5  miles, 

50  cents 182,800 

Transportation  of  3,000  miners,  at  20  cents, 

$600  per  day -—  210,000 

Royalty  on  365,000  tons,  at  $2—- 731,000 

To  this  should  be  added: 

Lowering  365,600  tons  waste,  at  10  cents  (/)--  36,560 

Transportation    of   the    same,    5    miles,    50 

cents  (g) 182,800 

Wages  2,250  miners,  at  $4=$9,000  per  day-        3,285,000 
(N.  B.  2,250  miners,  with  the  thermome- 
ter  at  70°,  will  do  as  much  work  as 
3,000  at  90°.     Capacity  increased   25 
per  cent.)  (h) 
Consumption  of  timber  per  annum,  8,000,000 

(a)  See  Test.  pp.  72  74,  172,  173,  392,  393,  394,  395, 627, 699,  700,  703,  704. 
(6)  See  Test.,  pp.37,  38,  70,  71,  369. 

(c)  See  Test.,  pp.  58,  157, 158. 

(d)  See  Test.,  pp.  159, 160,  256,  311,  354,  630,  631,  632,  706,  707,  708,  754. 

(e)  See  Commissioners'  Report,  p.  10. 

(/)  See  Test.,  pp.  20,  24,  25,  202,  620,  621,  622. 

(?)  See  Test.,  pp.  20,  21.22,  2-1,  2(5,  202,  457,  458,  663,  704,  705. 

(A)  See  Test.,  pp.  72,  74, 172, 173, 392,  393, 394,  395,  627, 699,  700,  703,  704. 


934 

feet,  $25,  (8,000,000  saved  by  good  ventila- 
tion (a) $200,000 

Cost  of  milling  at  mouth  of  tunnel  365,600  tons, 
at  $5  (b) 1,828,000 

Loss  at  mouth  of  tunnel  in  reducing  and  con- 
centrating ores,  10  per  cent,  on  $23,000,000. 
(Assay  value.)  (c)— 2,300,000 

Cost  of  concentrating,  365,600,  at  75  cents  (d).          274,200 

Cost  of  roasting  and  working  concentrations, 

36,560  tons,  at  $8  (e) 232,480 


$9,499,400 
Annual  saving  by  means  of  the  tunnel,  after 

paying  royalty  and  all  other  expenses 9,391,751 


$18,891,151 

That  is  a  fair  comparison.  The  commissioners  say  it 
will  cost  more  to  work  by  the  proposed  method.  What  I 
have  stated  here  is  taken  from  the  testimony.  That  is 
clear;  and  when  the  people  out  there  say  they  are  lighting 
against  this  royalty  to  the  tunnel  company,  they  do  not 
give  their  true  motives,  for  they  still  save  over  $9,000,000  per 
annum.  It  is  the  Bank  of  California  that  opposes  us,  be- 
cause if  we  get  mills  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  they  can- 
not get  the  tailings  they  keep  now,  and  these  enormous 
charges  for  reducing  the  ore.  It  is  the  Bank  of  Califor- 
nia and  its  satellites,  I  repeat,  who  are  fighting  this  great 
enterprise.  (/)  Any  one  who  examines  my  statement  will 
see  I  am  correct;  common  sense  will  teach  us  that  it  is  so. 

THE  SUTRO  TUNNEL  COMPANY. 

But  I  will  drop  these  figures  now,  and  leave  them  to  the 
examination  of  thinking  men.  Mr.  Sunderland  has  made 

(a)  See  Test.,  pp.  37,  38,  70,  71,  369. 

(6)  See  Test.,  pp.  157,  158,  159,  634,  711,  712.  769. 

(c)  See  Test.,  pp.  161,  628,  708,  709. 

(d)  See  Test.,  p.  769. 

(e)  See  Test,  p.  736. 

(/)  See  Test.,  pp.  164,  165,  177,  355,  356. 


935 

a  motion  to  admit  Mr.  Foster's  statement  in  relation  to 
the  Sutro  Tunnel  Company.  We  never  objected  to  its 
admission  at  all.  General  Foster  came  back  here  at  the 
request  of  the  attorney  of  the  Bank  of  California  from  New 
York  voluntarily,  without  any  orders  from  the  Secretary  of 
War,  or  any  of  his  superior  officers,  to  testify  a  second  time; 
and  he  had  a  paper  which  he  would  not  show  to  anybody. 
We  learned  it  was  a  statement  in  relation  to  the  Sutro 
Tunnel  Company.  It  is  stated  that  our  stock  is  unassess- 
able.  I  have  said  in  the  course  of  my  remarks  that  these 
mining  companies  levy  assessments  on  their  stock,  and 
make  the  holders  pay  up  for  what  is  spent  in  milling  and 
other  manipulations.  We  did  not  want  to  start  out  on 
any  such  basis.  We  wanted  to  protect  the  miners  and 
laboring  men  who  put  their  money  in  the  company.  We 
put  our  stock  at  $10  a  share,  so  that  these  men  should 
have  a  chance  to  buy  it;  and  made  it  unassessable,  so  they 
should  not  be  "froze  out,"  as  this  game  is  called.  The 
attorney  of  the  Bank  of  California  finds  fault  with  this 
arrangement,  which  is  intended  to  protect  all  the  stockhold- 
ers. Then  he  states  that  §7,000,000  of  stock  have  already 
been  disposed  of,  whereas  only  §5,000,000  remained  last 
year  in  the  hands  of  the  company.  Why,  gentlemen,  this 
California  Bank  has  been  fighting  us  for  six  years  in  this 
enterprise.  We  had  to  dispose  of  our  stock  at  a  sacrifice. 
It  is  the  history  of  every  large  undertaking.  It  is  the  his- 
tory of  every  railroad  company  that  a  part  of  its  stock  has 
gone  at  low  prices  in  order  to  interest  capitalists.  We 
have  gone  through  immense  difficulties,  and  in  getting  the 
first  money  we  had  to  sell  at  a  very  low  price;  yet  Mr. 
Sunderland  makes  out  that  this  is  a  very  bad  condition  of 
affairs.  I  think  it  is  quite  a  natural  condition  of  aftairs. 
I  have  stated  already  that  we  have  $1,450,000  secured, 
and  we  do  not  owe  a  single  dollar.  I  think  that  is  doing 
very  well  indeed.  We  are  giving  this  to  the  Government 
as  security.  Our  means  were  limited.  These  men  would 
not  permit  us  to  raise  money.  They  wanted  to  break  us 
up.  Now  they  turn  round  and  charge  us  with  poverty; 


936 

after  keeping  us  as  poor  as  it  was  in  their  power  to  keep  us, 
they  charge  us  with  not  having  spent  a  sufficient  amount 
of  money  heretofore.  But  we  are  spending  a  great  deal 
of  money  now,  as  is  shown  by  a  report  published  a  few 
days  ago  by  me  as  superintendent  of  the  works.  It  is  a 
report  embracing  the  three  months  just  past,  ^ and  gives 
the  figures  as  taken  from  the  books  of  the  company. 

THE  REPORT  SAYS : 

You  will  perceive  by  the  annexed  statements  that  the  expenditures  were — 

For  the  month  of  December,  1871 $28,821  04 

For  the  month  of  January,  1872 43,517  40 

For  the  month  of  February,  1872 50,490  41 

.     Or  a  total  for  the  three  months  of $122,828  85 

This  does  not  include  any  expenditures  incurred  by  the  San  Francisco  office. 

In  December  last  work  was  commenced  on  all  four  of  bur  shafts,  and  the 
same  has  been  prosecuted  since  with  due  energy  by  day  and  night.  On  the 
24th  of  this  month  the  progress  at  the  different  points  was  as  follows : 

Length  of  tunnel 2,801- feet. 

Depth  of  shaft  No.  1 120    " 

Depth  of  shaft  No.  2 282     " 

Depth  of  shaft  No.  3 147     " 

Depth  of  shaft  No.  4 120     ' 

The  slow  progress  of  shafts  Nos.  1  and  4  is  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that 
%  considerable  quantity  of  water  has  been  encountered,  and  that  the  pumping 
machinery  was  delayed  on  the  road.  Shaft  No.  2,  in  which  the  quantity  of 
water  was  small,  has  been  progressing  steadily  ever  since  its  first  commence- 
ment. 

In  December  last  a  contract  was  made  with  the  Diamond  Drill  Company  for 
the  use  of  diamond  drills  in  all  portions  of  the  works.  One  of  these  drills  has 
arrived  at  the  tunnel,  and  experiments  are  being  made  for  the  purpose  of  as- 
certaining the  best  mode  of  employing  it.  With  these  drills  it  is  confidently 
expected  that  the  monthly  advance  in  the  tunnel  will  be  250  feet,  and  that  of 
the  shafts  150  feet.  We  may  therefore  look  for  a  more  rapid  progress  as  soon 
as  these  are  in  full  operation,  which  we  hope  will  be  the  case  by  June  next,  (a) 

Temporary  steam  engines  and  buildings  have  been  erected  on  all  the  shafts; 
also  extra  boilers  and  steam  pumps  have  been  placed  in  operation,  all  of  suffi- 
cient capacity  to  reach  a  depth  of  500  to  800  feet.  After  that  depth  is  reach- 
ed machinery  of  much  larger  dimensions  will  be  required,  both  for  hoisting 
and  pumping. 

We  have  received  estimates  for  the  hoisting  machinery  from  four  of  the 
machine  works  at  San  Francisco,  the  lowest  bid  amounting  to  $65,000.  The 
cost  of  transportation  and  erection,  including  buildings,  will  probably  amount 
to  a  similar  sum. 

No  specifications  for  large  pumping  machinery  have  as  yet  been  submitted. 
They  will  be  made  out  shortly,  and  bids,  based  upon  them,  invited  from  the 
foundries.  A  rough  estimate  of  its  cost,  and  placing  the  same  in  running  order, 

(a)  See  Test.,  pp.  314,  315,  316,  317,  318,  319,  320,  328,  626,  627. 


937 

may  be  given  at  $200,000.  All  this  heavy  machinery  should  he  contracted 
for  within  the  next  sixty  days,  since  it  will  require  at  least  four  months  to 
construct  and  erect  the  same,  it  being  highly  desirable  for  the  rapid  prosecu- 
tion of  the  work  that  no  delay  should  occur  on  that  account. 

The  necessary  tools  for  a  first-class  machine  shop  at  the  mouth  of  the  tun- 
nel— such  as  lathes,  planing  machines,  drills,  &c. — have  arrival,  and  a  suitable 
building  and  steam  engine  have  been  erected. 

We  have  almost  completed  an  excellent  wagon  road,  commencing  at  the 
mouth  of  the  tunnel,  leading  over  the  first  summit,  at  an  elevation  of  1,350 
feet,  to  shaft  No.  2,  situated  in  a  ravine  just  beyond.  From  that  point  an  old 
road  to  Virginia  City  has  been  placed  in  repair. 

The  poles  for  a  telegraph  line  from  Dayton  to  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  and 
from  thence  to  th,e  four  shafts  and  Virginia  City,  have  been  placed  in  position, 
and  instruments  at  seven  different  stations  will  be  in  operation  before  long. 

We  have  erected  commodious  boarding  and  lodging  houses  for  the  accom- 
modation of  the  men  at  each  of  the  four  shafts;  also  a  new  one  of  much  larger 
dimensions  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel. 

The  number  of  men  employed  was: 

During  December 159  men. 

During  January 231    " 

During  February 326    " 

I  have  since  received  the  accounts  for  March.  The  ex- 
penses for  that  month  were  $47,589  94,  and  the  progress 
at  the  different  points  was  as  follows: 

Length  of  tunnel 2,852  feet. 

Depth  of  shaft  No.  1 165 

"      • 2 384      " 

••      "      "       "    3 210      " 

"      "      "       "   4 200      " 

Mr.  Sunderland  has  informed  us  here  that  the  Bank  of 
California  is  not  a  stock-jobbing  concern ;  but  that  the  Su- 
tro  Tunnel  Company  is,  because  we  have  not  made  our 
shares  assessable.  I  do  not  see  the  philosophy  of  that.  If 
you  have  stock  that  is  assessable,  you  can  break  it  down 
or  put  it  up,  according  to  the  assessments  which  are  levied. 
If  they  are  unassessable,  you  cannot  do  that;  they  have  a 
certain  given  value.  Mr.  Sunderland,  furthermore,  goes 
on  to  say  that  we  started  seven  years  ago,  when  these  con- 
tracts were  made  six  years  ago;  and  that  they  refused  to 
put  in  any  money  in  New  York  and  California  for  a  long 
time.  Why,  that  is  nothing  to  be  wondered  at.  The 
machinations  of  the  Bank  of  California  were  going  on  all 
this  time,  and  they  determined  to  stop  us;  and  now  they 
have  the  assurance  to  charge  us  with  not  raising  money 
any  sooner,  when  it  is  a  known  fact  they  repudiated  all 
subscriptions. 


938 


HISTORICAL  OPPOSITION  TO  GREAT  IMPROVEMENTS. 

It  is,  however,  a  historical  fact,  that  there  has  been  op- 
position to  all  kinds  of  improvements  either  by  the  ignorant, 
the  envious,  or  by  those  who  were  interested  in  keeping 
up  the  old  state  of  affairs,  since  the  world  began.     If  you 
even  look  back  to  the  great  mechanical  improvements 
that  have  been  made,  the  introduction   of  the   spinning 
jenny,  and  even  that  of  sewing  machines,  you  will  find 
there  was  opposition.     Every  sewing  girl  in  the  country 
opposed  sewing  machines.    They  thought  their  occupation 
would  be  gone.     We  find  many  curious  things  related  in 
history.     Take  Galileo,  when  he  announced  the  discovery 
of  a  new  planet.     They  scouted  the  idea.     There  had  only 
been  seven  planets  known  before  that;  and  the  whole  of 
Italy  stood  up  in  perfeqt  horror.     They  preached  against 
him  from  the  pulpit  everywhere,  and  the  argument  used 
against  his  discovery  was,  that  it  was  impossible  that  there 
should  he  more  than  seven  planets,  because  there  were  no 
more  than  seven  days  in  a  week,  and  no  more  than  seven 
openings  in  a  man's  skull.     That  is  the  kind  of  argument 
they  used,  and  some    as  unreasonable    havd  been  used 
against  many  new  ideas.      Look  at  the  arguments  used 
against  the  first  railroad  in  England.     They  were  of  the 
most  extraordinary  and  unreasonable  kind.     It  makes  us 
smile  to  read  them  now.     There  are  many  points  resem- 
bling this  fight  against  the  tunnel.     If  you  substitute  the 
Bank  of  California  for  the  Duke  of  Bridgewater,  and  Mr. 
Sharon  for  Mr.  Bradshaw,  you  have  a  perfectly  parallel 
case    But  I  will  read : 

THE  LIVERPOOL  AND  MANCHESTER  RAILWAY,  (a) 

The  rapid  growth  of  the  trade  and  manufactures  of  South  Lancashire  gave 
rise,  about  the  year  1821,  to  the  project  of  tramroad  for  the  conveyance  of 
goods  between  Liverpool  and  Manchester.  Since  the  construction  of  the 
Bridgewater  canal  by  Brindley,  some  fifty  years  before,  the  increase  of  the 
business  transacted  between  the  two  towns  had  become  quite  marvelous. 
The  steam  engine,  the  spinning  jenny,  and  the  canal,  working  together,  had 

(a)  See  "  Lives  of  the  Engineers,"  by  Sam.  Smiles,  vol.  III.    London,  1862. 


939 

accumulated  at  one  focus  a  vast  aggregate  of  population,  manufactures,  and 
trade. 

The  Duke's  canal,  when  first  made,  furnished  a  cheap  and  ready  moans  of 
conveyance  between  the  seaport  and  the  manufacturing  towns,  hut  had  now 
become  entirely  inadequate.  Mr.  Huskifcson,  in  the  House  of  Commons,  re- 
ferring to  the  ruinous  delays  occasioned,  observed  that  cotton  was  sometimes 
delayed  a  fortnight  at  Liverpool,  while  the  Manchester  manufacturers  were 
obliged  to  suspend  their  labors. 

Expostulation  with  the  canal  companies  was  of  no  use.  They  were  over- 
crowded with  business  at  their  own  prices,  and  disposed  to  be  very  dicta- 
torial. 

Under  these  circumstances  any  new  mode  of  transit  between  the  two  towns, 
which  offered  a  reasonable  prospect  of  relief,  was  certain  to  receive  a  cordial 
welcome.  Mr.  Sanders,  an  influential  Liverpool  merchant,  was  among  the 
first  to  advocate  a  tramroad.  Having  caused  inquiry  to  b<>  mad<-  as  to  the 
success  which  had  attended  the  haulage  of  heavy  coal  trains  by  locomotive 
power,  he  was  led  to  form  the  opinion  tlmt  the  same  means  might  be  em- 
ployed in  the  transportation  of  merchandize.  He  ventilated  the  subject 
among  his  friends,  and  about  the  beginning  of  1821  a  committee  was  formed 
for  the  purpose  of  bringing  the  scheme  of  a  railroad  before  the  public. 

The  novel  project,  having  become  noised  abroad,  attracted  the  attention  of 
the  friends  of  railways  in  other  quarters.  Sir  Richard  Phillips,  in  his  •'  Morn- 
ing Walk  to  Kew,"  already  said,  in  1813:  "I  found  delight  in  witnessing  at 
Wandsworth  the  economy  of  horse  labor  on  the  iron  railway.  Yet  a  heavy 
sigh  escaped  me  as  I  thought  of  the  inconceivable  millions  of  money  which 
had  been  spent  about  Malta,  four  or  five  of  which  might  have  been  the  wans 
of  extending  double-line  railways  from  London  to  many  parts  pf  England. 
Such  would  have  been  a  legitimate  motive  for  overstepping  the  income  of  a 
nation,  and  the  completion  of  so  great  and  useful  a  work  would  have  afforded 
national  ground  for  public  triumph  or  general  jubilee." 

Thomas  Gray,  of  Nottingham,  was  another  speculator  on  the  same  subject. 
Though  he  was  no  mechanic  or  inventor,  he  had  an  enthusiastic  belief  in  the 
railroad  system.  It  would  appear  that  Gray  was  residing  in  Brussels,  in  1816, 
when  the  project  of  a  canal  from  Charleroi  was  the  subject  of  discussion,  and 
in  conversation  with  Mr.  John  Cockerill  and  others,  he  took  advantage  of 
advocating  the  superior  advantages  of  railways.  He  occupied  himself  for 
sometime  with  the  preparation  of  a  pamphlet  on  the  subject.  He  shut  him- 
self up  in  his  room,  secluded  from  his  wife  and  relations,  declining  to  give 
them  any  information  on  the  subject  of  his  mysterious  studies,  beyond  the 
assurance  that  his  scheme  "  would  revolutionize  the  whole  face  of  the  material 
world  and  society." 

In  1820  Mr.  Gray  published  the  result  of  his  studies  in  his  "Observations 
on  a  General  Iron  Railway." 

The  publication  of  this  essay  had  the  effect  of  bringing  the  subject  of  rail- 
ways prominently  under  the  notice  of  the  public.  Although  little  able  to 
afford  it,  Gray  also  pressed  his  favorite  project  on  the  attention  of  public  men: 
mayors,  members  of  Parliament,  and  prime  ministers.  He  sent  memorials  to 
Lord  Sidmouth  in  1820,  and  to  the  Lord  Mayor  and  corporation  of  London 
in  1821.  In  1822  he  addressed  the  Earl  of  Liverpool,  Sir  Robert  Peel,  and 
others,  urging  the  great  national  importance  of  his  plan.  In  the  year  follow- 
ing he  petitioned  the  ministers  of  state  to  the  same  effect.  He  was  so  perti- 
nacious that  public  men  pronounced  him  to  be  a  "bore;"  and  in  the  town  of 
Nottingham,  where  he  then  lived,  those  who  knew  him  declared  him  to  be 
"cracked."  William  Howitt,  who  frequently  met  Gray  at  that  time,  has 
published  a  long  portraiture  of  this  indefatigable  and  enthusiastic  projector, 
who  seized  all  men  by  the  button,  and  would  not  let  them  go  until  lie  had 
unraveled  to  them  his  wonderful  scheme.  With  Thomas  Gray,  says  he,  "  be- 
gin where  you  would,  on  whatever  subject — the  weather,  the  news,  the  polit- 
ical movement  or  event  of  the  day — it  would  not  be  many  minutes  before  you 


940 

would  be  enveloped  with  steam,  and  listening  to  a  harangue  on  the  practica- 
bility and  immense  advantages  to  the  nation,  and  to  every  man  in  it,  of  a 
general  iron  railway." 

These  speculations  show  that  the  subject  of  railways  was  gradually  becom- 
ing familiar  to  the  public  mind,  and  that  thoughtful  men  were  anticipating 
with  confidence  the  adoption  of  steam  power  for  railway  traction.  At  the 
same  time  a  still  more  profitable  class  of  laborers  was  at  work:  first,  men  like 
Stephenson,  who  were  engaged  in  improving  the  locomotive;  and,  next,  those 
like  Edward  Pease,  of  Darlington,  and  Joseph  Sandars,  of  Liverpool,  who  were 
organizing  the  means  of  la}ang  down  the  railways. 

In  1821  Mr.  Sandars  authorized  Mr.  William  James,  of  Bromwich,  to  sur- 
vey the  proposed  railway  line  between  Liverpool  and  Manchester,  and  agreed 
to  pay  him  for  the  survey  at  the  rate  of  £10  per  mile,  or  £300  for  the  survey. 

The  trial  survey  was  then  proceeded  with,  but  it  was  conducted  with  great 
difficulty,  the  inhabitants  of  the  district  entertaining  the  most  violent  prejudices 
against. the  formation  of  the  proposed  railway.  In  some  places  Mr.  James 
and  his  surveying  party  even  encountered  personal  violence.  Near  Newton- 
in-the- Willows,  the  farmers  stationed  men  at  the  field  gates,  with  pitchforks 
and  sometimes  with  guns,  to  drive  them  off.  A  number  of  men,  women,  and 
children  collected  and  ran  after  the  surveyors,  bawling  nicknames  and  throw- 
ing .stones  at  them. 

Mr.  Sandars  had  by  this  time  visited  George  Stephenson  at  Killingworth, 
and  was  charmed  with  him  at  first  sight.  The  energy  which  he  had  displayed 
in  carrying  on  the  works  of  the  Stockton  and  Darlington  railway,  his  readi- 
ness to  face  difficulties,  and  his  practical  ability  in  overcoming  them ;  the 
enthusiasm  which  he  displayed  on  the  subject  of  railways  and  railway  loco- 
motion concurred  in  satisfying  Mr.  Sandars  that  he  was,  of  all  men,  the  best 
calculated  to  help  forward  the  Liverpool  undertaking  at  this  juncture-. 

On  his  return  he  stated  this  opinion  to  the  committee,  and  George  Stephen- 
eon  was  unanimously  appointed  engineer  of  the  projected  railway. 

A  public  meeting  was  held  to  consider  the  best  plan  to  be  adopted,  and  a 
committee  was  appointed  to  take  the  necessary  measures  for  the  construction 
of  the  road.  Before  entering  upon  their  arduous  duties  they  first  waited  on 
Mr.  Bradshaw,  the  Duke  of  Bridge  water's  canal  agent,  in  the  hope  of  persuad- 
ing him  to  increase  the  means  of  conveyance,  as  well  as  to  reduce  the  charges ; 
but  they  were  met  with  an  unqualified  refusal.  They  suggested  the  expe 
diency  of  a  railway,  and  invited  Mr.  Bradshaw  to  become  a  proprietor  of 
shares  in  it.  But  his  reply  was,  "All  or  none."  The  canal  proprietors,  con- 
fident in  their  imagined  security,  ridiculed  the  proposed  railway  as  a  chimera. 
It  had  been  spoken  about  years  before,  and  nothing  had  come  of  it  then.  It 
would  be  the  same  now. 

In  the  meantime  the  survey  was  proceeded  with,  in  the  face  of  the  great 
opposition  on  the-part  of  the  proprietors  of  the  land.s  through  which  the  rail- 
way was  intended  to  pass.  The  prejudices  of  the  farming  and  laboring  classes 
were  strongly  excited  against  the  persons  employed  upon  the  ground,  arid  it 
was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  that  the  levels  cotild  be  taken. 

When  the  eanal  companies  found  that  the  Liverpool  merchants  were  de- 
termined to  proceed  with  their  scheme — that  they  had  completed  their  survey, 
and  were  ready  to  apply  to  Parliament  for  an  act  to  enable  them  to  form  the 
railway — they  at  last  reluctantly,  and  with  bad  grace,  made  overtures  of  con- 
ciliation. The  promised  to  supply  steam  vessels,  both  on  the  Mersey  and  the 
canal.  At  the  same  time  they  made  a  show  of  lowering  their  rates.  But  it  was 
all  too  late;  for  the  project  of  the  railway  had  now  gone  so  far  that  the  pro- 
moters (who  might  have  been  conciliated  at  an  earlier  period)  felt  they  were 
very  fully  committed  to  it,  and  now  they  could  not  very  well  draw  back.  Ar- 
rangements were  therefore  made  for  proceeding  with  the  bill  in  the  parlia- 
mentary session  of  1825.  * 

On  this  becoming  known,  the  canal  companies  prepared  to  resist  the  meas- 
ure tooth  and  nail.  The  public  were  appealed  to  on  the  subject;  pamphlets 


941 

were  written,  and  newspapers  were  hired  to  resist  the  railway.  It  WHS  d"<;lnred 
that  its  formation  would  prevent  cows  grazing  ari«l  hens  laying.  Tin:  poisoned 
air  from  the  locomotives  would  kill  birds  as  they  flew  over  th.-in.  ;ind  render 
the  preservation  of  pheasants  and  Cozes  no  longer  possible.  Householders 
adjoining  the  projected  line  were  told  that  their  houses  would  be  burnt  up, 
while  the  air  around  would  be  polluted  by  clouds  of  smoke.  Then:  would  no 
longer  1m  any  use  for  horses,  and  if  railways  extended  the.  species  would  be- 
come extinguished,  and  oats  and  hay  be  rendered  unsaleable  commodities. 

A  Birmingham  journal  invited  a  combined  opposition  to  the  measure,  and 
a  public  subscription  was  entered  into  for  the  purpose  of  making  it  effectual. 
The  newspapers  generally  spoke  of  the  project  as  a  mere  .speculation,  some 
wishing  it  success,  although  greatly  doubting,  others  ridiculing  it  as  a  delu- 
sion, similar  to  the  many  other  absurd  projects  of  that  madly  speculative 
period.  The  idea  thrown  out  by  Mr.  Stephenson,  of  traveling  at  a  rate  of 
speed  double  that  of  the  fastest  mail  coach,  appeared  at  the  time  so  preposter- 
ous, that  he  was  unable  to  find  an  engineer  who  would  risk  his  reputation  in 
supporting  such  "  absurd  views."  Speaking  of  his  isolation  at  the  time,  he 
subsequently  observed  that  he  had  then  no  one  to  tell  his  tale  to  but  Mr.  San- 
dars,  of  Liverpool,  who  did. listen  to  him,  and  kept  his  spirits  up;  and  his 
schemes  were  at  length  carried  out  only  by  dint  of  sheer  perseverance. 

George  Stephenson's  idea  was  at  that  time  regarded  as  but  a  dream  of  a 
chimerical  projector.  It  stood  before  the  public  friendless,  struggling  hard  to 
gain  a  footing,  and  scarcely  daring  to  lift  itself  into  notoriety,  for  fear  of  ridi- 
cule; and  when  no  leading  man  of  the  day  could  be  found  to  stand  forward 
in  support  of  the  Killingworth  mechanic,  its  chances  of  success  must  indeed 
have  been  pronounced  but  small. 

Parliamentary  contest  on  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  bill. 

The  Liverpool  and  Manchester  bill  went  into  Committee  of  the  House  of 
Commons  on  the  2 1st  of  March,  1825.  There  was  an  extraordinary  array  of 
legal  talent  on  the  occasion,  but  especially  on  the  side  of  the  opponents  to  the 
measure.  Their  wealth  and  influence  enabled  them  to  retain  the  ablest  coun- 
sel at  the  bar. 

Evidence  was  taken  at  great  length  as  to  the  difficulties  and  delays  of  for- 
warding goods  from  Liverpool  to  Manchester,  the  utter  inadequacy  of  the 
existing  modes  of  conveyance,  and  as  to  the  practicability  of  a  railroad  worked 
by  locomotive  power.  Mr.  Adams,  in  his  opening  speech,  referred  to  the  cases 
of  the  Hilton  and  Killingworth  railway,  where  heavy  goods  were  safely  and 
economically  transported  by  means  of  locomotive  engines.  "None  of  the 
tremendous  consequences,"  he  observed,  "have  ensued  from  the  use  of  steam 
in  land  carriage  that  have  been  stated.  The  horses  have  not  started,  nor  the 
cows  ceased  to  give  their  milk,  nor  have  ladies  miscarried  at  the  sight  of  these 
things  going  forward  at  the  rate  of  four  miles  and  a  half  an  hour.  ' 

Mr.  Stephenson  stood  before  the  committee  to  prove  what  the  public  opin- 
ion of  the  day  held  to  be  impossible.  The  self-taught  mechanic  had  to  demon- 
strate the  practicability  of  that  which  tlje  most  distinguished  engineers  of  the 
time  regarded  as  impracticable.  Clear  though  the  subject  was  to  himself,  and 
familiar  as  he  was  with  the  powers  of  the  locomotive,  it  was  no  easy  task  to 
bring  home  his  convictions,  or  even  to  convey  his  meaning,  to  the  less  informed 
minds  of  his  hearers.  In  his  strong  Northumbrian  dialect  he  struggled  for 
utterance,  in  the  face  of  the  sneers,  interruptions,  and  ridicule  of  the  opponents 
of  the  measure,  and  even  of  the  committee,  some  of  whom  shook  their  heads 
and  whispered  doubts  as  to  his  sanity  when  he  energetically  avowed  that  he 
could  make  the  locomotive  go  at  the  rate  of  twelve  miles  an  hour. 

One  of  the  members  of  the  committee  pressed  the  witness  a  little  further, 
and  put  the  following  case:  "Suppose,  now,  one  of  these  engines  to  bo  going 
along  a  railroad  at  the  rate  of  nine  or  ten  miles  an  hour,  and  that  a  cow  were 
to  stray  upon  the  line:  would  not  that,  think  you,  be  a  very  awkward  circum- 


942 

stance?"  <;Yes,"  replied  the  witness,  with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye,  "very  awk- 
ward— for  the  coo." 

After  some  distinguished  engineers  had  been  examined,  Mr.  Alderson 
Euramed  up  in  a  speech  which  extended  over  two  days.  -He  declared  Mr. 
Stephenson's  plan  to  be  "the  most  absurd  scheme  that  ever  entered  into  the 
head  of  a  man  to  conceive.  My  learned  friends,"  said  he,  "almost  endeav- 
ored to  stop  my  examination;  they  wished  me  to  put  in  the  plan,  but  I  had 
rather  have  the  exhibition  of  Mr.  Stephenson  in  that  box.  I  say  he  never 
had  a  plan — I  believe  he  never  had  one — I  do  not  believe  he  is  capable  of 
making  one." 

Mr.  Harrison,  in  summing  up  the  case  of  the  canal  companies,  said:  "At 
length  we  have  come  to  this:  having  first  set  out  at  twelve  miles  an  hour,  the 
speed  of  these  locomotives  is  'reduced  to  six,  and  now  conies  down  to  two  or 
two  and  a  half.  They  must  be  content  to  be  pulled  along  by  horses  and  don- 
keys, and  all  those  fine  promises  of  galloping  along  at  the  rate  of  twelve  miles 
an  hour  are  melted  down  tc  a  total  failure." 

After  further  personal* abuse  of  Mr.  Stephenson,  whose  evidence  he  spoke 
of  as  "trash  and  confusion,"  he  closed  the  case  of  the  canal  companies  on  the 
3d  of  May.  Mr.  Adams  replied  for  the  promoters,  vindicating  Mr.  Stephen- 
son  and  the  evidence  which  he  had  given  before  the  committee. 

The  committee  then  divided  on  the  preamble,  which  was  carried  by  a  ma- 
jority of  only  one.  The  clauses  were  next  considered,  and,  on  a  division,  the 
first  clause,  empowering  the  company  to  make  a  railway,  was  lost;  also  the 
next  clause,  empowering  the  company  to  take  land. 

Thus  ended  this  memorable  contest,  which  had  extended  over  two  months; 
carried  on  throughout  with  great  pertinacity  and  skill,  especially  on  the  part 
of  the  opposition,  who  left  no  stone  unturned  to  defeat  the  measure. 

The  result  of  this  first  application  to  Parliament  was  so  far  discouraging. 
Mr.  Stephenson  had  been  so  terribly  abused  by  the  leading  counsel  for  the 
opposition,  stigmatized  by  them  as  an  ignoramus,  a  fool,  and  a  maniac,  that 
even  his  friends  seem  for  a  time  to  have  lost  faith  in  him  and  his  locomotive 
system,  whose  efficacy  he  nevertheless  continued  to  uphold.  Things  never 
looked  blacker  for  the  success  of  the  railway  system  than  at  the  close  of  this 
great  parliamentary  struggle,  and  yet  it  was  on  the  very  eve  of  its  triumph. 

The  Committee  of  Directors,  appointed  to  watch  the  measure  in  Parliament, 
determined  at  once  to  make  a  new  survey,  and  not  to  employ  Mr.  Stepheuson 
for  the  purpose.  The  survey  was  completed,  and  the  bill  again  went  before 
Parliament.  It  went  before  the  committee  on  the  ffth  of  March,  and  on  the 
16th  the  preamble  was  declared  proved.  On  the  third  reading  in  the  House 
of  Commons  an  animated  debate  took  place,  and  the  bill  carried ;  it  almost 
unanimously  passed  the  House  of  Lords. 

Mr.  Stephenson  was  now  elected  principal  engineer  of  the  road,  and  to  his 
skill  and  intelligence  were  mainly  due  its  early  and  satisfactory  completion. 

THE  BANK  OF  CALIFORNIA  AND  THE  DUKE   OF  BRIDGEWATER. 

We  might  search  through  history  and  not  find  a  more 
parallel  case  than  the  one  I  have  just  quoted.  As  I 
have  stated,  all  we  have  to  do  is  to  substitute  the  Bank  of 
California  for  the  Duke  of  Bridgewater  and  the  name  of 
Sharon  for  that  of  Bradshaw,  and  the  parallel  is  perfect. 
The  Duke  of  Bridgewater,  with  an  army  of  attorneys,  went 
to  Parliament  and  presented  his  budget  of  objections.  We 
find  the  Bank  of  California  present  here  in  Congress 


943 

with  theirs,  (a)  Look  at  the  testimony  which  has  been  taken 
in  this  case,  and  see  how  absurd  some  of  the  objections 
raised  must  appear  to  you;  in  ten  years  from  now  the 
parties  making  them  will  be  ashamed  of  ever  having 
occupied  such  a  position. 

They  have  come  here  to  prove  that  it  is  cheaper  to  pump 
out  water  from  a  depth  of  2,000  feet  than  to  let  it  flow  out 
by  itself.  They  would  have  you  believe  that  white  is  black, 
or  that  water  will  flow  up  hill  of  its  own  accord. 

It.  took  years  of  persistent  efforts  to  succeed  with  the 
first  railroad  against  the  machinations  of  its  enemies.  I 
have  been  for  years  trying  to  sustain  myself  against  the 
unscrupulous  influence  of  the  Bank  of  California,  and  am 
proud  to  say  we  are  now  on  the  full  road  to  success^ 
thanks  to  the  noble-hearted  friends  I  have  found  in  and 
out  of  Congress.  Mr.  Stephenson  found  one  sterling,  un- 
flinching friend  to  stand  by  him,  and  that  was  Mr.  Joseph 
Sandars,  of  Liverpool;  and  I  want  to  pay  tribute  right 
here  to  a  noble-hearted,  far-seeing,  generous,  and  true  man, 
who  has  stood  by  me  in  the  darkest  hours  of  my  trials,  who 
has 'counseled  and  assisted  me  at  all  times,  who  has  ap- 
preciated the  magnitude  and  importance  of  the  work  to 
which  I  have  devoted  myself.  That  man's  name  is  Joseph 
Arou,  a  resident  of  San  Francisco. 

I  have  recited  the  objections  which  were  raised  against 
the  first  railroad  not  quite  fifty  years  ago.  That  road  was 
built,  notwithstanding  the  bitter  and  persistent  oppposition 
of  the  Duke  of  Bridgewater,  who  considered  himself  ag- 
grieved and  injured  in  his  canal  property  should  the  road 
be  constructed.  Arid  what  was  the  result?  The  develop- 
ments and  industry  created  by  the  new  facilities  for  traffic 
were  so  great,  that  the  canal  property  became  more  valuable 
than  ever,  and  the  example  set  immediately  created  a  per- 
fect furor  for  building  railroads,  not  only  in  England,  but  all 
over  the  world.  To  the  success  of  this  first  railroad  was 
due  the  construction  of  railroads  in  every  country  on  the 

(a)  See  Test.,  p.  16. 


944 

globe.  The  public,  which  is  skeptical  and  unbelieving,  only 
needed  one  single  practical  illustration  of  success.  The 
moment  that  was  achieved  opposition  to  railroads  ceased  to 
exist. 

A  THOUSAND  TUNNELS  IN  THIS  COUNTRY. 

Let  this  one  tunnel  be  constructed,  and  the  magnificent 
results  become  known  which  will  flow  from  it,  it  will  re- 
sult in  the  construction  of  a  thousand  more  (a)  by  private 
enterprise  throughout  our  vast  mining  regions,  (b)  A  new 
system  of  mining  and  reduction  will  be  inaugurated,  and 
the  necessary  capital  will  flow  in  that  direction  without 
any  further  eiFout.  (c)  The  magnificent  inheritance  of  our 
mineral  domain  will  commence  to  be  fully  appreciated; 
that  great  treasure  chest,  which  Providence  has  given  us, 
will  be  unlocked y  the* nation  will  be  enriched;  (d)  trade  and 
traffic  will  receive  an  impetus  unknown  heretofore ;  and 
our  national  debt  will  sink  into  insignificance  compared  to 
the  wealth  this  country  will  then  be  known  to  possess. 

The  treasure  contained  in  this  Comstock  lode  alone  is 
beyond  computation ;  the  developments  made  within*  the 
last  twelve  months,  at  the  greatest  depth  which  has  yet 
been  reached — 1,500  feet  beneath  the  surface  (e) — has  con- 
vinced the  most  incredulous.  It  is  sufficient^  to  stag- 
ger the  mind  when  contemplating  what  treasure  will 
be  developed  at  a  depth  of  4,000  or  5,000  feet,  which  can  be 
reached  by  means  of  this  tunnel. 

DUTY   OF   THE    GOVERNMENT. 

As  far  as  the  duty  of  the  Government  is  concerned,  it  is 
very  plain.  There  can  be  no  question  that  these  mines  on  the 
Comstock  lode  are  the  most  important  in  the  whole  world, 
and  I  do  not  believe  that  any  other  nation  ever  possessed  a 

(a)  See  Test.,  pp.  210, 211,  220,  302,  615,  616. 

b)  See  Test.,  pp.  599,  600. 

c)  See  Test.,  pp.  210,  220,  302,  313,  601,  615,  616,  637,  638,  657,  668. 

d)  See  Test.,  pp.  221,  295. 

e)  See  Test.,  pp.  220,  286,  303,  640,  684. 


945 

series  of  mines  as  valuable  as  these  are.  (a)  Any  nation  on 
the  globe  would  be  proud  to  possess  such  a  property  within 
the  boundaries  of  its  country.  If  we  inquire  as  to  the  mo- 
tives of  Napoleon  in  sending  an  expedition  of  conquest  to 
Mexico,  we  find  that  he  was  anxious  to  secure  the  mineral 
products  of  that  country.  We  have  in  Nevada  a  single 
vein  of  ore  almost  as  important  as  all  the  mineral  wealth 
of  Mexico.  These  mines  are  now  worked  for  stock-job- 
bing purposes,  and  are  the  worst  managed  property  on  ttye 
face  of  the  globe,  (b)  Having  mines  of  that  importance,  it  is 
to  the  interest  of  the  Government  to  have  that  state  of 
affairs  cease  to  exist.  They  are  worked  in  the  most  ex- 
travagant manner,  (c)  The  precious  metals  are  wasted,  and 
they  furnish  the  worst  kind  of  an  example  for  other  mines. 
They  discourage  the  people  from  going  into  mining  ope- 
rations; and  what  we  want  is  capital  to  flow  into  that 
western  country.  As  long  as  we  have  no  capital  flowing 
there  we  cannot  open  up  our  mineral  wealth.  "We  have 
authentic  accounts  that  those  mines  have  yielded  $125, 
000,000,  and  that  they  are  now  yielding  $15,000,000  a 
year;  and  I  mean  to  say  that  if  the  tunnel  was  in,  the 
yield  would  be  increased  to.  from  $30,000,000  to  $50,000,000 
per  annum. 

Scientific  men  may  say  what  they  please  about  the  con- 
tinuance of  mineral  veins  in  depth;  it  has  no  effect.  I  have 
been  for  six  or  seven  years  in  contact  with  financial  men, 
and  they  do  not  believe  in  any  theories.  In  the  first  place, 
they  are  too  unscientific  as  a  class  to  understand  geological 
evidences  and  deductions;  and,  in  the  second  place,  they 
are  too  much  occupied  to  bother  themselves  about  it.  They 
can  make  money  easy  enough  without  making  such  inves- 
tigations, and  they  will  not  trouble  themselves  about  it 
But  if  you  demonstrate  it  practically  that  these  mines  reach 
down,  and  that  they  can  be  worked  profitably,  to  great 
depth,  money  will  flow  in  that  direction  of  its  own  accord ;  (d) 

(a)  See  Test.,  pp.  63,  207.  (c)  See  Test.,pp.  212,  281,  663. 

(6)  See  Test.,  pp.  301,  662,  663.     (d)  See  Test.,  pp.  210,  211,  214,  220,  681. 

-       60 


' 


946 

and,  as  I  stated,  thousands  of  tunnels  will  be  made  in  our 
western  hills;  thousands  of  millions  of  taxable  property  will 
be  created,  and  the  increase  of  bullion  will  be  immense. 
As  regards  political  economy,  I  will  not  tire  you  out  by 
quoting  any  authorities  thereupon.  You  all  know  that  it 
has  an  important  bearing  upon  the  payment  of  the  national 
debt,  (a)  We  have  the  authority  of  Chevalier,  John  Stuart 
Mill,  Bowen,  and  others  on  that  subject. 

SECURITY  TO  THE  GOVERNMENT. 

As  far  as  the  security  we  offer  is  concerned,  it  is  ample. 
We  have  asked  that  question  of  almost  every  witness 
we  have  had  here,  and  they  do  not  doubt  it.  They 
know  this  royalty  alone  will  enable  us  to  pay  back  the 
money  loaned  us.  Professor  Newcomb  and  Mr.  Luck- 
hardt  say  that  it  cannot  be  questioned ;  (b)  and  I  venture  to 
say  that  many  times  the  amount  could  be  returned,  if  it 
were  required.  All  we  ask  is  the  good-will  of  the  Govern- 
ment  to  help  us  make  the  first  four  miles  of  this  tunnel, 
and  then  we  will  make  a  hundred  miles  in  addition.  We 
do  not  ask  any  gift  of  the  Government.  We  only  ask  for  so 
much  help  to  get  this  tunnel  in.  t  We  give  the  Government 
the  first  mortgage  on  this  property;  and,  as  has  been  shown 
here  by  every  witness,  there  is  no  question  about  the  security 
at  all.  Even  if  there  were  not  an  abundance  of  ore  below 
the  tunnel  level,  the  low-grade  ores,  which  amount  to  hun- 
dreds of  millions  of  dollars,  which  we  shall  be  able  to  extract 
above  the  tunnel  alone,  will  secure  several  times  what  we 
ask.  (c)  These  people  who  oppose  the  tunnel  say  there  is  no 
necessity  for  any  aid;  that  the  land  at  the  mouth  of  the  tun- 
nel will  be  worth  $3,000,000,  (d)  and  that  the  income  will  be 
$6,000,000  per  annum.  That  is  all  very  well  to  tell  us; 
but  we  may  not  have  a  dollar  of  income  until  the  tunnel 
is  completed  to  the  Comstock  lode.  If  we  have  an  in- 

(a)  See  Test,,  pp.  313,  542. 

(b)  See  Test.,  pp.  210,  211,  636,  672. 

(c)  See  Test.,  pp.  19,  63, 151, 152,  205,  206, 267,  208,  398,  555,  684,  685,  733, 

(d)  See  Test,  p.  557. 


. 


947 

come  of  from  §2,000,000  to  $6,000,000  per  annum  there- 
after, we  can  pay  that  money  back  very  soon.  We  are  n.>w 
at  work  on  this  tunnel.  We  are  pushing  it  forward  day 
and  night.  We  have  invested  the  limited  capital  we  have, 
and  are  pushing  it  along,  to  show  our  own  faith  in  the  work. 
Now,  the  Government  ought  to  step  in  and  come  to  the 
rescue.  Our  money  will  probably  be  exhausted  in  another 
year  from  now,  and  the  work  may  come  to  a  stand-still. 

Mr.  Sunderland  has  criticized  this  bill.  He  says  this 
bill  is  for  Mr.  Sutro,  and  that  it  does  not  mortgage  all  the 
property.  Now,  we  ask  you.  gentlemen  of  the  committee, 
to  make  that  bill  so  perfect  that  there  can  be  no  doubt 
about  the  security  given  by  a  first  mortgage.  We  want  to 
mortgage  to  the  Govornment  the  royalty  we  receive  from 
these  mines;  and  that  royalty  is  as  good  security  as  the 
Government  would  ask;  and  we  want  to  mortgage  every- 
thing we  have  besides.  According  to  the  statements  made, 
we  have  $700,000  a  year  to  receive  from  royalty,  while 
these  people  are  saving  $9,000,000  at  the  present  capacity 
alone.  If  the  yield  is  trebled,  which  it  likely  will  be,  why 
the  income  from  that  source  will  be  $2,100,000,  and  the 
saving  to  the  mines  $27,000,000  per  annum.  We  are  ask- 
ing for  a  loan  here,  and  not  for  a  gift.  '  The  Government 
will  have  entire  control  and  revision  of  our  accounts.  Un- 
less we  make  a  correct  report  of  the  income,  our  rights 
are  forfeited;  and  there  are  commissioners  to  be  appointed 
under  the  law  who  make  their  reports  to  the  Government. 

THE  BANK  OF  CALIFORNIA  COMPOSED  OF  PATRIOTIC  MEN. 

Mr.  Sunderland  has  told  us  that  if  the  Government  puts 
its  money  in,  it  ought  to  own  the  tunnel.  It  is  not  the 
policy  of  this  Government  to  go  itself  into  such  enter- 
prises ;  but  it  is  the  policy  of  the  Government  to  foster 
great  interests,  and  aid  in  the  development  of  the  country. 
The  Government  does  not  want  to  go  into  mining  operations 
and  own  these  works.  The  attorney  of  the  Bank  of  Cali- 
fornia has  told  us  that  if  we  get  this  aid,  our  stock  would 
go  up  to  par,  thus  enabling  us  to  fight  them.  He  cannot 


948 

mean  that  we  will  fight  them,  but  we  will  be  able  to  take 
care  of  ourselves  and  resist  their  opposition;  but  if  we  do 
not  get  this  aid,  they  can  continue  their  fight  and  prevent 
us  from  obtaining  the  means  to  construct  the  tunnel,  for 
they  still  cling  fondly  to  the  hope  that  they  can  delay  us  in 
obtaining  the  means,  and  thus  possibly  break  us  up  yet. 
What  interest  have  they  in  coming  on  here  to  Washington 
and  opposing  a  loan  to. this  work?  Are  they  such  patriotic 
men  that  they  come  here  to  advise  the  Government  what 
to  do?  Why,  the  very  fact  that  they  have  agents  here  to 
oppose  us  ought  to  help  us.  They  have  been  trying  to  show 
all  along  that  this  tunnel  is  useless.  They  come  here  lob- 
bying against  us,  and  trying  to  upset  this  great  work,  in 
order  to  leave  us  to  our  fate.  We  have  spent  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  dollars  already,  and  we  expect  to  expend 
$1,000,000.  before  we  will  receive  a  dollar  from  the  Gov- 
ernment. 

WILL  CONGRESS  ASSIST  THE  LABORING  MEN. 

Let  us  look  at  the  other  side  of  this  question.  Who  are 
the  people  favoring  this  work?  Why,  the  laboring  men. 
Every  one  of  these  witnesses  has  shown  that  the  laboring  men 
and  the  Miners'  Union  are  favoring  it,  (a)  while  the  Bank 
of  California  is  opposed  to  it.  Now,  I  say,  will  the  Gov- 
ernment consider  the  interests  of  these  laboring  men  ?  They 
have  invested  their  savings  in  this  tunnel;  and  while  this 
Government  has  done  much  for  great  corporations,  let  it 
come  forward  now  and  assist  these  laboring  men.  (b)  These 
working  men  are  interested  in  this  tunnel ;  hundreds,  nay, 
thousands  of  them  are  now  or  will  be.  (c)  They  want  to  see 
this  work  carried  out.  They  want  to  be  relieved  from  the 
terrible  doom  they  are  condemned  to  in  those  mines,  ex- 
posed to  a  heat  of  110°,  breathing  air  almost  deprived  of 
oxygen,  which  slowly  kill's  them.  We  have  had  an  instance 
at  Gold  Hill  where  forty-two  miners  were  burned  to  death,  (d) 

fa)  See  Test.,  pp.  17,  166,  168,  208,  311,  355,  463,  464. 
(6)  See  Test,  pp.  186,  385,  386,  387,  395. 

(c)  See  Test.,  p.  312. 

(d)  See  Test.,  p.  465. 


949 

Every  mine-owner  ought  to  be  compelled  by  law  to  con- 
struct shafts  and  outlets,  and,  if  that  tunnel  goes  in,  we 
shall  have  an  outlet  for  them;  they  will  have  a  chance  to 
escape. 

Take  the  humanitarian  view.  These  mine-owners  ought 
to  be  compelled,  every  where  throughout  the  United  States — 
in  Pennsylvania  and  all  the  other  mining  sections — to  fur- 
nish outlets  of  escape.  Good  ventilation,  besides  giving  an 
immense  saving  to  the  mine-owners,  is  a  great  relief  to 
these  poor  men,  arid  protects  their  health.  These  com- 
missioners were  not  allowed  to  go  into  a  single  mine,  as 
they  have  stated,  but  that  they  were  accompanied  'by  the 
superintendent;  and  they  asked  these  miners  how  they  felt, 
and  they  said  "quite  well,"  yet  these  commissioners  could 
not  imagine  how  that  could  be  when  they  felt  so  faint  them- 
selves.  All  the  inquiries  were  made  in  the  presence  of 
these  superintendents,  and  'the  miners  did  not  tell  what 
they  desired  to  say  for  fear  of  being  discharged,  (a) 

POLICY  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT. 

It  has  been  the  policy  of  this  Government  to  aid  great 
interests  and  foster  science.  We  have  had  numerous  ex- 
ploring expeditions;  extensive  geological  surveys;  sent 
ships  to  the  north  pole;  and  sent  an  expedition  into 
Brazil  to  explore  for  coal;  have  sent  others  to  make  astro- 
nomical observations.  An  appropriation  just  passed  gives 
$50,000  to  observe  the  transit  of  Venus  in  three  years  from 
now.  It  has  been  the  policy  of  this  Government  to  foster 
science  and  the  acquisition  of  knowledge.  Here  we  have 
a  work  that  will  do  more  for  science  and  geology  than  any 
investigation  heretofore  made,  (6)  and  at  the  same  time  will 
directly  add  to  the  wealth  of  the  nation,  (c)  Thousands  of 
millions  will  be  added  to  our  wealth,  and  all  this  will  be 
accomplished  without  the  actual  contribution  of  a  single 
dollar  by  the  Government.  We  are  spending  millions 

(a)  See  Test.,  pp.  109, 166, 167, 168,  208.        (6)  See  Test.,  pp.  65,  210. 
(c)  See  Test.,  pp.  616,  617. 


950 

ever}7  year  for  commerce.  Here  is  an  interest  as  important 
as  any  we  have  in  this  country;  and  I  mean  to  say  that, 
in  ten  or  twenty  years  from  now,  this  mining  interest  will 
be  almost  the  leading  one  in  this  country,  (a) 

The  Government  has  done  nothing  for  the  mining  inter- 
est as  yet.  We  have  paid  our  proportion  of  taxes  in  these 
mining  regions.  "We  have  no  manufactures  to  protect.  We 
have  no  commerce,  and  no  rivers  and  harbors  to  be  im- 
proved. The  mining  regions  have  not  received  a  dollar 
from  the  Government  in  any  shape  whatever.  We  have 
contributed  more  than  $3,000,000 — yes,  many  times  $3,- 
000,000 — during  our  short  existence,  in  paying  towards 
the  support  of  the  manufacturing  interests  in  the  east. 
!N"ow,  what  do  we  ask  here  for  this  mining  interest?  We 
ask  simply  a  loan  of  $3,000,000  in  carrying  out  a  work 
that  will  do  more  than  anything  else  you  could  do  to  pro- 
mote that  interest. 

I  have  hurried  over  the  latter  part  of  this  subject  some- 
what, and  still  I  have  almost  wearied  you  out.  It  is  a  vast 
one,  and  of  great  importance.  It  is  one  which  you,  gen- 
tlemen, living  in  this  part  of  the  country,  hardly  realize ; 
but  if  once  you  travel  over  that  immense  country  to  the 
Pacific  coast,  you  will  be  astonished.  You  may  read  de- 
scriptions, but  without  seeing  for  yourselves  you  cannot 
fully  understand  them.  That  vast  area  of  country  has  been 
designated  on  the  maps  as  the  Great  American  Desert,  but 
while  the  land  there  is  almost  unfit  for  agriculture,  those 
mountains  are  perfect  fountains  of  wealth,  and  I  come  to 
Congress  and  ask  you  to  help  us  along  against  the  over- 
whelming monopoly  which  is  keeping  our  prosperity  back, 
and  which  has  been  trying  to  crush  us  out  for  years.  I 
believe  that  during  all  these  struggles  I  have  contributed 
somewhat  to  the  knowledge  of  our  vast  mineral  resources. 
I  have  published  books,  maps,  and  pamphlets,  which  -have 
been  seen  and  read  by  public  men,  and  awakened  an  inter- 
est in  the  examination  of  this  great  subject  of  mining  for 
the  precious  metals. 

(a)  See  Test.,  p.  600. 


951 

Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen  of  the  committee,  I  will 
now  close  my  remarks.  I  must  have  almost  exhausted  your 
patience  in  having  you  listen  to  me  so  long,  though  I  am 
sure  I  have  not  done  half  justice  to  this  great  subject. 

In  closing,  then,  I  want  to  call  your  attention  to  the  fact 
once  more,  that  this  is  not  a  gift,  not^,  subsidy,  not  an  ab- 
solute expenditure  by  the  Government;  but  simply  the  ex- 
tension of  its  good-will,  the  granting  of  a  loan,  with  the 
most  ample  security,  to  assist  in  the  execution  of  a  work 
which  must  enhance  the  property  value  of  this  country  to 
the  extent  of  thousands  of  millions;  and  let  me  say  to  you, 
gentlemen,  that  you  will  point  with  a  feeling  of  pride  to 
the  day  when,  by  voice  and  vote,  you  assisted  in  the  exe- 
cution of  a  work  which,  will  hereafter  be  looked  upon 
as  a  proud  monument  to  the  enterprise  of  the  American 
people. 


• 


INDEX  TO  ARGUMENT. 


Page. 

Introductory  remarks 3 

History  of-the  tunnel 4 

Franchise  by  the  legislature 5 

Contracts  with  the  mining  companies 6 

''People  becoming  interested  in  the  subject 7 

The  Bank  of  California  favors  the  enterprise 7 

Law  passed  by  Congress 8 

Necessity  of  a  compulsory  law 9 

The  undertaking  presented  at  New  York 11 

Opposition  by  the  Bank  of  California  commenced 12 

The  question  of  contracts 13 

Ring  rascalities 15 

They  want  to  appropriate  aid  from  the  Government  to  themselves 17 

The  ring  has  no  money  invested  in  the  railroad 17 

No  ruin  to  anything 18 

Return  to  New  York 20 

Trip  to  Europe 21 

Capitalists  alarmed 22 

Efforts  in  the  Fortieth  Congress 23 

Impeachment  of  President  Johnson "24 

Session  of  1868-69 24 

Visit  of  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee 25 

Speech  at  Virginia  City 26 

Start  work  on  the  tunnel 28 

The  bank  attempts  to  repeal  our  franchise 28 

War  between  Prussia  and  France 30 

Back  to  Nevada  again 31 

Appointment  of  a  commission 31 

Examination  of  the  mines  by  the  commissioners 33 

Another  trip  to  Europe 33 

The  commissioners'  report 35 

In  what  the  commissioners  were  misled 36 

Examination  of  the  commissioners 37 

The  testimony  makes  a  conclusive  case 38 

Testimony  of  Prof.  Raymond  and  Mr.  Luckhardt 39 

Correctness  of  statements  attacked 40 

Total  yield  of  Mexican  mines 41 

Present  manner  of  mining 42 

<  953 


954 

Page. 

Stock-jobbing  operations 42 

How  trustees  are  elected 43 

Profits  of  milling ? , 44 

Hiding  ore 45 

Certain  ruin  to  outsiders .- 46 

Percentage  extracted  from  ores 47 

Sixty-five  per  cent,  the  average  yield 48 

Water  the  great  obstacle  in  mining ; 50 

The  average  is  781  tons  of  water  per  day  in  one  mine 51 

Indirect  cost  of  pumping .' 52 

Their  own  letters  condemn  them 53 

Ventilation 60 

Temperature 63.' 

Transportation 63 

Reduction  of  ores -. 64 

Large  additional  yield... 65 

Great  water-power  without  any  dam 66 

Exploration  of  the  country. 67 

Water-pressure  engines 68 

We  will  reach  greater  depth  than  has  ever  been  reached  before 69 

Immense  saying  to  the  mining  companies 70 

Fair  comparative  statement 71 

The  Sutro  Tunnel  Company 73 

Superintendent's  Report  on  the  Sutro  tunnel 75 

Historical  opposition  to  great  improvements 77 

The  Liverpool  and  Manchester  railway 77 

The  Bank  of  California  and  the  Duke  of  Bridgewater 81 

A  thousand  tunnels  in  this  country 83 

Security  to  the  Government 85 

The  Bank  of  California  composed  of  patriotic  men 86 

Will  Congress  assist  the  laboring  men?.... 87 

Policy  of  the  Government 88 


REPORT    OF    THE    COMMITTEE    ON    MINES 
AND   MINING. 


The  Committee  on  Mines  arid  Mining,  to  whom  was  re- 
ferred H.  R.  1173,  entitled  "A  bill  to  aid  in  the  construction 
of  the  Sutro  tunnel  from  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  mineral 
lands,"  after  careful  consideration,  have  prepared  the  accom- 
panying substitute,  and  recommend  its  passage: 

Your  committee  have  patiently  and  carefully  investigated 
all  the  questions  having  any  bearing  upon  the  subject;  they 
have  heard  the  evidence  of  the  commissioners  and  other  ex- 
perts ;  they  have  listened  to  the  arguments  for  and  against 
the  bill ;  and,  without  commenting  at  length  upon  the  details 
of  their  investigations,  beg  leave  to  submit  the  following 
statement  of  facts  and  conclusions : 

1st.  Our  mineral  domain  is  almost  unlimited  in  extent, 
and  of  inestimable  value. 

2d.  The  mines  on  the  Comstock  lode  are  the  most  valuable 
in  the  world. 

3d.  They  have  yielded  already  $130,000,000  in  bullion. 

4th.  Their  present  annual  yield  exceeds  $15,000,000. 

5th.  Their  future  yield,  by  means  of  a  deep  tunnel,  will 
be  almost  incalculable. 

6th.  Deep  tunnels  are  necessary  for  the  full  development 
of  our  mining  interests. 

7th.  The  Sutro  tunnel  is  of  the  highest  importance  to  the 
future  profitable  working  of  the  mines  on  the  Comstock  lode. 

8th.  The  construction  of  this  tunnel  was  authorized  by 
the  Legislature  of  Nevada. 

9th.  The  mining  companies  on  the  Comstock  lode  con- 
tracted for  its  construction. 

10th.  The  Legislature  of  Nevada  memorialized  Congress 
to  aid  in  its  construction. 

llth.  Congress,  by  special  law,  endowed  it  with  certain 
rights  and  privileges. 

955 


956 

12th.  Congress  reaffirmed  those  rights  by  a  refusal  to  in- 
terfere with  them. 

13th.  Congress  again  reaffirmed  them  by  provisions  in 
two  general  mining  laws. 

14th.  Congress  sent  out  a  commission  to  report  upon  the 
facts  concerning  it. 

15th.  The  commissioners  made  a  report,  recommending 
the  work  to  favorable  consideration. 

16th.  Some  points  in  the  report  not  being  entirely  clear, 
the  commissioners  were  fully  examined  by  your  committee. 

liTth.  Other  witnesses,  amongst  whom  Professor  Kay- 
mond,  the  United  States  Commissioner  on  Mining,  were 
also  examined. 

18th.  The  testimony  (which  accompanies  this  report, 
embracing  810  pages)  makes  a  conclusive  case  in  favor  of 
the  tunnel. 

19th.  The  construction  of  the  tunnel  is  entirely  feasible. 

20th.  It  will  cost  from  $4,000,000  to  $5,000,000. 

21st.  It  will  take  from  2J  to  3J  years  to  complete  it. 

22d.  It  will  be  of  immense  benefit  to  the  legitimate  own- 
ers of  the  mines. 

% 

23d.  It  will  secure  the  health  of  the  miners  by  good  ven- 
tilation. 

24th.  It  will  create  an  outlet  for  escape  in  case  of  fire. 

25th.  It  will  establish  a  new  basis  of  operations  2,000 
feet  below  the  surface. 

26th.  It  will  drain  the  water  to  that  depth  by  its  own 
flow,  and  dispense  with  the  numerous  steam  engines  now 
required. 

27th.  The  water  contained  in  the  mines  may  be  utilized 
as  a  great  water  power  to  pump  the  water,  by  means  there- 
of, from  below  the  tunnel  level. 

28th.  Greater  depth  may  be  reached  thereby  than  has 
ever  been  reached  before  on  any  mines  in  the  world. 

29th.  It  will  stimulate  explorations  on  all  portions  of  the 
Comstock  lode,  and  may  increase  its  yield  to  $50,000,000 
per  annum. 


957 

30th.  It  will  develop  several  lodes  in  tlie  course  of  its 
construction. 

31st.  Immense  quantities  of  low-grade  ores  exist  in  the 
Comstock  lode  and  other  lodes  cut. by  the  tunnel. 

32d.  These  low-grade  ores  can  only  be  utilized  by  means 
of  concentrating  works. 

33d.  Extraordinary  facilities  exist  at  the  mouth  of  the 
tunnel  for  the  erection  of  improved  concentrating  and  re- 
duction works. 

34th.  The  tunnel  itself  will  furnish  sufficient  water  for 
concentrating  and  amalgamating  purposes. 

35th.  Cheap  motive  power  can  be  secured  with  coal  from 
the  Rocky  Mountains  and  firewood  floated  down  Carson 
river. 

36th.  As  a  geological  survey,  penetrating  into  this  argen- 
tiferous mountain,  it  will  be  of  the  highest  value  to  science. 

37th.  It  will  serve  as  a  pattern  work  for  all  the  other 
mining  districts. 

38th.  Its  success  will  give  confidence  in  mining  opera- 
tions. 

39th.  A  practical  illustration  of  the  downward  continu- 
ance of  mineral  lodes  will  give  a  high  value  to  our  mineral 
domain. 

40th.  It  will  make  capital  flow  in  that  direction. 

41st.  It  will  result  in  the  construction  of  hundreds  of  tun- 
nels by  private  enterprise. 

42d.  It  will  populate  our  vast  mining  regions,  and  create 
millions  of  dollars  of  taxable  property. 

43d.  It  will  establish  a  mart  for  western  produce  and 
eastern  manufactures. 

44th.  The  total  yield  of  gold  and  silver  will  be  largely 
increased. 

45th.  The  increase  of  the  stock  of  the  precious  metals  has 
a  tendency  of  increasing  the  money  value  of  all  property. 
,     46th.  That  increased  value  relieves  the  burdens  of  the 
people  by  reducing  the  rate  of  taxation. 

47th.  It  has  a  most  important  bearing  on  the  payment  of 
the  national  debt. 


958 

48th.  The  Sutro  tunnel  is  now  in  full  progress  of  con- 
struction. 

49th.  The  company  has  secured  funds  to  the  amount  of 
$1,500,000,  and  is  expending  upon  the  work  at  the  rate  of 
$50,000  per  month. 

50th.  The  work  is  of  national  importance,  and  the  aid 
provided  for  in  this  hill  will  secure  its  early  completion. 

51st.  The  security  to  the  Government  is  unquestionable, 
ample,  and  satisfactory:  one  half  of  the  royalty  alone  yield- 
ing at  the  present  rate  of  production  $365,000  per  annum. 

52d.  Under  the  bill  reported  the  aid  extended  shall  not 
exceed  $2,000,000. 

53d.  The  company  is  required  to  spend  an  equal  amount 
to  that  loaned  by  the  Government. 

54th.  One  half  of  all  the  income  will  be  paid  over  to  the 
Government  semi-annually. 

55th.  The  sum  loaned,  together  with  interest,  will  prob- 
ably be  repaid  to  the  Government  within  a  few  years  after 
its  completion. 

56th.  No  money  will  be  paid  until  the  commissioners  to 
be  appointed  shall  report  the  completion  of  each  section,  as 
prescribed  by  law. 

5*7th.  A  non-compliance  with  the  provisions  of  this  bill 
will  forfeit  all  rights  under  the  same. 

58th.  The  aid  extended  only  applies  to  the  first  four 
miles  of  tunnel  to  the  Comstock  lode. 

59th.  This  first  section  of  the  tunnel  will  form,  as  it  were, 
the  main  artery  or  highway,  from  which  one  hundred  miles 
of  branch  tunnels  may  be  constructed. 

60th.  No  further  aid  will  be  required;  for  after  the  tun- 
nel reaches  the  mines,  the  income  will  be  sufficient  to  make 
it  self-sustaining. 

61st.  We  would  in  conclusion  indorse  the  language  used 
in  the  closing  paragraph  of  a  report  to  Congress  made  by  a 
former  committee,  recommending  a  loan  of  $5,000,000,  in 
the  following  words : 

"That  taking  into  consideration  the  magnitude  of  the  undertaking,  the 
large  yield  of  bullion  which  will  be  directly  secured  thereby,  the  great  influ- 


959 

ence  by  its  successful  completion  upon  all  our  mining  interests,  the  stimulus 
it  will  give  to  mining  generally,  the  positive  proof  it  will  furnish  of  our  im- 
mense mineral  wealth,  and  considering  the  importance  of  attaining  these  results, 
in  view  of  our  large  national  debt,  ordinary  wisdom  and .  foresight  should 
command  that  the  aid  asked  for  the  construction  of  this  important  work,  or 
a  much  larger  sum,  if  it  were  necessary,  should  be  granted,  even  were  no 
security  whatever  offered  for  its  repayment." 

For  further  and  detailed  information  upon  the  subjects 
embraced  in  this  report,  your  committee  refers  to — 

1st.  The  act  of  the  Nevada  Legislature,  entitled  "An  act 
granting  the  right  of  way,  and  authorizing  A.  Sutro  and 
his  associates  to  construct  a  mining  and  draining  tunnel," 
approved  February  4,  1865.  (See  book  on  Sutro  Tunnel, 
p.  71.) 

2d.  The  contracts  with  the  mining  companies.  (See 
book  on  Sutro  Tunnel,  p.  173.) 

3d.  Law  of  Congress,  entitled  "An  act  granting  the 
right  of  way  and  granting  other  privileges  to  aid  in  the 
construction  of  a  draining  ajid/  exploring  tunnel  to  the 
Comstock  lode  in  the  State  of  Nevada,"  approved  July  25, 

1866.  (See  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  vol.  14,  p.  242.) 
4th.  The  Comstock  Lode,  its  Character,  &c.     By  Ferdi- 
nand Baron  Kichthofen,  Dr.  Phil,  San  Francisco:  Towne 
&  Bacon  printers,  1866.  (See  Book  on  Sutro  Tunnel,  p.  95.) 

5th.  Joint  memorial  and  resolutions  by  the  Nevada  Leg- 
islature, asking  Government  aid  in  the  construction  of  the 
Sutro  tunnel,  186*7.  (See  book  on  Sutro  Tunnel,  p.  13.)  B 

6th.  Keport  to  the  Legislature  by  the  Senate  Committee 
on  Federal  Kelations  on  the  foregoing  memorial,  1867. 
(See  book  on  Sutro  Tunnel,  p.  77.) 

7th.  Resolutions  by  the  Nevada  Legislature,  January, 

1867.  (See  book  on  Sutro  Tunnel,  p.  92.) 

8th.  Report  to  the  Mechanics'  Institute  of  San  Francisco 
by  a  special  committee  appointed  to  investigate  the  merits 
of  the  Sutro  tunnel,  April  4,  1867.  (See  book  on  Sutro 
Tunnel,  p.  141.) 

9th.  Report  on  the  Sutro  tunnel  by  the  Hon.  Joseph  S. 
Wilson,  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office,  Wash- 
ington, June,  1868.  (See  Miscellaneous  Documents  No. 
156,  40th  Congress,  2d  session.) 


960 

10th.  Keport  of  the  Committee  on  Mines  and  Mining  to 
the  United  States  House  of  Kepresentatives  recommending 
an  appropriation  of  $5,000,000  by  the  Government.  (Pub. 
Doc. ;  see  Keport  No.  50,  40th  Congress,  2d  session.) 

llth.  Proceedings  in  the  House  of  Kepresentatives  of- the 
United  States  March  IT,  22,  and  23,  1870,  and  in  the 
United  States  Senate  April  27  and  28,  1870. 

12th.  "An  act  authorizing  and  requesting  the  President 
of  the  United  States  to  appoint  a  commission  to  examine 
and  report  upon  the  Sutro  tunnel,"  approved  April  4, 1871. 

13th.  Report  of  the  commissioners  on  the  Sutro  tunnel. 
(See  Ex.  Docs.  No.  15,  42d  Congress,  2d  session.) 

14th.  Evidence  taken  by  the  Committee  on  Mines  and 
Mining,  42d  Congress,  2d  session. 

15th.  Reports  of  the  United  States  Commissioners  on 
Mines  and  Mining  for  the  years  1866,  1867,  1868,  1869, 
1870,  and  1871. 

HENRY  WALDRON. 
NATH.  P.  BANKS. 

WORTHINGTON   C.  SMITH. 

JAMES  S.  NEGLEY. 
WALTER  L.  SESSIONS. 
FRANCIS  E.  SHOBER. 
PIERCE  M.  YOUNG. 
CHAS.  W.  KENDALL. 
WASHINGTON,  May  14,  1872. 


SUBSTITUTE  FOR  H.  R.  1173. 


As  agreed  on  by  the  Committee  on  Mines  and  Mining. 


A  BILL 

To  aid  in  the  construction  of  the  Sutro  tunnel  from  the  proceeds  of  the  sale 
of  mineral  lands. 

Whereas  our  public  lands  contain  mines  of  the  precious 
metals  which  are  unsurpassed  in  extent,  and  can,  with 
proper  development,  be  made  speedily  to  enhance  the 
value  of  all  property,  and  thereby  relieve  the  burdens  of 
the  people; 

And  whereas  a  wise  policy  indicates  that  the  revenue 
derived  from  our  mineral  lands  should,  to  some  extent, 
be  devoted  again  to  the  much-needed  development  of 
that  important  interest; 

And  whereas  Congress,  by  an  act  approved  July  twenty- 
fifth,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-six,  authorized  the  con- 
struction of  a  draining  and  exploring  tunnel  to  the 
Comstock  lode,  in  the  State  of  Nevada,  and  granted  to 
Adolph  Sutro  certain  rights  and  privileges,  which  have 
been  assigned,  transferred,  and  set  over  to  a  corpora- 
tion, duly  organized  under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Cal- 
ifornia, and  known  as  the  "Sutro  Tunnel  Company;" 

And  whereas  great  benefits  will  accrue  to  the  people  of  the 
United  States  from  the  construction  of  said  tunnel,  which, 
as  a  great  geological  survey,  penetrating  into  an  argen- 
tiferous mountain  to  a  greater  depth  than  has  yet  been 
reached  by  any  similar  work  in  the  world,  will  establish 
the  value  of  our  mineral  domain ; ' 

And  whereas  the  principal  wealth  of  our  mineral  regions 

consists  in  low-grade  ores,  which  can  only  be  utilized  by 

61 


962 

means  of  improved  reduction,  concentration,  and  smelt- 
ing works,  for  the  erection  of  "which  extraordinary 
facilities  exist  at  the  mouth  of  said  tunnel; 
And  whereas  this  work  bears  a  national  character,  and 
its  magnitude  is  beyond  the  capacity  of  private  enter- 
prise, and  the  security  offered  to  the  Government  is 
ample  for  the  repayment  of  any  sums  to  be  advanced 
under  this  act:  Therefore, 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of 
the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled.  That  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  is  hereby  authorized  and  directed 
to  keep  a  separate  account  of  all  moneys  received  by  the 
United  States  from  the  sale  of  mineral  lands,  and  the  same 
shall  be  used  in  fostering  the  mining  interest,  as  Congress 
may  hereafter  direct. 

SEC.  2,  That  whenever  the  Sutro  Tunnel  Company,  a 
corporation  duly  organized  under  the  laws  of  the  State  of 
California,  shall  have  hereafter  completed  five  hundred 
lineal  feet,  in  the  aggregate,  of  its1  tunnel  and  shafts,  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  upon  application  to  him  by  said 
company,  shall  from  the  aforesaid  moneys,  or  from  any  other 
moneys  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated,  pay  as 
a  loan  to  said  company  fifty  thousand  dollars;  and  in  like 
manner  shall  pay  as  a  loan  to  said  company  a  like  sum 
upon  the  completion  by  said  company  of  each  and  every 
additional  five  hundred  feet  of  said  tunnel  and  shafts, 
as  hereinafter  specified:  Prodded,  That  each  install- 
ment of  said  loan  shall  be  paid  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  to  said  company  only  after  the  said  company 
shall  have  expended,  according  to  the  report  of  the  com- 
missioners hereinafter  provided  for,  an  additional  equal 
amount  of  its  own  funds  in  the  construction  of  said  tunnel 
and  shafts:  And  provided  farther.  That  all  payments  under 
this  act  shall  be  made  out  of  appropriations  hereafter  to 
be  made. 

SEC.  3.  That  the  President  of  the  United  States  is  here- 
by authorized  to  appoint  a  board  of  three  commissioners 
and  fix  their  compensation,  and  to  fill  vacancies  in  said 


963 

board  whenever  they  occur;  and  whenever  the  superin- 
tendent of  said  company  shall  file  in  the  Interior  De- 
partment his  sworn  affidavit,  setting  forth  that  five 
hundred  lineal  feet  in  the  aggregate  of  said  tunnel  and 
shafts  have  been  completed  in  accordance  with  the  pro- 
visions of  this  act,  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  shall 
thereupon  notify  the  said  board  of  commissioners  to  exam- 
ine the  same,  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  said  commissioners 
forthwith  to  make  such  examination ;  and  if  they  find  the 
same  completed  in  conformity  with  this  act,  and  in  accord- 
ance with  plans  and  specifications  of  said  tunnel  and  shafts, 
to  be  approved  by  them,  and  filed  in  the  office  of  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Interior,  they  shall  file  their  report  thereof 
with  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  who  shall  thereupon  no- 
tify the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  that  said  company  has 
become  entitled  to  the  payment  of  fifty  thousand  dollars 
under  section  two  of  this  act,  and  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  shall  thereupon  pay  to  said  company  the  sum 
of  money  to  which  it  is  entitled;  and  from  time  to  time, 
as  other  five  hundred  feet  of  said  tunnel  and  shafts  are 
completed,  they  shall  be  examined,  reported  upon,  and 
like  sums  of  money  paid,  as  hereinbefore  provided. 

SEC.  4.  That,  in  order  to  secure  to  the  United  States  the 
repayment  by  said  company  of  the  sums  so  loaned,  with 
interest  thereon,  and  of  the  compensation  of  the  commis- 
sioners, the  payment  of  said  sums  shall,  ipso  facto,  consti- 
tute a  first  mortgage  and  lien  on  the  whole  of  said  tunnel, 
together  with  all  the  lands,  franchises,  easements,  privileges, 
engines,  buildings,  and  appurtenances  thereunto  belonging. 
And, .after  the  completion  of  said  main  tunnel  to  its  inter- 
section with  the  said  Comstock  lode,  fifty  per  centum  of 
the  net  amount  collected  for  royalty,  tolls,  drainage,  trans- 
portation of  ore,  rock,  and  material,  or  in  any  other  man- 
ner, after  deducting  the  necessary  expenses,  shall,  on  the 
first  day  of  January  and  on  the  first  day  of  July  in  each 
year,  be  paid  by  the  said  company  into^  the  Treasury  of  the 
United  States,  which  moneys  shall  be  applied  to  and  be 
used  for  the  repayment  of  the  sums  so  loaned  and  paid, 


964 
/ 

together  with  interest  thereon  at  the  rate  of  five  per  centum 
per  annum  until  the  whole  amount  shall  be  repaid  to  the 
United  States,  and  such  net  amount  shall  he  ascertained 
and  reported  by  the  commissioners  upon  inspection  of  the 
books  and  accounts  of  said  company,  or  otherwise,  as  they 
may  deem  proper;  and  on  failure  or  refusal  of  said  com- 
pany to  pay  the  said  sums  of  money,  or  any  part  of  them, 
when  required  so  to  do  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  this  act,  the  said  tun- 
nel, with  all  the  lands,  franchises,  easements,  privileges, 
engines,  buildings,  and  appurtenances  thereunto  belong- 
ing, may  be  taken  possession  of  by  the  President  of  the 
United  States  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  the  United  States, 
as  hereinafter  provided. 

SEC.  5.  That  the  conditions  upon  which  aid  shall  be  ex- 
fended  to  said  work  are  as  follows  : 

First.  That  the  aggregate  amount  to  be  loaned  under 
this  act  shall  not  exceed  the  sum  of  two  millions  of  dol- 
lars; and  said  company  shall  prosecute  the  construction  of 
said  tunnel  with  all  reasonable  diligence,  and  shall  com- 
plete the  same  to  the  Comstock  lode  within  five  years  from 
the  date  of  this  act. 

Second.  That  the  said  tunnel  shall,  from  its  initial 
point  in  the  foot-hills  near  Carson  river,  extend  in  a  west- 
erly direction  four  miles,  more  or  less,  to  and  beyond  the 
easterly  limit  of  the  Comstock  lode,  and  branches  shall  be 
constructed  from  said  tunnel  northerly  and  southerly  to 
such  extent  as  may  by  said  cdmpany  be  deemed  profitable 
and  expedient. 

Third.  That  said  main  tunnel  shall,  throughout  its  entire 
length,  have  a  cross  sectionaf  area  of  at  least  one  hundred 
and  forty  square  feet,  including  timbers  and  space  for 
drainage,  and  shall,  on  or  before  its  completion,  be  pro- 
vided with  all  necessary  timber  supports,  double  railroad 
tracks,  and  working  shafts,  the  whole  work  to  be  substan- 
tial, permanent,  and  workmanlike,  and  to  be  subject 
during  its  progress  to  the  examination  and  approval  of  the 
board  of  commissioners  herein  provided  for. 


965 

Fourth.  That  the  last  five  hundred  thousand  dollars  to 
be  loaned  under  this  act  shall  be  retained  by  the  United 
States  until  after  the  said  company  shall  have  erected  re- 
duction, concentration,  and  smelting  works,  of  the  most 
approved  kind,  at  or  near  the  mouth  of  said  tunnel,  at  a 
cost  of  at  least  five  hundred  thousand  dollars;  and  the  said 
sum  retained  shall  be  paid  to  said  company  by  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Treasury,  whenever  the  said  commissioners 
shall  report,  in  the  manner  hereinbefore  provided  for,  that 
the  said  company  has  complied  with  all  the  provisions  of 
this  act. 

Fifth.  That  before  any  moneys  shall  be  loaned  by 
the  United  States,  the  said  company  shall  file  with  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior  an  acceptance  of  this  act,  and  a 
declaration  that  said  company  consents  to  be  bound  by  the 
conditions  herein  imposed. 

SEC.  6.  That  in  case  of  failure  on  the  part  of  said  com- 
pany to  prosecute  said  work,  or  to  complete  said  main 
tunnel  within  the  period  herein  specified,  or  to  keep  the 
same  in  good  repair  and  condition,  or  to  repay  the  full 
amount  of  said  loan  and  interest  thereon  within  twenty 
years  from  the  date  of  the  passage  of  this  act,  or  of  neglect 
to  perform  any  and  all  the  conditions  hereinbefore  stated, 
at  any  time  prior  to  the  repayment  to  the  Government  of 
the  said  sums  so  loaned  and  paid,  the  President  of  the 
United  States  may  declare  all  rights  of  said  company  un- 
der this  act  forfeited,  and  may  take  such  proceedings  as 
he  may  deem  advisable  to  terminate  the  possession  of  said 
Company. 


INDEX. 


Air,  theory  of  currents  of,  749. 
Amalgamation,  process  of,  674,  707,  708. 
Assessments  paid  by  Ophir  mine,  6. 

bow  levied,  558,  686,  690,  737. 
if  not  paid,  stock  is  sold  out,  690. 
Atwood,  George,  296,  297,  298. 
Bank  of  California,  opposition  of,  to  Sutro  tunnel,  17,  144,  347. 

Sharon,  agent  of,  at  Virginia  City,  18,  54,  163. 

agent  of,  declares  be  will  crusb  the  Sutro  Tunnel  Co.,  164 

manner  in  which  opposition  of,  is  exercised,  166. 

parties  giving  information  adverse  to  its  interests  dis- 
charged, 166. 

why  names  of  informants  "withheld,  166. 

Sharon,  agent  of,  "the  power  behind  the  throne,"  177. 
purchases  stock  by  telegraph,  191. 

votes  stock  hypothecated  for  debt,  196,  350,  680,  737. 

endeavors  to  prevent  contracts  with  Sutro  tunnel  being 

complied  with,  223. 

attorney  of,  requests  name  of  adverse  informants,  269. 

why  it  opposes  Sutro  tunnel,  347. 

"robbing  and  fleecing  the  country,"  348,  352. 

how  it  ensnared  mill  owners,  352. 

agent  of,  at  head  of  Union  >lill  and  Mining  Company,  354. 

Governor  Blair's  opinion  concerning,  356. 

owns  Union  Mill  and  Mining  Company,  515. 

money  of  Chollar  Potost  mine,  kept  in,  526. 

employs  a  professional  engineer  to  examine  mines,  678, 
721,  722,  723. 

engaged  in  stockjobbing,  349,  679. 

method  of  purchasing  stock  by,  680. 

prefers  uneducated  men  for  superintendents  of  mines,  68L 

ring,  687. 

how  they  get  control  of  mines,  687. 
Batterman,  reputation  of,  144. 

Belcher  mine,  Mr.  Sharon  purchases  stock  of,  by  telegraph,  175. 
Books,  how  kept,  145,  292. 

Bore-holes,  advantage  of,  in  developing  mines,  4-12,471. 
connecting  shafts  with  tunnel  by,  675. 
drainage  of  water  by,  339,  629,  648,  695. 
Carson  City,  general  health  of  49-1,  514,  545. 

967 


968 

Garson  valley,  climate  of,  578. 

Carson  river,  sufficiency  of,  for  Comstock  lode,  66, 118, 153, 476, 669, 695, 712. 
proprietorship  of  land 'adjacent  to,  119,  123,  251. 
estimated  cost  of  bringing  water  of,  to  mouth  of  tunnel,  122. 
property  to  be  flooded  by,  123,  252. 
what  mills  would  be  destroyed  by  dam  of,  12^,  156. 
character  of  mills  upon,  156,  252,  487,  505,  5C6,  507, 514. 
distance  of,  by  railroad  from  Virginia  City,  158. 
floating  wood  down,  187. 

value  of  mills  upon,  252,  487,  505,  506,  507,  514. 
floods  in,  carry  away  large  amount  of  tailings,  262,  506. 
will  supply  a  water  power  of  86,445  horses,  381,  475,  566. 
average  flow  of  water  in,  711. 
how  dam  upon,  to  be  constructed,  474. 
dam  upon,  amount  of  fall  by,  474,  482, 489. 
evaporation  from,  475. 
power  of,  by  General  Day's  plan,  475. 
mills  upon,  troubled  by  high  water,  476,  506. 
sufficiency  of,  for  concentration,  at  mouth  of  tunnel,  475. 
how  evaporation  from  dams  upon,  calculated,  476. 
angle  of  elevation  of  banks  of,  477. 
difficulties  of  making  high  dams  upon,  479,  481,  518. 
.   amount  of,  still  available  for  mill  sites,  488. 
capacity  of  mills  upon,  4^8,  490,  505. 
estimated  expense  of  removing  mills  upon,  488,507,  511,  514, 

572. 

cost  of  milling  ores  upon,  492. 
suitableness  of  banks  for  dam,  564,  669. 
infiltration  upon,  577,  635,  636,  670,  672. 
character  of  rock  upon,  581,  634,  669. 
Chollar  Potosi  mine,  109. 

cost  of  working,  112. 

advantage  of  Sutro  tunnel  to,  237,  498. 

ores  on  upper  level  will  be  exhausted  in  one  year,  237. 

ores  of,  by  what  mills  reduced,  519,  522. 

profit  paid  by,  to  Union  Mill  and  Mining  Company,  520, 
521. 

amount  paid  by,  to  mills  for  reducing  ores,  519. 

where  money  is  kept,  523. 

who  trustees  are,  523. 

dividends  of,  528. 

why  stock  in,  sold  so  low,  530. 

salary  of  superintendent  of,  533. 

stockjobbing  of  superintendent  of,  539. 

capital  stock  of,  535. 

amount  of  low  grade  ores  in,  499. 

machinery  used  for  pumping  upon,  554. 


969 

Coal,  cost  of,  at  Comstock  lode,  G70. 

compared  with  wood  for  fuel,  cost  of,  713. 
amount  necessary  in  reduction  of  ores,  768. 
cost  of  delivery  at  Reno,  773,  776. 

San  Francisco,  776. 
mouth  of  Sutro  tunnel,  630,  774. 
heating  power  of,  compared  with  wood,  775,  777. 
cost  of,  775. 

Coercion  of  miners,  100,  132. 
Commisssion,  composition  of,  1. 

conclusions  of,  how  arrived  at,  2,  201,227,  329,  378,  502. 
Commissioners,  report  of,  on  drainage  and  economy  of  working  by  tunnel,  201. 

201,  329. 

accuracy  of,  depends  on  correctness  of  superintend- 
ents' report,  419.  • 
amount  of  ore  reduced  per  day,  592. 
obstacles  thrown  in  way  of,  visiting  mines,  306. 
Compressed  air,  economy  of  working  mines  with,  133,  696. 

loss  of  power  in  conveying  great  distances,  319,  320,  627, 668. 

how  to  be  used  in  tunnel,  323,  696. 

to  be  used  at  Government  works,  328. 

sufficient  supply  of  water  to  furnish  power'by,  382,  696. 

used  in  ventilation,  391,  626. 

depth  to  which  mines  can  be  worked  by,  428,  626. 

242. 

cheap  power  for,  of  highest  importance,  627. 
essential  to  proper  ventilation  in  deep  mines,  626. 
how  drainage  of  tunnel  to  be  used  for  furnishing,  696. 
Comstock  lode,  cost  of  hoisting  at,  54. 

amount  of  timber  used  per  annum,  70. 

history  of  mining  of,  79,  80. 

dip  of  vein,  108,  220,  261. 

whence  water  in,  derived,  137,  334,  695,  741. 

manner  of  working,  142, 151,  215,  362,  449,  724. 

description  of,  15,  150,  190,  205,  362,  367,  561,  640,  644,  684, 

741,  742,  764. 
depth  of,  150,  658. 

ores  not  worked  at  present,  151,  205,  449. 
how  stockholders  are  defrauded,  175. 
by  whom  owned,  190,  668. 
estimated  yield  per  annum,  203,  362,  644,  730. 
number  of  tons  of  ore  reduced  per  annum,  203. 
saving  of  cost  in  working  by  Sutro  tunnel,  204,  368,  408, 644 

648. 

immense  value  of  ores  in,  207, 452,  640,  684,  730. 
controlled  by  less  than  majority  of  its  stock,  196,  341. 
great  number  of  tunnels  in,  211. 


970 

Coinstock  lode,  extends  downward  indefinitely,  220,  684. 

Sutro  tunnel  immense  benefit  to  unproductive  part8  of,  147, 

226,  3G8,  644,  691,  721. 
Sutro  tunnel  will  drain,  743,  696. 

machinery  used  at,  not  suitable  for  concentration,  147,  249. 
a  true  fissure  vein,  201,  303,  658. 
lack  of  capital  at,  293,  295,  667,  668. 
ore  in,  sufficient  to  pay  national  debt,  312,  207,  452,  684. 
average  amount  of  water  in,  334,  643,  691. 
for  whose  benefit  managed,  341. 
number  of  feet  in,  367,  65S. 
amount  of,  producing  ore  below  1,000  feet  depth,  367,  644, 

691. 
ventilation  and  drainage  of,  gratis,  while  prospecting,  368, 449, 

648. 

cost  of  pumping  water,  453. 
discrepancies  in  money  returns,  4~>3. 
\vater  from  drainage  and  Carson  river  sufficient  for,  454. 
effect  upon  of  erection  of  reduction  works  at  tunnel,  148. 
number  of  mines  in  operation,  501. 
proportionate  yield  of  gold  to  silver,  561. 
each  body  of  ore  in,  found  further  east  than  preceding  ones, 

500. 
United  States  Government  justified  in  expending  money  to 

develop,  636,  637. 

to  United  States  Government,  immense  benefit  of,  610. 
equal  in  importance  to  any  other  one  hundred  mines,  640. 
fall  of  Vater,  in  649. 

Sutro  tunnel,  least  expensive  mode  of  exploring,  658,  744. 
saleable  value  of,  067,  668. 
cause  of  decrease  of  water  in,  695. 
Justis  mine  a  part  of,  72k 
use  of  safety  cages  upon,  724. 
difficulties  of  mining  upon,  738. 
temperature  of,  745. 
cost  of  mining,  766. 
character  of  ores  upon,  764. 
Concentration  of  ores,  machinery  for,  119,  159,  248. 

cost  of,  735. 

how  expenses  are  reduced,  120,  675,  708,  765. 

comparative  cost  of,  at  mills  and  Sutro  Tunnel,  121,  708, 
765,  770. 

cost  of  attaching  to  mills  machinery  for,  121,  249. 

estimated  cost  of  steam  and  water  power  for,  712,  765, 
768,  769,  776. 

two  essentials  for,  153,  628,  670. 

space  required  for  works  for,  157,  628. 


971 

Concentration  of  ores,  loss  by  present  method  of,  159,  100,  266,  751,  756, 758, 

7(51. 

loss  by  present  method  of,  in  Europe,  160. 
machinery  at  Comstock  mine  not  suitable  for,  249. 
fall  necessary  for  successful  working  in,  255,  628. 
sufficiency  of  water  power  at  mouth  of  tunnel  for,  476, 

628,  708. 

first  requisite  for,  is  water.  628,  670. 
steam  requisite  for,  713,  776. 
process  of,  674,  675,  735,  736. 
$10-ore  will  pay  a  profit  in,  708,  765. 
Crown  Point  mine,  fire  at,  98,  105,  107,  470. 
depth  of  shaft  of,  126,  193. 
temperatnre  of,  146. 
stock-jobbing  at,  300. 
flooded,  338. 

Dams,  value  of  one  large  one  over  a  number  of  small  ones,  382,  485,  518. 
no  difficulty  in  erecting,  so  as  to.  bear  any  pressure,  385. 
character  of  lands  adjacent  to  the  proposedv  255. 
rock  adjacent  to  the  proposed,  583. 
height  of,  122,  576,  579. 
chutes  required  to  be  open  in,  187. 
on  Louisville  and  Portland  canal,  480. 
on  Carson  river,  economy  in  constructing,  251,  416,  579. 
how  constructed,  416,  474.  584. 
will  not  affect  Mexican  mill,  252. 
estimated  cost  of,  417,  579.  5*5,  586,  588. 
mill,  property  destroyed  by,  493. 
water  power  destroyed,  543. 
suitableness  of  banks  for,  564.    ^ 
lands  overflowed  by,  567,  582. 
155  feet  high  pressure  of  water  upon,  578. 

practicability  of  erection,  580. 
maximum  heighth  of,  576. 
best  kind  for  Carson  river,  579. 
on  Croton  river,  heighth  of,  580. 
Deep  George  tunnel,  6£  miles  long,  depth  of,  604. 

depth  of  from  Ern^t-August  tunnel,  714. 
depth  of  mines  reckoned  from  adit  level  down,  698. 
Diamond  drill  preferable,  315. 

how  operated,  315. 

Drainage,  amount  of  cost  of  saved,  see  Sutro  tunnel,  202. 
Draughts,  theory  of,  105,  625. 

in  mines,  direction  of,  624. 
Dropping  ores,  limit  of  distance  of,  109. 
Empire  City,  population  of,  124,  254. 
small  value  of,  251. 


972 

England,  mineral  wealth  of,  about  exhausted,  600. 
evaporation  in,  amount  of,  in  1872,  483. 
Ernst- August  tunnel  14  miles  long,  603. 
depth  of,  6.03,  714. 

shafts,  before  completion  of,  603,  704. 
Eureka  mill,  capacity  of,  121. 

percentage  of  ores  saved  by,  504. 

Europe,  mining  in,  is  carried  on  with  highest  intelligence,  606,  655,  715. 
mines  in,  worked  to  .great  depth,  640. 
tunnels  are  always  used  in  developing  mines  of,  607. 
great  authorities  of,  on  mining  questions,  613,  614,  615. 
mines  of,  use  of  water  power  in,  618. 
water  power  utilized  by  engines  in  mines  of,  618. 
Evaporation,  amount  of,  in  England  in  1872,  483. 

United  States,  483. 
theory  of,  484. 

cause  of  disappearance  of  western  streams,  635. 
Expenses,  discrepancies  in  statement  of,  at  Ophir  mine,  13. 
Fahrkunst,  description  of,  G23,  650. 

advantage  of,  in  American  mines,  624,  650. 
manner  of  working,  650. 
slow  but  safe,  706. 

Fire  in  mines,  Sutro  tunnel  would  provide  means  of  escape  from,  99. 
Franklin  mill,  cause  of  suspension  of,  494. 
Gould  &  Curry  mine,  productiveness  of,  in  depth,  45. 
depth  of  shaft  of,  125. 
cost  of  pumping  at,  96. 
time  shafts  will  reach  the  tunnel,  125. 
mill,  cost  of,  563. 
mine,  trustees  of,  574. 
Hale  &  Norcross  mine,  amount  of  water  in,  96. 

flooding  of,  96. 
Hoisting  of  miners,  method  of,  28,  29,  229,  230,  231,  620,  621,  706,  752. 

velocity  of,  29. 

•"   general  cost  of,  3,  11,  14,  465,  745. 
ore,  cost  at  Ophir  mine,  4,  15. 
rock,  comparative  cost  of,  at  Ophir  mine,  9,  227. 

difference  in  cost  of,  for  large  and  small  quantities,  11. 
actual  cost  of,  for  large  and  small  quantities,  10. 
cost  of,  at  Comstock  lode,  15,  54,  465. 
water,  cost  of,  83,  84,  374,  433. 

comparative  cost  of,  by  pump  and  tank,  85,  375,  433. 
ore,  cost  of,  109,  126,  136. 
and  lowering  miners,  cost  of,  140,  230,  231. 
time  of  lowering  and  hoisting,  230,  231. 
water,  machinery  for  obviated  by  Sutro  tunnel,  179,  328,  374. 
ores  of  low  grade  and  waste  rock,  208. 


978 

Hoisting   of  rock,  amount  of,  compared  with  hoisting  of  ore,  223. 

cost  of,  not  included  in  commissioners'  computation,  227.  • 
ore,  wifchin  tunnel,  by  compressed  air,  328. 
water,  cost  of,  saved  by  bore-holes  into  tunnel,  339,  374. 

Sutro  tunnel,  371. 

ore,  when  two  compartments  are  used,  434. 
rock,  cost  of,  465. 
miners  by  water  power,  advantage  of  Sutro  tunnel  in,  620,  621. 

use  of  ore,  623. 
ore  by  means  of  water,  649. 
miners  by  means  of  safety  cages,  753 
Infiltration,  amount  of,  486. 

rocks  on  Carson  river  not  liable  to,  670. 
on  Carson  river,  577,  635. 

Jones,  Mr.,  why  elaborate  statement  was  not  forwarded  by  him,  56. 
Kerl,  Bruno,  letter  of,  concerning  extraction  by  Sutro  tunnel,  612. 
Labor,  effect  of  price  of,  upon  mining,  148. 
Lady  Bryan  mine,  value  of  ore  at,  153. 
Lowering  rock,  estimate  of  cost  of,  25. 

and  transportation,  total  cost  of,  26. 
timber  into  mines,  cost  of,  140. 
Luckhardt,  G.  A.,  education  of,  as  an  engineer,  677,  697. 

employed  by  Bank  of  California,  678,  721. 
opportunity  of,  for  studying  mines,  680. 
obtains  permits  to  enter  mines  from  Bank  of  California,  680. 
present  business  of,  716,  771. 

•  where  formerly  employed,  718,  719. 

indorsed  by  Baron  Richthofen,  721. 
employed  to  free  mines  from  water,  721,  726. 
Machinery,  how  often  replaced  in  mills,  163. 

for  concentrating  ores,  how  testimony  of,  obtained,  119. 
Mills,  advantage  of  location  at  mouth  of  tunnel,  162,  422. 
wear  and  tear  of  machinery  in,  163,  508. 

owners  of,  would  be  benefited  by  moving  to  mouth  of  tunnel,  163. 
character  of  buildings  of,  164. 
comparative  distance  of,  from  mines,  via  Virginia  City  and  via  Sutfo 

tunnel,  309. 

owners  of,  opposed  to  Sutro  tunnel,  reason  why,  310. 
as  now  situated,  have  not  power  sufficient  for  stamps,  384 
running  on  Carson  river,  by  whom  owned,  411. 
great  advantage  of  removal  of  to  mouth  of  Sutro  tunnel,  422. 
upon  Carson  river  much  annoyed  by  high  water,  506. 
upon  Carson  river,  name,  value,  and  capacity  of,  487,  514. 

expense  of  removal,  488,  507. 

property,  amount  that  will  be  destroyed  by  dam,  493. 
how  often  appliances  iu,  must  be  renewed,  508. 
how  long  they  last,  510. 


974 

Mills,  how  estimate  of  cost  arrived  at,  512. 
by  whom  owned,  513,  515., 

when  first  constructed,  511.  * 

amount  of  yield  of  ores  returned  to  mines  by,  632. 
Mines,  comparison  of  amount  of  rock  and  ore  hoisted  from,  223. 
small  number  of,  yielding  ore,  224. 
extent  of  gold  and  silver,  283. 
silver,  greatest  depth  of,  2^7. 

managed  for  benefit  of  mining  rings  rather  than  for  stockholders,  300 
fraudulent  election  of  trustees  for,  350. 
in  which  ores  are  found  below  1,000  feet  depth,  365. 
fee  simple  in,  bought  subject  to  rights  of  Sutro  tunnel,  373. 
unproductive,  relieved  entirely  of  expense  of  exploration,  373. 
advantage  of  bore-holes  in  developing,  412,  658. 
causes  of  litigation  about,  500. 
United  States  Government*  has  never  extended  aid  to,  595. 

developing  of,  by  means  of  railroads,  596. 
in  Europe,  regularity  of  dividends  paid  by,  601,  660. 

regulated  and  controlled  by  government,  601,  660. 
construction  of  tunnels  encouraged  by  government,  602. 
in,  laws  of,  602. 

f  500  years  ago,  603. 
Mexico,  yield  of,  640,  731. 
Germany,  history  of,  603. 

water  from,  used  for  navigation,  643. 

working  of,  will  form  most  important  branch  of  industry,  600. 
effect  upon,  of  rational  system  of  working,  615,  661. 
politico  economical  view  of  developing,  616. 
amount  of  ores  in,  returned  by  mills,  632. 
private  enterprise  shrinks  from  developing,  638. 
distance  of,  from  mouth  of  Sutro  tunnel  to  mills,  645. 
expenditure  of  mdney  on,  at  early  day,  661. 
loss  of  capital  invested  in,  668. 
extreme  depth  at  which  worked,  676. 
Sutro  tunnel  will  thoroughly  ventilate,  702,  703. 
how  often  timbers  in,  are  replaced,  710. 

commissioners  only  allowed  to  visit  in  company  with  superintend- 
ents, 182. 

only  such  portion  visited  as  superintendents  permitted,  182. 
titles  to,  subject  to  contracts  with  Sutro  tunnel,  197,  222,  223,  281, 

373,541. 

depth  of,  how  reckoned,  194,  449,  695. 
depth  of,  in  England,  195. 
how  information  of  strikes  in,  is  procured,  192. 
extent  to  which  Sutro  tunnel  will  open,  193. 
Sutro  tunnel  will  be  finished  before  reached  by,  193. 
German,  explorations  in,  many  years  ahead,  214. 


975 

Mines,  in  Comstock  lode,  how  worked,  215. 

working  of,  to  great  depth  below  tunnel,  215,  299,  442,  691. 

employing  water  power  in,  218. 

titles  to,  derived  from  United  States  Government,  222,  223,  281,  373. 

settled  by  Congress,  223,  373. 
difference  of  titles  to  gold  and  iron,  281. 
usual  time  required  for  caving  of,  36,  229,  401. 

to  provide  timbers  in  caving  of.  229.       - 
immense  wealth  of,  63,  64,  65. 
worked  in  stock-board  at  San  Francisco,  174,  466. 
information  of  discovery  of  bonanzas  in,  kept  from  public,  174. 
in  whose  interest  they  are  worked,  175,  466. 
San  Francisco  Chronicle  upon  management  of,  467. 
superintendents  of,  grown  wealthy,  176. 
how  owned,  177. 

stock  in,  continually  changing  hands,  178,  466. 
simply  a  foot  ball,  178. 
managed  for  stock -jobbing  purposes,  466. 
superintendents  object  to  visits  therein,  182. 
Miners,  mode  of  reaching  place  of  labor  by,  27,  138,  230,  231. 

transportation  of,  through  tunnel,  27,  228. 

hoisting  of,  from  place  of  labor,  2,8,  229. 

speed  of  conveying,  through  tunnel,  31,  138,  230,  231. 

number  of,  lowered  at  same  time,  32,  230. 

mode  of  working  of,  299. 

time  required  to  lower,  32. 

inch,  86,  358. 

afraid  to  speak  contrary  to  employers'  wishes,  100,  132. 

cost  of  lowering  and  hoisting,  into  mines,  140,  230,  231. 

why  information  was  not  sought  from,  168. 

Union  in  favor  of  Sutro  tunnel,  168. 

believe  Sutro  tunnel  would  improve  ventilation,  168. 

English,  percentage  of  deaths  of,  from  consumption,  169. 

effect  of  high  temperature  upon,  172. 

increased  capacity  for  labor  of,  by  Sutro  tunnel,  173. 

when  strike  made,  furnished  champagne,  175. 

reduction  of  wages  of,  290. 

league,  who  compose  its  members,  208. 
name  of  president  of,  208. 

intelligent  character  of,  463. 

investing  in  Sutro  tunnel,  464. 

mode  of  conveying,  into  tunnel,  138. 

affected  by  price  of  labor  and  material,  148. 

from  tunnel  upward  compared  with  cost  of  mining  downward,  202. 

advantage  of  tunnel  over  shaft  in,  203. 

interests,  effect  of  rational  system  of  mining  upon,  220. 

will  always  be  chief  industry  in  Nevada,  221. 


976 

Mining  prosperity  in,  benefits  other  industries,  221. 

rings,  those  not  members  lose  money  by  investment,  302. 
legitimate,  would  induce  immigration  and  investment,  302. 
schools,  graduates  of,  104. 
laws,  change  of,  665,  666. 
interference  of  Government  in,  666. 
Mineral  wealth  absolutely  necessary  to  commercial  supremacy,  601. 

highly  important  trust  of  Government,  601. 
National  Government,  duty  of,  towards  miners,  65. 

debt  can  be  paid  by  ore  in  Comstock  lode,  313. 
Occidental  mine,  ventilation  of,  101. 

character  of  ores  at,  151. 
Ophir  mine,  cost  of  sinking  shaft  at,  5,  7,  305. 
actual  cost  of,  7,  305. 
quantity  of  rock  extracted  from,  8. 
cost  of  timber  at,  37. 
royalty  upon,  40,  362. 

advantage  to,  of  completion  of  Sutro  tunnel,  42  43,  82,  83,  362. 
productiveness  of,  in  depth,  44. 
probability  of  finding  ore  in,  52. 
difficulty  of  working,  by  hoisting,  82. 
quantity  of  water  in,  3.59,  374,  780. 
no  royalty  to  be  paid  By,  for  drainage,  362. 
decrease  of  cost  of,  by  Sutro  tunnel,  42,  43. 
company,  report  of  superintendent  of,  780,  791. 
superintendent's  reports  of  amount  of  water  in,  791. 

pumped  from,  791, 

cost  of  pumping  at,  "frightful"  796. 
water  in,  a  "  monster  elephant"  800. 
"  breaking  backbone"  of  water  in,  802. 
•      water  in,  "  getting  the  best  of  us,l}  806. 

pumped  from,  146,000  gallons  per  day,  808. 
f          expenses  of,  from  August,  1867,  to  January,  1872,  809. 

for  January;  1872,  809. 

actual  cost  of  pumping  water  in  for  January,  1872,  809. 
indirect  cost  of  pumping  water  in  for  January,  1872,  809. 
Ore,  low  grade,  large  quantities  of,  19,  151,  206,  215,  397,  425. 

what  enters  into  total  cost  of  reduction,  62,  63,  203,  205. 
royalty  upon,  40V  226,  664. 

comparative  cost  of  transportation  of,  to  mouth  of  tunnel,  57,  58,  158. 
machinery  for  concentration  of,  119,  153. 

vast  quantities  not  worked  on  account  of  cost,  151,  255,  613,  684. 
value  of,  at  Occidental  mine,  151. 

Crown  Point  mine,  296. 
Lady  Bryan  mine,  151. 
'  Comstock  lode,  205,  207,  208. 
concentration  of,  two  essentials  for,  153,  159,  384,  628,  670. 


977 

Ore,  facilities  for  reduction  of,  greater  at  Satro  tunnel  than  at  Virginia  City 

154, 155,  157,  381,  592. 

lack  of  space  for  redaction  of,  at  mills,  as  now  situated,  154. 
amount  of  assay  value  lost,  154,  255,  495,  496,  G71. 
expenses  of  reduction  of,  lessened  one  half  by  Sutro  tunnel,  155   383 

204,  634,  733,  734. 
expenses  of  reduction  of,  at  Savage  mine,  288. 

comparative  cost  of,  at  Sutro  turrnel,  157,  158, 

159,  398. 

water  in  abundance  neceisary  for  reduction  of,  384}  415,  670. 
expenses  of  reduction,  157,  205,  381,  570,  492,  70S,  765,  770. 
loss  of  quicksilver  in  reduction,  270,  409. 

cost  of  transportation  of,  by  railroad  from  Virginia  City,  158,  422. 
loss  of,  by  present  means  of  concentration,  159,  310,  384,  569. 

in  Europe,  by  concentration,  160,  248,  495. 
low  grade,  in  mining  downward,  removed  with  high  grade,  203. 
hoisting  of,  208,  » 

how  slimes  of,  are  worked,  569. 
explorations  for,  stimulated  by  Sutro  tunnel,  213,  226. 
cost  of  explorations  for,  reduced  by  Sutro  tunnel,  226,  711,  765,  770. 
low  grade,  large  bodies  of,  will  be  found  in  construction  of  tunnel,  215, 

425. 

only  one  fourth  of  Comstock  lode  yielding,  226. 
royalty  upon,  only  to  be  paid  for  taking  but  through  tunnel,  and  not 

prospecting  for,  226  232. 

no  royalty  upon,  taken  out  of  shafts  to  be  paid,  226. 
ventilation  and  drainage  cost  nothing  while  prospecting  for,  232. 
percentage  of  saving  of,  at  Savage  mine,  256. 
assay  value  of,  amount  required  to  be  returned  by  mills,  256. 
loss  in  roasting  of,  257,  736. 
where  gold,  goes  in  melting,  259. 
how  computation  of,  assay  made,  259. 
tailings  of,  better  saved  at  mouth  of  tunnel  than  by  present  appliances, 

262,266,310,415,496. 
tailings  of,  swept  away  by  flooding  of  Carson  river,  262,  310,  496,  548. 

amount  saved  at  Birdsall's  mill,  266. 
fraudulently  mixed  with  rock,  353. 
number  of  mines  on  Comstock^de  in  which  found,  364.  * 

below  1,000-foot  level  in  which  found,  366. 
power  required  to  reduce  one  ton  of,  381,  628. 

space  at  mouth  of  tunnel  ample  for  mills  for  reduction  of,  383,  384,  415. 
mills,  as  now  situated,  have  not  sufficient  power  for  reduction  of,  384. 
low  grade,  reduced  at  less  cost  on  large  scale  than  in  isolated  mills,  398. 
water  power  of  Carson  river  would  last  all  year  for  reduction  of,  415. 
cost  of  transportation  through  tunnel,  422,  698. 
low  grade,  where  found,  425,  555,  733. 
cost  of  reduction  of,  by  Sutro  tunnel,  201,  398,  708,  761. 

G2 


978 

Ore,  tailings  of,  considered  property  of  mill  owners,  310,  632. 

description  of,  732. 

to  preserve  mines,  absolutely  necessary  to  extract  rich  with  poor  613. 
commissioners'  report  of,  amount  reduced  per  day,  592. 
amount  saved  by  tunnel  in  reduction  of,  592,  70S,  761. 
low  grade,  amount  of,  in  Chollar  Potosi  mine,  555. 
cost  of  reduction  of,  at  Chollar  Potosi  mine,  519. 

transportation  of,  at  Chollar  Potosi  mine,  519. 
milling  by  steam  power,  521. 

i^')          two  thirds ;steam  and  one.  third  water  power,  521. 
mining,  766,  767. 

amount  returned  by  Union  Mill  and  Mining  Company,  546,  632. 
method  of  working,  explained,  495,  497,  732. 
present  method  of  working,  explained,  on  Comstock,  496,  497. 
found  on  Comstock  lode,  each  body,  east  of,  preceding  one,  500. 
amount  of  water  power  necessary  in  concentration  of,  628. 
amount  of,  returned  to  mines  by  mills,  632,  686,  706,  707,  709,  727. 
low  grade,  Sutro  tunnel  will  cause  extraction  of,  663,  733,  734. 
.reduce  cost  of  extraction  of,  663. 
on  Comstock  lode,  value  of,  685. 
amount  of  base  metal  in,  707. 
best  methods  of  reduction  of,  761,  762,  763. 
on  Comstock  lode,  character  of,  764. 
amount  of  coal  necessary  in  reduction  of,  768. 
Overman  mine,  cost  of  mining  and  milling,  116. 
Piratical  mining,  Sutro  tunnel  will  prevent,  663. 
Pumping,  cost  of,  4,  307,  308,  340,  374,  433,  453. 

how  arrived  at,  4. 

power  of  machinery  used  at  Savage  mine  for,  306. 
commissioners'  report  of,  annual  cost  of,  307. 
immense  cost  of,  saved  by  Sutro  tunnel,  308,  391,  648. 
water,  compressed  air  to  be  used  within  tunnel  for,  328,  391. 

at  Ophir  mine,  cost  of,  340,  809. 
of  water,  below  Sutro  tunnel,  effected  by  drainage,  from  above,  391. 

least  expense  attending  presence  of,  in  mines,  772. 
Railroad,  difficulties  attending  construction  of  first,  615. 
"Raymond,  Prof.  R.  W.,  President  of  American  Institute  of  Mining  Engineers, 

598. 

United  States  Commissioner  of  Mines  and  Mining,  597. 
how  called  before  committee,  597. 
where  he  studied  engineering,  598,  642. 
had  practical  experience,  598. 
Reclamations,  explained,  727. 

amount  paid,  706,  727,  753. 

Report  of  Commissioners,  upon  what  material  based,  98,  114. 
Requa,  I.  L.,  time  engaged  in  mining  and  milling,  (137,  504. 
salary  of?  533. 


979 

Reqna,  R.  L.,  stock,  operations  of,  535. 

why  he  appeared  before  the  committee,  548. 

will  be  reimbursed  his  expenses  in  coming  to  testify,  550. 

sends  telegrams  in  cipher  to  President  of  Chollar  Potoai  min«, 

553. 

opinion  of,  concerning  Sutro  tunnel,  556. 
Rival  companies,  strife  between,  143. 
Roasting  ores,  cost  of,  736. 
Rock,  lowering  of,  from  shaft  into  tunnel,  24. 

waste,  quantity  indefinite,  11. 
Rocky  Mountain  Coal  and  Iron  Co.,  who  controls,  the,  777. 

where  coal  of,  is  used,  778. 
supply  of  coal  of,  unlimited,  778. 
Royalty,  estimate  of,  upon  Comstock  lode,  40,  371. 
upon  Ophir  mine,  40. 
to  be  paid  by  Savage  mine,  46. 
Bullion  mine,  47. 
Empire  mine,  47. 
when  only,  48. 

to  Sutro  tunnel,  authorized  by  United  States  Government,  222. 
only  to  be  paid  for  taking  out  ore,  and  not  for  prospecting,  226. 
upon  Comstock  lode,  ample  to  secure  the  Government  in  loaning  Sn- 

tro  Tunnel  Co.  $3,000,000,  210,  636,  672. 
less  than  present  expense  oJP  mining  and  milling,  664. 
San  Francisco  Chronicle  on  Bank  of  California,  349. 

mining  management,  467. 
Sampson  shaft,  depth  of,  604. 
Savage  mine,  rate  of  pumping  at,  92. 
cost  of,  for  1869,  135. 
percentage  of  saving  of  ore  at,  256. 
cost  of  reduction  of  ores  of,  at  Occidental'  mill,  269. 
total  riet  profit  of,  290. 

character  of  machinery  used  for  pumping  at,  306. 
Shaft,  cost  of  sinking  at  Ophir  mine,  5,  809. 
depth  of  deepest,  145. 
new  system  of  sinking,  316. 

Sharon,  agent  of  Bank  of  California,  opposed  to  Sutro  tunnel,  164, 177, 355. 

purchases  stock  by  telegraph,  191. 
mines  controlled  by,  310. 
'  connected  with  Union  Mill  Company,  and 
has  more  to  say  about  it  than  any  one 
else,  162,  411,  515. 

Sharon,  plan  of,  for  supplying  Virginia  City  with  water,  426. 
President  of  milling  company,  162,  515. 
agent  of  Bank  of  California,  163. 

"  the  power  behind  the  throne,"  177. 
requests  I.  L.  Requa  to  testify  before  committee,  549. 


980 

Sharon,  sends  witnesses,  575. 

would  set  aside  a  law  of  Congress  in  his  opposition  to  Sutro  tunnel, 

356. 

gives  orders  for  admission  into  mines,  680,  681. 
Sierra  Nevada  mine,  233. 

simply  placer  diggings,  298. 
yield  of,  235. 

advantage  to,  of  Sutro  tunnel,  in  ventilation,  405. 
Speech  of  Hon.  M.  C.  Kerr,  in  reference  to  Sutro  tunnel,  372. 
Governor  Blair,  "  "  356. 

Hon.  Mr.  Kelly,  of  Fa.,  "  464. 

Stock  gambling,  objection  to  introduction  of  evidence  of,  537. 
Chollar  Potosi  mine,  by  superintendent,  539. 
mines  are  managed  for,  466. 

will  be  prevented  by  Sutro  tunnel,  168,  193,  278,  300. 
deleterious  effect  upon  mining,  301,  60.1. 
how  and  by  whom  carried  on,  278,  435. 
opinion  of  Alta  California,  344. 
operations  in  Crpwn  Point  mine,  300. 
Bank  of  California  engaged  in,  349. 
Stockholders,  assessed  for  benefit  of  mill  owners,  354. 

entirely  at  mercy  of  stock  gamblers,  343. 

Stocks  hypothecated  for  debt  voted  by  the  Bank  of  California,  193. 
Stock  board  of  San  Francisco,  keeps  an  agent  at  mines,  191. 

of  mines,  held  for  speculation,  and  not  for  permanent  investment,  301, 

466. 

Strikes  in  mines,  how  information  of,  is  procured,  192. 
.Sunderland,  attorney  for  opponents  of  Sutro  tunnel,  who  employs  him,  357. 
Superintendents  did  not  always  give  information  in  regard  to  mines,  672. 
on  Comstock  lode  elected  by  proxies,  687. 
reports  not  correct,  289,  380. 

reluctant  to  have  commissioners  visit  mines,  279,  306. 
reports  relied  on  for  commissioners'  report,  97. 
statements  rebutted  by  professors  of  engineering,  612- 
',        of  mines,  character  of,  131,  297,  462,  681,  729. 
Bank  of  California  prefers  uneducated,  681,  729. 
how 'they  become  wealthy,  177. 
Sutro,  Adolph,  speech  of,  143. 

:  capital  for  Sutro  tunnel  procured  in  Europe  by,  295. 
Sutro  tunnel,  opposition  to,  by  superintendents  and  managers  of  mines,  16, 

464. 

Miners'  Union,  laboring  men,  favorable  to,  17,  311,  355. 
Sutro  tunnel  opposed  by  Bank  of  California,  17, 163, 164, 165. 
advantage  of,  to  Ophir  mine,  41,  83,  87. 

Gould  and  Curry  mine,  46,  88. 
Savage  mine,  46. 


981 

Sutro  tunnel,  advantage  of,  to  Bullion  mine,  47. 
Empire  mine,  47. 
Comstock  lode,  53, 118,  368,  471. 

reduction  in  cost  of  working  ores  by,  67,  204,  607,  617. 
ventilation  of,  103  275,  276,  738,  739. 
advantage  of,  to  mines,  126,  193,  199,  203,  300,  311,  368,  423 

442,  617,  644,  664,  676,  724,  743. 
expense  of  connecting  shafts  with,  128. 
method  of  conveying  miners  into,  138.' 
opposition  "to,  on  account  of  royalty,  144. 
effect  of  erection  of  mills  at  mouth  of,  148. 
character  of  country  tli  rough  which  it  will  pass,  151. 
greater  facilities  at  mouth  of,  for  reducing  ores,  154,  633. 
incline  of,  to  Carson  river,  155. 

expense  of  reduction  of  ores  lessened  one  half  by,  155,  633 
distance  of,  from  Carson  river,  155. 
comparative  cost  of  reducing  ores  at  mouth  of,  157,  633. 
advantage  of  locating  mills  at  mouth  of,  162, 422. 
mill  owners  would  be  benefited  by  moving  to  mouth  of,  163, 

263,264,413. 

opposed  by  Sharon,  agent  of  Bank  of  California,  164,  166. 
motives  of  opponents,  165,  355,  464. 
influence  exercised  by  opponents  of,  166. 
will  prevent  stock  gambling,  168, 193,  278. 
reduction  of  temperature  by  means  of,  170,  738,  739,  750. 
increased  capacity  for  labor  by,  173. 
advantage  of,  in  drainage,  ventilation,  and  transportation,  1V9, 

199,  216,  229,  275,  276,  339,  462, 610,  628,  648,  698,  743. 
mouth  of,  compared  with  Virginia  City  as  residence,  185,  270, 

385. 
mouth  of,  growing  of  vegetables  at,  186,  388. 

cost  of  firewood  at,  188, 630. 
extent  to  which  mines  can  be  opened  by,  193,  215, 429, 442, 443, 

663,  676,  698. 

will  be  finished  before  mines  reach  it,  193,  629. 
a  safe  investment,  210. 

very  important  in  a  scientific  point  of  view,  210. 
will  lead  to  similar  enterprises,  210. 

demonstrate  character  of  fissure  veins,  210,  442,  443. 
most  favorable  point  from  which  to  strike  low  level,  211,  423, 

440. 

will  consolidate  mines  into  united  action,  212. 
will  stimulate  explorations  for  ore,  at  less  expense,  213,  226, 

286,  371,  397,  431,  658. 
do  four  most  important  things,  214. 
effect  upon  cost  of  ventilation,  199, 652,  654. 


982 

Sutro  ttmnel  completion  of,  aids  mining  upward  and  downward  at  same  time, 

202,  300,  423. 

advantage  of  mining  by,  over  shafts,  203,  664,  676. 
cost  of  reducing  ores  by,  204,  250,  408,  633. 
in  construction,  large  bodies  of  low-grade  ores  will  be  found, 

215,  663. 

how  drainage  of  water  into,  to  be  utilized,  216,  390,  617,  648, 696. 
mode  of  utilizing  water  power  by,  219,  390,  617,  620,  696. 
arguments  against,  for  last  five  years,  219. 
authorized  by  Legislature  of  Nevada,t22U 

special  act  of  Congress,  221. 

rights  of,  derived  from  United  States  Government,  222. 
titles  to  mines  subordinate  to  grants  to,  223,  282,  373. 
cost  of  prospecting  for  ores  reduced  by,  226,  408,  663. 
transportation  of  miners  in,  by  railroad,  228,  646. 
transportation  of  timber  in,  229,  646. 
interests  of,  identical  with  mining  interests,  239,  240. 
practicability  of  placing  reduction  works  at  mouth  of,  250,  383, 
fh  384,  385,  629. 

members  of  company,  large  owners  of  mining  stocks,  267. 

will  induce  capitalists  to  invest  in  mines,  293,  657. 

beneficial  to  Sierra  Nevada  mine,  299. 

give  greater  yield  of  ore  to  mines,  311,  592,  630,  633,  663. 

large  amount  of  stock  in,  owned  by  laboring  men,  311,  312,  464. 

Commissioners'  report,  construction  of,  feasible,  314. 

expenses  of,  in  January,  1872,  315. 

power,  by  compressed  air,  can  be  transmitted  through,  320, 627. 

work  upon,  much  easier  than  in  Hoosac,  321... 

character  of  rock  to  be  penetrated  by,  322. 

estimate  of  time  required  for  completion  of,  327,  629. 

avoids  pumping  water,  by  use  of  bore-holes,  339,  629,  648,  695, 

proportion  of  Comstock  lode  to  be  benefited  by,  368,  471,  644. 

724,  743. 

speech  of  Hon.  M.  C.  Kerr,  in  reference  to,  372. 
ground  at  mouth  of,  suitable  for  water  power,  383,  489. 
dimensions  of,  399,  645,  654,  649,  733,  738,  752. 
upon  what  success  of,  depends,  418. 

Comstock  lode  can  be  worked  more  economically  by,  408,  744. 
will  probably  strike  other  mines,  431,  663. 
advantage  of,  to  Chollar  Potosi  mine,  447. 
will  afford  security  to  lives  of  miners,  465. 
banks  of  Carson  river,  at  mouth  of,  height  of,  489. 
fall  of  Carson  river  at  mouth  of,  482,  490. 
will  render  engines  for  drainage  unnecessary,  610,  617,  620, 648, 

696,  743. 
.  necessary  to  proper  working  of  Comstock  lode,  607,  592,  733, 

734. 


983 

Sutro  tunnel  opens  up  new  base  of  operations  2,000  feet  below  surface  607 

618,  676,  698. 
letter  of  Baron  Von  Beust  concerning,  608. 

Bernhard  Von  Cotta,  608. 
highly  indorsed  by  Professor  Weissbach,  611. 
letter  of  Bruno,  Kerl,  concerning  exploration  by,  612. 

transportation  by,  612. 
contract  of,  with  Chollar  Potosi  mine,  557. 
distance  of,  from  Carson  City,  568. 

amount  saved  in  reduction  of  ores  by,  592,  630,  632,  711,  765. 
wise  policy  for  the  Government  to  aidj  594. 
if  financial   success,  will   cause   capital  to  flow  into  mining 

regions,  615. 

value  of  drainage  from,  for  water  power,  620,  648,  670. 
use  of  water  power  by,  for  hoisting  men,  620.     ' 
amount  of  water  drained  by,  629,  670. 

completed,  629. 
reduction  works  at  mouth  of,  will  supersede  those  now  in  uae, 

629. 

cost  of  coal  at  mouth  of,  630. 
amount  of  water  drained  by,  629,  648. 
company,  contract  of,  for  transportation  of  ore,  646. 

could  pay  frorri  60  to  65  per  cent,  on  low-grade  ore, 
"  and  make  a  profit,  632,  633,  710,  765. 
advantages  of  for  transportation,  646,  698. 
veins  cut  by,  651. 

saves  present  cost  of  pumping,  648. 
depth  of,  below  mouth  of  shafts,  649. 
where  lateral  branches  will  run,  659. 
will  prevent  piratical  mining,  663. 
will  treble  amount  of  ores  extracted,  711. 
compared  with  German  tunnels,  715. 
necessity  for,  in  mining  low-grade  ores,  733,  734. 
Tailings  of  ores,  whose  property  they  become,  632. 
waste  of,  754,  755. 

cannot  be  saved  by  present  methods,  755,  756. 
Temperature  of  Crown  Point  and  Yellow  Jacket  mines,  146,  272. 
reduction  of,  by  means  of  tunnel,  170. 
effect  upon  mines  of  high,  172,  699,  700,  702. 
increase  of,  at  great  depths,  174. 
of  Yellow  Jacket  mine,  greatest,  272,  704. 
rate  of  increase  downward,  274. 
reduced  by  condensed  air,  391. 
increase  of,  proportioned  to  depth,  394. 

due  to  earth's  temperature,  not  confinement,  395, 

626. 
3,000  feet  limit  of  work  in  English  mines  on  account  of,  395. 


984 

Temperature,  miners  working  at  104°  in  Yellow  Jacket  mine,  403,  699. 
in  mines,  theory  of,  G26,  702. 
increased  capacity  for  labor  in  low,  7-15,  716,  747,  750. 

in  Comstock  lode,  745,  74G,  747,  750. 
Timber,  conveying  of,  into  mines  by  railroad,  30,  229. 

cage,  through  shaft,  30. 
cost  of,  31. 
by  cars,  time  of,  34,  35. 

ca.ge,  36. 

comparative  cost  of  delivery  at  mouth  of  tunnel,  37. 
cost  of,  at  Virginia  City,  37. 

Ophir  mine,  37. 

amount  of,  used  in  Comstock  lode  per  annum,  70. 
in  mines,  how  often  replaced,  740,  741. 
effect  of  ventilation  upon,  71,  396. 
necessity  for,  in  mines,  131. 
preservation  of,  by  ventilation,  131,  396. 
cost  of  lowering  into  mines,  140. 
floating  of,  down  river  to  mouth  of  tunnel,  141. 
for  firewood,  easily  supplied  at  mouth  of  tunnel,  186. 

cost  of,  at  mouth  of  tunnel,  188. 
transportation  of,  by  Sutro  tunnel,  229. 
immense  saving  of,  by  proper  ventilation,  396. 

Transportation  on  railroads,  cost  of,  generally,  23,  153,  202,  292,  457. 
total  cost  of,  39,  157. 
by  Sutro  tunnel,  cost  of,  20,  21,  419,  422,  456,  698. 

letter  of  Bruno  Kerl,  concerning,  612. 
of  ores  to.  England,  an  absolute  loss,  148. 
advantage  of  Sutro  tunnel  in,  179,  419,  698. 
by  cars  in  tunnnel,  no  difficulty  in,  203. 
of  miners  into  Sutro  tunnel  by  railroad,  228. 

timber  into  Sut.ro  tunnel,  229. 
lessened  by  railroad,  292. 

of  ore,  cost  of,  through  tunnel  to  mills  at  mouth,  419,  646. 
from  Comstock  lode  to  mills,  420. 
by  Sutro  tunnel,  cause  of  opposition  to,  468. 
contract  of  Sutro  tunnel  company  for,  646. 
by  stationary  engines,  704,  705. 
by  stationary  engines,  cost  of,  705. 
Tunnels,  importance  of,  in  deep  mining,  606. 

300  feet  apart  considered  in  deep  mining  necessary,  606. 

names  of,  in  different  countries,  699. 

in  Germany,  compared  with  Sutro  tunnel,- 715. 

mining  by  means  of,  714. 

best  method  of  working,  324. 

in  Harz  mountains,  constructed  from  different  levels,  442,  714. 

commenced  after  shafts  were  below  its  level,  448. 


Tunnels,  number 'constructed  and  used  on  Comstock  lode,  111. 
in  Europe,  assisted  by  government,  451,  699. 
Mexican  rules  in  regard  to,  280. 
Hoosac  tunnel  aided  by  State  Government,  451. 
great  number  constructed  in  Europe,  312. 
advantage  of,  in  ventilation,  624,  714. 
Union  Mill  and  Mining  Company,  owners  of,  515,  727. 

pay  no  reclamations,  686. 
owned  by  Bank  of  California,  727. 

United  States  amply  secured  in  giving  aid  to  Sutro  tunnel,  210,  636,  672. 
effect  of  Sutro  tunnel  upon  many  interests  of,  210. 
mineral  wealth  of,  unequaled  in  the  world,  599. 
justified  in  large  expenditures  to  develop  mines,  636,  637,  657, 

672. 

loss  to,  by  piratical  mining,  638.  ^ 

Government,  control  of,  over  Sutro  tunnel,  673. 
Ventilation  of  mines  by  bore-holes,  41,  42,  50,  51,  232,  368. 
shafts,  43. 

better  method  of,  43,  824,  626. 

great  distance  apart,  practicability  of,  48, 198, 

740. 

theory  of,  59,  128,  402,  749,  750. 
use  of  water  in,  62,  219,  428,  626. 
effect  of,  upon  durability  of  timber,  71,  74,  396,  740,  741. 
capacity  for  labor  increased  by,  72,  274,  393,  627,  703,  704. 
effect  of  numerous  shafts  upon,  72,  73,  198. 
reduction  of  temperature  by,  74. 
by  tunnel,  101, 127, 130, 168, 170, 276, 572, 624, 652, 654,  738, 739, 

749,  750. 

down  shafts  and  out  tunnel,  104. 
advantages  of  Sutra  tunnel  for,  127,  168,  179,  199,  275,  276,  396, 

403,  405,  439,  699. 

cost  of,  by  means  of  Sutro  tunnel,  170,  200. 
method  of,  in  mines,  128,  654. 

miners  believe  tunuel  would  improve,  168,  394,  624. 
in  Yellow  Jacket  mine,  169,  401,  438. 
all  possible,  desirable,  179. 
effect  of  movement  of  cars  in  tunnel  upon,  199. 
comparative  cost  of,  at  tunnel  level  and  surface,  200. 
air  condensed  by  water  power  used  for,  219,  242,  243,  391, 428, 

626. 
and  drainage  to  be  had  gratis  while  prospecting  for  ore,  232, 368, 

369.  - 

improved  by  Sutro  tunnel,  275. 
by  means  of  blowers,  impossible  below  2,000  feet  without  tunnel, 

276,  654,  703. 
wretched  under  present  methods,  394^463. 


986 

Ventilation  of  mines  to  level  of  tunnel,  can  be  had  from  surface  only,  regard- 
less of  expense,  403. 

driving  air  for,  horizontally  or  perpendicularly,  438. 
opinion,  of  Commissioners  as  to  effect  of  Sutro  tunnel  upon,  439. 
tunnels  necessary  for,  in  deep  mines,  624,  654,  703. 
Virginia  City,  population  of,  18. 

injury  of,  by  tunnel,  38. 

lack  of  water  at,  153. 

immense  cost  of  water  at,  153,  309. 

facilities  for  reducing  and  concentrating  ore  at,  less  than  at 

mouth  of  tunnel,  154,  491. 
number  of  steam  engines  employed  at,  179. 
Sierra  Nevada  mountains  to  supply  water  power  for,  244. 
cost  of  railroad  from,  to  Carson,  494. 
distance  from,  to  Carson,  by  railroad,  494. 
Von  Beust,  Baron,  letter  of,  concerning  Sutro  tunnel,  608. 
Von  Cotta,  Bernhard,  letter  of,  concerning  Sutro  tunnel,  608. 
Water,  facilities  for  getting,  at  mouth  of  tunnel,  56,  57,  383,  710. 
amount  of  royalty  upon,  62,  63. 
cheapest  power,  66,  321. 
hoisting  of,  at  Imperial  mine,  76.  » 

by  tank  and  pump,  comparison  of  power  required,  78,  375. 
presence  of,  in  mines,  accounted  for,  78,  137,  180,  330,  370,  741. 
decrease  of,  in  Comstock  lode,  73,  304,  695. 
cost  of  pumping,  at  Gould  and  Curry  mine,  87. 
expense  of  pumping,  93,  87,  424. 
decrease  of,  in  Yellow  Jacket  mine,  93,  185. 

amount  of,  in  Ophir  mine,  14,  359,  374,  791,  796,  800,  802,  806,  808, 
809. 

Hale  and  Norcross  mine,  96. 
Comstock,  lode,  78,  334,  643,  670,  691. 
Chollar  Potosi  mine,  110,  302. 
Savage  mine,  307. 

dirjinution  of,  in  descending  from  surface,  136. 
well  of,  at  Virginia  City,  137. 
in  Comstock  lode,  whence  derived,  137,  304,  330. 

fall  of,  649. 

insufficiency  of,  at  Virginia  City,  153,  426,  461. 
fabulous  cost  of,  at  Virginia  City,  153,  245,  309. 
sufficiency  of,  in  Carson  river,  153,  218,  381,  414,  415,  454. 
insufficiency  of  supply  at  mills  on  canons,  154. 
information  concerning,  -derived  from  superintendents,  180. 
scarcity  of,  owing  to  dry  seasons,  180. 
Water,  advantage  of  tunnel  in  draining,  215,  696,  695. 

how  drainage  of,  into  tunnel  to  be  utilized,  216,  217,  218,  219,  232, 
389,  424,  445,  618,  649,  696,  710. 


987 

Water,  how  drainage  of,  into  tunnel  to  be  utilized,  to  work  lower  depths,  217, 

389,  423,  618. 

Weissbach's  calculation  of  power  of,  217,  389,  619. 
feasibility  of  creating  reservoirs  for,  on  surface,  217,  414,  427,  £28, 

458. 
power,  possibility  of  procuring  all  required,  218,  241,  304,  454,  640, 

710. 
employing  power  of,  in  mines,  218,  219,  423,  618. 

without  tunnel  impossible,  218,  648. 

drainage  of,  from  mines  by  means  of  bore-holes,  232,  362,  445,  610. 
in  mines,  how  supply  of,  obtained,  210. 

supply  of,  sufficient  for  power  in  mines,  218,  241,  304,  389,  619,  710. 
power,  compression  of  air  by  means  of,  242,  243,  321,  424,  492. 

supply  of,  to  Virginia  City,  from  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains,  244. 
in  mines,  greatest  obstacle  in  working  Comstock  lode,  304,  308. 
no  limit  to  depth  at  which  it  may  be  found,  304,  330. 
estimated  amount  to  be  pumped  out  of  Comstock  lode,  308,  619. 
power,  cheapest  for  compressing  air,  321. 

supplied  by  Carson  river  equal  to  88,445  horses,  381. 

ground  at  mouth  of  Sutro  tunnel  suitable  for,  383,  414. 

advantage  of  Sutro  tunnel  in  drainage  of,  from  shafts  below  its  level, 

424,  648. 
drainage  of,  from  mines,  to  be  used  as  power  at  mouth  of  tunnel,  424, 

445,  619. 

Sharon's  plan  for  supplying  Virginia  City  with,  426. 
supplying  of,  by  means  of  reservoirs  on  Mount  Davidson,  427. 
estimated  cost  of  bringing  onto  "  "          428. 

of  Carson  river,  to  bring  up  to  Virginia  City  not  feasible,  461. 
supply  of,  at  Virginia  City  could  be  used  at  bottom  of  shafts,  460. 

economy  of,  for  milling,  461,  710. 
effect  of  reservoir  of,  upon  Carson  City,  494. 

engines  for  drainage  of,  rendered  unnecessary  by  Sutro  tunnel,  610. 
of  dam,  property  to  be  destroyed  by,  543. 
how  power  of  fall  of,  calculated,  619. 

drainage  from  Sutro  tunnel,  immense  power  of,  619,  648,  710. 
in  German  mines,  used  for  navigation,  643. 
disappearance  of  western  rivers  accounted  for,  635. 
expense  of,  in  retarding  work,  greater  than  pumping,  772. 
superintendents'  reports  of  amount  in  Ophir  mine,  791. 

"frightful"  cost  of  pumping  in  Ophir  mine, 

796. 
in  Ophir  mine,  a  "monster  elephant,"  800. 

"breaking  backbone"  of,  802. 

pumping  146,000  gallons  per  day  from  Ophir  mine,  808. 
Weissbach's  calculation  of  the  power  of  water,  217,  389. 

reputation  as  an  engineer  the  best  in  the  world,  611. 
highly  indorses  Sutro  tunnel,  611. 


Yellow  Jacket  mine  driest,  92. 

decrease  of  water  in,  93. 

water  running  to,  from  Crown  Point  mine,  95, 185. 

temperature  of,  146,  272,  704. 

ventilation  of,  169. 

report  of  superintendent  of,  contradicted,  184. 

flow  of  water  in,  185. 

hottest,  272. 

working  in,  at  temperature  of  104°,  403,  699. 

name  of  superintendent  of,  500. 


1 58432 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROW] 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below, 
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Jl» 


*", 


MAY  1  9  1991 


AUTO  DISC  CIRC  JuN08'94 


r  tc  *  4 

K£C.  Clfi.  MK8    18 


LfD2lA-20m-3,'73 
(Q8677slO)476-A-31 


University  of  California 
Berkeley 


